Back in Berlin’s art galleries.

Walking down Brunnenstrasse, i stumbled upon From our living room to yours, an exhibition that focuses on six American artists whose work gives a glimpse into the garbage and glory of American pop culture. There are several very nice pieces that both denounce and celebrate the notion of Americana and the useless gifts (or souvenirs) we give to the rest of the world, from our living room to yours.

The best discoveries of the show for me are:

– Bill Lohre’s beige and white wall-mounted paper sculptures of historically charged places. In The White House (aka Loaded), he meticulously reproduced the symbol of American power using paper, cardboard, toothpicks and lollipop sticks. The official home of the US President is turned into a disposable, fragile and playful sculpture.

Similarly, he sculpted a Gun Rack with the same cheap and delicate materials.

– Borrowing the red and yellow of the Vietnamese flag, Trong Nguyen’s cake is decorated with a shiny frosting made of oil paint that reads “Happy Birthday Warâ€?, commemorating the recent 30th anniversary of the Vietnam War. Playing off the idea of Magritte’s Ceci n’est pas une pipe, Nguyen is poking fun at the American tradition of celebrating the wrong thing, demonstrating our own distinct brand of schadenfreude. A second cake, displayed in what looks like the gallery kitchen reads “Help Me”, it’s white on white so you have to get very close to it to be able to decipher the call.

At Goff + Rosenthal until March 17.

My images on flickr as usual.