LOS ANGELES — What’s broken heals better, or at least more intriguingly. Such is the backdrop of Max Hooper Schneider falling angels at the François Ghebaly gallery, an exhibition that evokes both destruction and ecological resurrection, decadence and regeneration.
falling angels opens with a series of genetically modified bonsai/fruit tree hybrids, announcing to the viewer that they are entering a strange, nature-based world. An elegant upgrade from the plastic-plant-assembly-sculpture in past Hooper Schneider exhibits, the pieces are dipped in copper electroplating. “Dendrite Bonsai (Corn)” and “Dendrite Bonsai (Banana)” (both 2023) stand out, if only for their phallic – read sexy – undertones. Like much of the artist’s work, they evoke a world after man but still marked by our existence, in which the genetically modified plants we are designing could proliferate on their own.
Moving into the next room, the scene becomes a little more sci-fi with a touch of the death metal aesthetic that Hooper Schneider likes to infuse into his work – theatrical, technically impressive, often dark and nihilistic gestures. A truly chilling sculpture that looks like some sort of robot insect resting on a replica of a fossilized dinosaur skull confronts the viewer. Entitled “Fossil Epizoon (dyrosaurus)” (2021), the genius of the piece lies in the oscillation between disgust and fascination that it evokes. Although almost cartoonish in its amalgamation of fossils and futuristic insect monsters, the piece is saved by detail and precision. In this case, the insect’s “legs” move so subtly, even gracefully, that they draw viewers in and ultimately revel in their delicacy – an impressive achievement for what could be considered the sculptural version of a doodle. by a bored teenager.
The main work of the exhibition, the enormous “Falling Angel”, is made up of plane wreckage, fluorescent tubes, Tesla coils and many other objects. The piece emits an intermittent – and very loud – noise almost like the sound of a construction drill pounding concrete or rapid gunfire. The sonic explosions coincide with colored lights streaming through the otherwise dim fluorescent tubes. Vintage neon signs enclosed in a fiberglass pond below the tubes are a nod to Jason Rhodes, whose influence can be seen in the art of Hooper Schneider. More neon awaits in an adjoining room containing a series of aquarium display pieces that will look familiar to viewers familiar with his work.
It is in the last piece of the exhibition, “ROUTE 666” (2023), that many of Hooper Schneider’s themes come together. A satanic version of the infamous Route 66, which runs through the United States, “ROUTE 666” combines death metal vibes with a critique of American excess and consumerism. In what looks like a dinosaur (or ant, depending on the scale) drive-in theater, the artist depicts a post-apocalyptic outdoor theater that continues to play movies for no one except perhaps the plants that have invaded the mutilated cars still installed in the enclosure of the theater.
All along falling angels, Hooper Schneider offers a vision of what the world might look like beyond the end of our species – the future ruins of the habitat we now occupy. Gazing at the figureless landscape of “ROUTE 666,” I was reminded of how clean the air had become in notoriously polluted Los Angeles within weeks of the pandemic lockdown. Even with all the damage done, the future could be bright for our miraculously self-healing planet – what’s broken actually heals better. Our self-destructive species may not be there.
Max Hooper Schneider: The Fall of Angels continues at François Ghebaly Gallery (2245 East Washington Boulevard, Arts District, Los Angeles) until June 10. The exhibition was organized by the gallery.
