The Stumbling Present: Ruins in Contemporary Art

Rob Voerman, Pressure, 2012. Silkscreen, pencil, and soot on paper, 3 ft. 10 ½ in. x 6 ft. 6 in.; ed. 7/8 + 1 AP, Courtesy of the artist and C24 Gallery, New York

The Stumbling Present: Ruins in Contemporary Art features an international roster of artists who use the imagery of neglected or willfully destroyed places and objects to address socio-political concerns and the failure of utopian ideals. For many of these artists, ruins register as symbols of loss but also as sites of possibility upon which they can impose their own potent narratives. The included films, paintings, photographs, and sculptures are part of the long trajectory of ruins in art as signifiers of transience but they also reveal pressing concerns affecting contemporary artists and the state of our world today.

Participating artists: Lara Almarcegui, Carlos Bunga, Nigel Cooke, Adam Cvijanovic, Carlos Garaicoa, Simryn Gill, Valerie Hegarty, Kristen Morgin, Melanie Smith, Rob Voerman

This exhibition has been organized by Elyse A. Gonzales, curator of exhibitions. It is made possible by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; The Ceil & Michael E. Pulitzer Foundation, Inc.; Marcia and John Mike Cohen; The Mondriaan Fund, Amsterdam; and The Netherlands-America Foundation.