Title
Paradise Syndrome
Posted In
Exhibition
Duration
21 October 2015 to 18 November 2015
Venue
Puccio European Marble Works
Opening Hours
Open on weekends 2-6 PM and by appointment on week days
Location
661 Driggs Ave. Brooklyn
New York City, NY NY 11121
United States
Email
[email protected]
Visit Website
peanaprojects.com
Detailed Information
TitleParadise SyndromePosted InExhibitionDuration21 October 2015 to 18 November 2015
VenuePuccio European Marble WorksOpening HoursOpen on weekends 2-6 PM and by appointment on week daysLocation
661 Driggs Ave. Brooklyn
New York City, NY NY 11121
United States
Email[email protected]Visit Websitepeanaprojects.com

An eternal state of bliss, purity and uninterrupted comfort may be the definitions that “paradise” is usually associated with —but what happens when we actually enter such an ideal realm? Disappointment seems to be the answer, as this contemporary art exhibition in an abandoned marble factory in Brooklyn, NY, let us understand. Staged as a “post-apocalyptic Garden of Eden” by curator Ana Perez Escoto, the exhibition “Paradise Syndrome” takes its name from a psychological condition where a person feels empty and disappointed after achieving all of his or her goals. Although psychologists haven’t officially recognised this condition, as a “syndrome” it afflicts extremely wealthy and privileged individuals who have fulfilled all their dreams and have nothing else to wish for or look forward to. The exhibition picks up this theme of excessive material wealth and debauchery and transfers it into an almost dilapidated setting, where the abandoned factory’s debris and working surfaces are mixed with the actual artworks, many of which were created in situ using found pieces of wood, marble, brick and metal.

In symphony with its subject, the exhibition achieves a sense of something frustratingly fleeting and unobtainable, as seen for example in the constant movement and morphing of Juan Fontanive’s motorised flipbook of exotic birds (“Ornithology I”, 2015) and the ever-shifting kaleidoscopic patterns in Alois Kronschlaeger’s “Multicolored Cube Configuration #2” (2015). Meanwhile, Mario Navarro’s assemblage “Marmor Isodomum” (2015) brings together a neat and well-organised collection of discarded marble pieces, as if the overlooked scraps and leftovers of luxurious objects that decorate opulent homes have come together to form a little utopia of their own. Across the bone-bare industrial room, Ishmael Randall Weeks’ untitled installation with live plants (2015) plays with futility and impermanence, since the artist has used the plants as stencils to spray paint on the white surface behind them. Traversing this twisted workshop of defeated happiness, one realises how our fabricated notion of ideal existence, our “Paradise”, is both chimaeric and, ironically, comical in its ambition.

Paradise Lost, 2015. Installation view. Courtesy PEANA Projects.

Paradise Lost, 2015. Installation view. Courtesy PEANA Projects.

The exhibition “Paradise Syndrome” is the latest pop-up event from PEANA, a platform for contemporary Latin American and Spanish art founded by Ana Perez Escoto, and will remain on display at the former factory of “Puccio European Marble Works” till November 18, 2015. Participating artists include Silvina Arismendi, Adrian S. Bara, Aldo Chaparro, Juan Fontanive, Ricardo Gonzalez, Alois Kronschlaeger, Alberto Lopez, Norman Mooney, Mario Navarro, Ishmael Randall Weeks, Francisco Ugarte and Alexis Zambrano.

Paradise Lost, 2015. Installation view. Courtesy PEANA Projects.

Paradise Lost, 2015. Installation view. Courtesy PEANA Projects.

Alexis ZambranoTissot's holiday at Glass House, 2015Oil on Canvas46 in. x 70 in. (117 cm x 178 cm).

Alexis Zambrano
Tissot's holiday at Glass House, 2015
Oil on Canvas
46 in. x 70 in. (117 cm x 178 cm).

Paradise Lost, 2015. Installation view. Courtesy PEANA Projects.

Paradise Lost, 2015. Installation view. Courtesy PEANA Projects.

Paradise Lost, 2015. Installation view. Courtesy PEANA Projects.

Paradise Lost, 2015. Installation view. Courtesy PEANA Projects.

Aldo ChaparroThis is / isn't Hapiness, 2014Neon and acrylic box39.37 in. x 47.24 in. x 2.7 in. (100 cm x 120 cm x 7 cm). 
This work is a single acrylic box, on which the letters "n't" flash on and off, thus constantly changing the written phrase's meaning.

Aldo Chaparro
This is / isn't Hapiness, 2014
Neon and acrylic box
39.37 in. x 47.24 in. x 2.7 in. (100 cm x 120 cm x 7 cm). 

This work is a single acrylic box, on which the letters "n't" flash on and off, thus constantly changing the written phrase's meaning.

Paradise Lost, 2015. Installation view. Courtesy PEANA Projects.

Paradise Lost, 2015. Installation view. Courtesy PEANA Projects.

Aldo ChaparroAcero (Slate), 2014Stainless steel and electrostatic paint37 in. x 62 in. (93.98 cm x 157.48 cm).

Aldo Chaparro
Acero (Slate), 2014
Stainless steel and electrostatic paint
37 in. x 62 in. (93.98 cm x 157.48 cm).

Paradise Lost, 2015. Installation view. Courtesy PEANA Projects.

Paradise Lost, 2015. Installation view. Courtesy PEANA Projects.

Norman MooneyWall Flower No. 5Cast aluminum with white pigment, Ed. of 376 in. x 36 in. (193 cm x 91.4 cm).

Norman Mooney
Wall Flower No. 5
Cast aluminum with white pigment, Ed. of 3
76 in. x 36 in. (193 cm x 91.4 cm).

Puccio European Marble Works III, 2015Removed and reassembled objects from the spaceVariable dimensions.

Puccio European Marble Works III, 2015
Removed and reassembled objects from the space
Variable dimensions.

Mario NavarroMarmor Isodomum, 2015Found marble pieces, mirror Ed. 1/111.8 in x 8.6 in x 5.90 in (30 cm x 22 cm x 15 cm).

Mario Navarro
Marmor Isodomum, 2015
Found marble pieces, mirror Ed. 1/1
11.8 in x 8.6 in x 5.90 in (30 cm x 22 cm x 15 cm).

Francisco UgarteUntitled, 2015Wooden structure, black paint and floor11.98 x 13.48 ft (365 cm x 411 cm).

Francisco Ugarte
Untitled, 2015
Wooden structure, black paint and floor
11.98 x 13.48 ft (365 cm x 411 cm).

Mario NavarroAbout meeting and converging I, 2015Found materials (wood, aluminum) Ed. 1/124 in. x 36 in. (60 cm x 91.5 cm).

Mario Navarro
About meeting and converging I, 2015
Found materials (wood, aluminum) Ed. 1/1
24 in. x 36 in. (60 cm x 91.5 cm).

Silvina ArismendiLilac Spring, 2014Stretcher Bars and plastic string83.3 in (213 cm).

Silvina Arismendi
Lilac Spring, 2014
Stretcher Bars and plastic string
83.3 in (213 cm).

Alexis ZambranoUntitled, 2015Pysanky Ostrich Egg, bone puzzle sphere base, native american seedpot, african woodbase19.7 in x 7.8 in x 20.5 in (50 cm x 20 cm x 52 cm).

Alexis Zambrano
Untitled, 2015
Pysanky Ostrich Egg, bone puzzle sphere base, native american seedpot, african wood
base
19.7 in x 7.8 in x 20.5 in (50 cm x 20 cm x 52 cm).

Silvina ArismendiSpears, 2015Wood and plastic stringVariable Dimensions.

Silvina Arismendi
Spears, 2015
Wood and plastic string
Variable Dimensions.

Silvina ArismendiSpears, 2015Wood and plastic stringVariable Dimensions.

Silvina Arismendi
Spears, 2015
Wood and plastic string
Variable Dimensions.

Silvina ArismendiSpears, 2015Wood and plastic stringVariable Dimensions.

Silvina Arismendi
Spears, 2015
Wood and plastic string
Variable Dimensions.

Paradise Found: Latin American and Spanish Art takes over Abandoned Marble Factory in Brooklyn

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