Opened in the summer of 2013, Garis & Hahn gallery is one of the newest exhibition spaces that has popped up along the Bowery in recent memory. The gallery’s most recent undertaking, a group exhibition entitled “Notes on Undoing” features the work of eleven artists and was curated by Branka Benčić. It is the first survey of contemporary Croatian art that has occurred at the the gallery and brings together eleven different artists including: Eškinja, Vlatka Horvat, Igor Grubic, Tina Gverović, Zlatko Kopljar,Dino Zrnec, Marko Tadić,Damir Ocko,Hrvoje Slovenc,Viktor Popović and Ljiljana Mihaljević.

A major theme that the show tackles is unraveling the way in which the viewer perceives the artist and the symbiotic relationship that is created when looking at work. These multiple perspectives are informed by the way in which each artist approaches the work and the conceptual projects they are engaging in. The press release for the show states, ”some show an interest in the experience of how the body or object relates to its environment.” As the title suggest, there is an element of this exhibition that is attempting undo the myth of the artist and the artistic process from various vantage points. This very sentiment is taken up in each of the pieces within the exhibition.

The work in “Notes on Undoing” is diverse and spans the conceptually gambit ranging from sculpture to performance. The exhibition takes up the two floors of the gallery’s space. On the first floor there are various paintings, drawings and sculptures which explore the topic of the show in various ways. On the second floor of the gallery there are two video pieces that are shown within the same room.

Viktor Popović, Untitled # 2. Image courtesy of Garis & Hahn Gallery

Within Ljiljana Mihaljević’s nine minute and thirty five second performance “The Route,” the artist is shown dressed in all black playing a seemingly never ending game of hopscotch. The piece begins with a quote from Nobel Prize Literature recipient Ivo Andrić about “on the circular nature of civilizations and impossibility of finding a direct path to truth.” In the performance the hopscotch grid has been altered by Mihaljević’s and has been drawn in a circle. Mihaljević engages the chalk surface in a variety of fashions and there are several shots of her crawling along it as well as skipping, walking and doing other actions. It is these vary gestures which emphasizes the time element associated with it and the simple action she is performing.

Ljiljana Mihaljević ,”The Route.” Image courtesy of Garis & Hahn Gallery.

In Zlatko Kopljar’s short film K16, he is shown digging a hole for over ten minutes. The artist seems to have taken on a role of an undertaker who is preforming this gesture in the darkness of night for no apparent reason. The rhythmic action of Kopljar’s shovel and the moving up dirt brings up larger issues surrounding why he is digging it and what the circumstances surrounding the event are.

Zlatko Kopljar, K16. Image courtesy of Garisa and Hahn Gallery

Both Kopljar’s and Mihaljević’s address issues of time and perception. This is further complicated by the actions that both artists are performing and the medium they are choosing to work in. Through the use of video and film these actions are prolonged and showed on a loop which underscore the idea that both artists could go on forever both playing hop scotch and digging a hole. K16 and “The Journey” are also showcasing the ways in which Koplijar and Mihaljević are attempting to make and remake the frameworks they have created within each of these pieces which in turn is constantly re-situating the way the viewer is responding to the work.

It is each artist’s unique approach regarding the topic of undoing which helps to elevate the work within the exhibition. “Notes on Undoing” is an exciting exhibition for the Garis & Hahn Gallery and should not be missed.

The exhibition will run through December 20. Garis & Hahn Gallery is located at 263 Bowery in New York, NY 10002. They are open Tuesday through Saturday 11-7 pm.

-Anni Irish