Arts
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.