Sudden Glory: Sight Gags and Slapstick in Contemporary Art

With a title derived from philosopher Thomas Hobbes's description of laughter as "sudden glory," this exhibition offers a reinterpretation of the importance of slapstick in contemporary art. Inspired by such precedents as Bruce Nauman's early Samuel Beckett–inspired performances and Paul McCarthy's libidinal vaudeville, the artists in this show elaborate on a grammar of sight gags and pratfalls that conjure physical failings even as they evoke a longing for transcendence.

Sudden Glory: Sight Gags and Slapstick in Contemporary Art
Kurator: Ralph Rugoff

Künstler: Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset, gelitin , Martin Kersels, Jim Lambie, Steve McQueen, Helen Mirra, Hirsch Perlman, John Pilson, Matthew Ronay, David Shrigley, Roman Signer, Marijke van Warmerdam, John Wood / Paul Harrison