Nancy Daly + Kyle Bauer | Existential Wreck Room

In her newest body of work, Nancy Daly gives a series of classic board games an existential twist. Titled "One Must Consider Them Happy", an adaptation of the last line from Albert Camus’s 1942 essay "The Myth of Sisyphus", Daly, with her characteristic dry wit, adapts popular board games that prompt players to find meaning in the enactment of absurd, endless tasks. Co-opting the design of popular board games such as “Risk”, “Life” and “Sorry”, the games address the pitfalls of contemporary life: the cyclical and relentless nature of social media, the (seemingly) futile pursuit of tenure-track academic positions and the fallacies inherent in the United States electoral system. In so doing, Daly uses a playful veneer to cushion a barbed social commentary, revealing uncomfortable and all-too-true realities about contemporary American life. Daly’s games can be played during two game-nights: Thursday, April 13 at 7 pm, and Thursday, May 11 at 7 pm. 

Kyle Bauer’s formally rigorous sculptures boast seductively attractive surfaces that alternately conceal or reveal their true nature: plywood and reclaimed objects are placed in seamless conversation with pristine pieces of slip cast porcelain, bright colors, and shiny, reflective surfaces. Bauer’s meticulously crafted pieces, evocative of both mid-century modern furniture and children’s toys via their contrasting textures and colors, captivate the viewer’s attention and brim with a sense of playful exuberance. Paradoxically, the sculptures control the viewer’s eye and command movement through visual cues in a manner akin to the fishing lures, baits, and traps from which they take their inspiration.

Nancy Daly (b. 1985, Fulda, Germany) is a DC-based artist whose videos, installations, and sculptures examine how the development of the online social world affects identity and social behaviors. She holds an MFA in Photographic and Electronic Media from the Maryland Institute College of Art (2011) and a BFA in Graphic Design from James Madison University. Daly has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows, including "Click Here", Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA (2017); "[recombinant] fellows : RA", Hamiltonian Gallery, Washington DC (2016) and "Save As", Hamiltonian Gallery, Washington, DC (2015). She lives and works in Washington, DC.

Kyle Bauer (b. 1985, Salem, Illinois) moved to Baltimore after earning his MFA from Louisiana State University in 2011. Since 2012, he has been the conservation technician of prints, drawings, and photographs at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Bauer was a 2014 Sondheim Artscape Prize finalist, a 2015 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Grant Award recipient, and a finalist for the 2015 Miami University Young Sculptors Competition for the William and Dorothy Yeck Award. Recent exhibitions include "Cardinal" at the Delaware Contemporary, Wilmington, DE (2017), The Clay Studio National, Philadelphia, PA (2016) and "Fairway" at Flashpoint Gallery, Washington, DC (2015). Bauer has exhibited at the Walters Art Museum, Vox Populi, Flashpoint Gallery, Randall Scott Projects, McDaniel College, Arlington Art Center, School 33 Art Center, and Maryland Art Place. He lives and works in Baltimore, MD.

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April 8 - May 13, 2017

Opening Reception: 
Saturday, April 8
7-9 pm

Game Nights:
Thursday, April 13, 7 pm
Thursday, May 11, 7 pm

Artist Talk: 
Tuesday, April 25
7 pm

Hamiltonian Artists:
Nancy Daly
Kyle Bauer