FW Spotlight: Top Submissions of December
Tradition and modernity collide like tectonic plates, their friction fueling questions of identity and power. Antique symbols family crests or ritual icons, stand in uneasy contrast to sleek technologies and digital motifs. Each side casts shadows on the other, revealing the fault lines of belonging and dominance. Meanwhile, the notion of authenticity buckles under the weight of endless reproductions, bootlegs, and near-indistinguishable simulations: as soon as we try to fix “the real,” it dissolves into a sea of replicas.
Against this backdrop, performativity and competition become deeply intertwined. Nature shows us survival rituals as primal as they are theatrical; human institutions transform these into spectacles fueled by ambition and power. We move through digital worlds, video games, online platforms that straddle both real and imagined dimensions, reframing how we connect, clash, and collaborate. Even here, the push-and-pull of control reappears, coded into corporate scaffolds that look suspiciously like re-skinned versions of old hierarchies.
Yet small zones of resistance emerge, subversive spaces and quiet actions that tweak the established order.
This month’s survey of notable exhibitions traverses a labyrinth of contemporary concerns, where themes of identity, power, technology, and agency intertwine. From the visceral clash of historical and modern symbols to cryptic narratives and immersive realms, these exhibitions provoke us to question the nature of existence in a world shaped by forces often beyond our grasp. Each show offers a lens, fragmented, intricate, and deeply evocative, through which to glimpse our shared struggles and aspirations.
“CARNYX” by Theo Papandreopoulos
Koppel Project – PAUSE/FRAME, London
Papandreopoulos’s works, fusing organic forms with industrial detritus, evoke a primal confrontation between ancient rituals and contemporary mechanization. The car parts, beetle horns, and steel elements resonate with an animalistic energy, suggesting a lineage of dominance, competition, and the performative nature of power. The accompanying soundscapes echo the visual forms, translating the physical into sonic textures that vibrate with both beauty and unease.
The exhibition’s titular reference to the ancient Carnyx—a war horn used by Celtic tribes—sharpens its critique of masculinity and force. Through this interplay of materials, Papandreopoulos unveils the cyclicity of aggression and the relentless pursuit of superiority, whether among beetles in a forest or humans navigating a hyper-competitive society. Visitors are left with the impression of a world in perpetual tension, where instincts collide with manufactured desires, underscoring the fragility and absurdity of this dynamic.
“The Great Logic of Contents that Bind the World into Existence or ‘Season’s Greetings!’” by Marek Wolfryd
Swivel Gallery, New York City
Wolfryd’s exhibition gleefully dissects the structures of late capitalism through a kaleidoscope of bootleg aesthetics and cultural appropriation. Drawing from the phenomenon of shanzhai, the artist crafts objects that blur the lines between counterfeit and innovation, originality and mimicry. His playful, audacious approach invites viewers to reconsider the value systems embedded in artistic production and consumption.
The gallery itself becomes a hall of mirrors, reflecting the influence of post-war American art on the global stage while exposing its complicity in Cold War propaganda. By juxtaposing icons like Rothko and Koons with shanzhai replicas, Wolfryd highlights the paradoxical nature of authenticity in an era dominated by intellectual property and mass commodification. His work probes deeper questions: What is real in a world built on simulations? Who defines value, and for whom? Amid this uncertainty, the exhibition confronts us with the eerie realization that the commodification of art is not merely a reflection of the market but a cornerstone of cultural hegemony.
“Proximity” by Beatriz Olabarrieta
Shahin Zarinbal, Berlin
Olabarrieta’s sculptures inhabit a liminal space between movement and stasis, reality and premonition. Constructed from disassembled windshield wipers, they evoke the rhythm of motion while defying their original function, becoming frozen in time. The works, suspended on walls with discreet magnets, resemble fragments of an incomplete narrative—a Muybridge study interrupted mid-sequence.
As visitors navigate the gallery, they become part of the installation, their own movements echoing the implied oscillation of the sculptures. Olabarrieta’s refusal to ascribe a definitive purpose to her creations challenges the audience to engage with their potentiality. Are they agents of deceit, as the title suggests, or metaphors for the futility of control? The experience oscillates between a sense of humor and existential unease, leaving visitors pondering their complicity in the machinery of modern existence.
“Cryptogramme” by Sarah Neumann, Tom König, Suzie Callisz, Maria Margolina, Jakob Floess, and Maxim Tur
Komplot, Brussels
This collective exhibition turns encryption into a metaphor for the concealed mechanisms of power that govern our world. Through sculptures, sound installations, and visual codes, the artists create a multisensory environment reminiscent of ancient tools like the scytale. The works encode and decode information, inviting viewers to decipher hidden narratives while questioning the transparency of their own realities.
By drawing parallels between historical cryptography and contemporary surveillance, Cryptogramme reveals the tension between visibility and opacity in systems of control. The installation’s fragmented approach mirrors the fragmented nature of modern knowledge, urging viewers to assemble their own interpretations. The gallery becomes a site of resistance, where art challenges the binaries of secrecy and revelation, manipulation and liberation.
“THIRD WORLD – THE BOTTOM DIMENSION” by Gabriel Massan and CLUBE
Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo – Pina Contemporânea, São Paulo
Massan’s ambitious, multi-level installation blurs the boundaries between gaming, art, and lived experience. Structured like a video game, the exhibition invites visitors to traverse platforms, make choices, and explore fantastical realms. The integration of raw aluminum and sculptural elements creates a dialogue between the virtual and the physical, underscoring the artificiality of constructed spaces.
Through its interactive format, THIRD WORLD interrogates notions of agency and collective experience. The rubber arena, a communal space within the exhibition, evokes a schoolroom, a site of learning and unlearning, of shaping identities within rigid frameworks. The game’s narrative folds into the exhibition’s broader themes, drawing attention to the ways in which individuals navigate systems of power and resistance.
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