Mike Kelly
Metro Pictures
150 Greene St.
(212) 925-8335
Oct. 21 - Nov. 25
Do we always have to like an entire show? And should we necessarily deal with
something we have been offered many times before and maybe too often? But in
this show by Mike Kelly one outstanding piece surprised. It was centered in
the middle of the gallery and took most of the space: "Educational Complex" is
a work made up of architectural models of all the schools the artist attended
in his life. But unlike an architect he rebuilt the models the way he imagined
them without the help of any plans. The models of these schools were added next
to each other and cover the size of a huge table. No color, just in white, with
openings that give a view into the buildings. One building can also be viewed
from the basement: a mattress is lying there under the model suggesting that
there is another entrance as well. It is a surprising way to come to terms
with educational institutions that so often turned out to be nightmares for
most of us. Private history, memory and architecture are well combined and
offer an unexpected view of this artist who so often tends to erase himself
through too many lubricated reproductions of his creative tricks.
-Rainer Ganahl
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