Cory Arcangel returns to Shanghai with solo show at Lisson Gallery
Artist Cory Arcangel is presenting his solo exhibition "Errors and Omissions" at Lisson Gallery through January, in what is his second show in Shanghai. Constructed as a focused take on a survey show, the exhibition features an array of the artist's multimedia projects, including video games, single-channel video, inkjet works, and industrially-coated aluminum "paintings," utilizing techniques such as AI, machine learning and machine code.
The show is anchored by two video game works created nearly 20 years apart -- "Super Slow Tetris" (2004), and "/roʊˈdeɪoʊ/ Let's Play: HOLLYWOOD" (2021).
"Super Slow Tetris," an original copy of the Nintendo Entertainment System game "Tetris" has been hacked and slowed radically so that it now takes almost a whole day for a group of blocks to fall to the bottom of the screen (while crucially still playable).
"Super Slow Tetris," Handmade hacked Tetris game cartridge, Nintendo NES video game system, artist software. – Courtesy Lisson Gallery
"/roʊˈdeɪoʊ/" (pronounced 'Rodeo') is another approach to extended game play, but here a bespoke Deep-Q machine-learning super computing system plays a casual, free-to-play, Android game called "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood", where players aim to increase their reputation by gaining fans and A-List celebrity stardom.
"/roʊˈdeɪoʊ/ Let's Play: HOLLYWOOD" (2021) presented in the Shanghai gallery is a three hour long single-channel screen capture video of "/roʊˈdeɪoʊ/" playing "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood", recorded on 14 December 2021.
What connects these together are the ambient system sounds created by musician Daniel Lopatin (known as Oneohtrix Point Never) in "/roʊˈdeɪoʊ/," and a new series entitled "Things I Made". In this series, different webpages from coryarcangel.com are transformed into physical prints on paper, ripped from an HP Deskjet 2710e manual.
"/roʊˈdeɪoʊ/ Let's Play: HOLLYWOOD" System sounds by Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) – Courtesy Lisson Gallery
The prints track the progress of Arcangel's work over the last two decades and include "Photoshop Gradient and Smudge Tool Demonstration" (2007) and his "Self-Playing Nintendo 64 NBA Courtside 2" (2011).
The exhibition concludes with a ready-made floor installation "Diamond Plate" (2023) and a new series of "Alus", aluminum paintings featuring abstract shapes and signatures cut by a robotic CNC fibre laser cutting machine with finishes that are reminiscent of Apple's product lines for both casual and professional users.
The lines, curves, and letters have been rendered from vectorized photographs of tracksuits, motifs which have been a long-standing interest of Arcangel's. Industrially painted in hot pink, each work and its markings are unique.
"✎~IL.2023.027," Aluplate aluminium, powder coat thermo polymer – Courtesy Lisson Gallery
"Diamond Plate" utilizes a non-skid, safety surface used for stairs, catwalks, work platforms, walkways and ramps as the backdrop for the exhibition. Notably, the diamond plate pattern was a popular website background in the early days of the Internet, and was the background for the artist's first website (circa 1996).
From the 1990s until 2023, Arcangel has weaved and swerved through a career centering contemporary art around ideas of power, digital technology and humor. "Errors and Omissions" serves as a teaser to Arcangel's continuing journey.
Date: through 31 January, 2024
Address: 2/F, 27 Huqiu Rd
