All Crescendo, No Reward

Lynda Benglis, Walead Beshty, Matt Copson, Ida Ekblad, Matias Faldbakken, Nikita Gale, Isa Genzken, Guyton\Walker, Oliver Laric, Mike Nelson, Frances Stark, Nicole Wermers

The mega-baby plays with a gun, swallows an airplane, sings a libretto and then bursts apart and goes right back to the start. - Time Out, 2023.

All Crescendo, No Reward is an exhibition of works from the Zabludowicz Collection that explores the formation and re-formation of subjecthood and objecthood. It is structured around three major moving image installations by Matt Copson, Oliver Laric and Frances Stark. While distinct in atmosphere and character, the works are underscored by questions of mortality and time, and share an ambitious and playful use of animation, music and theatrical staging devices. Each of the artists blur the boundaries between contemporary art and other cultural spheres and periods, drawing inspiration from opera, neoclassical and baroque sculpture, hip hop and children’s cartoons.

The notion of ‘the loop’ is central to the show, with the circulation of images and ideas felt across the exhibition. Contained within the narratives and imagery of the works is a constant flux between desire and the frustration of that desire. In the Main Hall, sculptures by artists including Lynda Benglis, Walead Beshty, Nikita Gale and Isa Genzken are installed. In these pieces, readymade or familiar objects are reconfigured or partially destroyed, and recombined to produce new material presences.