A disclaimer for Day-Glo devotees and fans of illuminated sculpture: “Neon Eon” does not pay homage to the noble gas. Rather, what ties together the four featured artists’ work is an interest in time and memory. Gerard & Kelly’s Hand Catching Lead, 2015, is the show’s sobering standout. The four-channel video, based on Richard Serra’s 1968 film of the same name, responds tactically to the shooting of Michael Brown and related events of brutality against people of color. Pinned to the wall are four iPads in sealed plastic bags, as though they are evidence. One device is shattered, while the other three show discrete actions: a black and a white dancer reaching toward each other; the same dancers trying to catch falling iPads with hands intertwined; and a pair of hands scrolling through images of Brown’s fallen body. Footage of the dancers collapsing onto a set of mattresses—projected on a twin mattress—completes the installation. The piece lends gravitas to the accompanying works: Alina Tenser’s videos, where objects and limbs seem to float in space; Nathlie Provosty’s paintings, especially the Rothko Chapel-hued Doubleu (Diver), 2015; and Scott Nedrelow’s three-channel video of rising and setting suns.
Pictured: Installation view of Gerard & Kelly’s Hand Catching Lead, 2015, four-channel video (three iPads and projection on mattress), glass and plastic. Photo Andres Ramirez. Courtesy Kate Werble Gallery, New York.