Marie Karlberg. Your lips are so soft

Sandy Brown is pleased to present Marie Karlberg's first solo gallery exhibition. Consisting of a new series of spray paint, fabric and industrial rubber works that draw influence from Karlberg's personal involvement in fashion and performance as they and the artist herself assumes some of the product clichés promoted by the commonly understood notion of contemporary art. Materially prompted by an invitation extended to Karlberg by New York's Artist Space to host several nights of performances and screenings last summer, the clinical, near-prophylactic rubber exhibited here first served as an affective makeover to the institution's conventional appearance, accenting the non-profit's pre-existing walls and furniture in ways that was as much about looks as it was about feel. While Karlberg has garnered a reputation for her performance-based work, for this exhibition the performance is less apparent as it will seem to most visitors of this current show that they have arrived too late, only able glimpse a resultant product of artfully distressed rubbers. By directing assumptions of performance art away from the immediately theatrical, Karlberg's exhibition focuses instead on the performance expected of any marketable contemporary artist to yield signature product and the subsequent sociability promoted when these performances are consolidated into careers.

Marie Karlberg
Your lips are so soft