The Edenville Council: Brooklyn Addendum would like to expound for a brief moment on the recent exhibition of Devon Costello at Taxter & Spengemann Gallery in Chelsea. This exhibit is important to the EC:BA because its whole ‘mies en scene’ correlates with the charter and core belief structure espoused by the Council.
In his solo exhibition, Costello creates a particular environment that at once appears like a latter-day cabinet of curiosities as well as the end result of a humanist scavenger hunt. Composed of various disparate materials, historical appropriations, surreal juxtapositions and haut-modernist compositions, Costello’s environment is one of collecting the detritus of civilization. This collection amounts to a small room of discrete objects all working together in a humanist gesamtkunstwerk, an all-encompassing, core work of art which could easily pass for one complete installation.
Some of the more compelling works in the show are rocks mounted to raw canvas using a clear poly-resin. The natural aspects of these “paintings” along with the historical imagery of classical works of art create this humanist tableau. And Humanism is a key work in understanding Costello’s work. The idea of a well-rounded and omni-media approach to ideas and life through art is a central theme of this exhibition. Making connections between images, materials, situations and senses is a task Costello challenges us towards. Challenge is an important notion to remember as well because this exhibit, although easy on the eye, is not so facile on the mind. Costello demands attention, repose and reverie while equally commanding a discerning eye. These demands, often found lacking in most contemporary art, are the reasons why the EC:BA is so enchanted by Costello’s work and finds a kindred spirit in its raison d’etre. It most certainly has a reason to exist.
Devon Costello, installation view at T&S.
