Nympho Art Exhibition Struggles to Match Its Provocative Promise

Wen Zen Chang’s solo art exhibition, Nympho, referenced The Loser, a novel that delves into the obsessive pursuit of success. However, the exhibition lacked cohesion, as there were too few overtly graphic works to reinforce the provocative title. Instead, Chang should have fully embraced the exploration of sexual obsession in relation to the neuroticism described in The Loser.

The Loser, a German novel by Thomas Bernhard, unfolds in a stream-of-consciousness narrative describing how one characters obsession with another’s success ultimately led him to suicide. The novel consists of no paragraph breaks and no chapters, written as one long frantically manic thought. Ultimately, the novel by Bernhard was more satisfyingly sadistic than the exhibition.

Standing outside of the A.D. NYC gallery in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a group of New York counterculture hipsters are smoking and drinking. The directions say that the gallery is on the 3rd floor of 19 Monroe Street, but the letters A.D. painted on a hatchway suggest otherwise. I walk down the steep metal staircase into an intimately small gallery. The exhibition titled Nympho is in the basement—how ostentatious.

Hardcore Question Mark, 2024, Graphite on paper. Credit: https://adnyc.co

The gallery is littered with question mark motifs. Only one piece is overtly sexual, referencing the exhibitions title, Hardcore Question Mark, a small drawing of two people about to kiss, with one figure’s hand around the others throat. This drawing is inconspicuously placed towards the back of the gallery.

Why is the only sexual artwork in an exhibition titled, Nympho, be placed out of plain sight? Then again, if the show isn’t meant to be overtly sexual, why include this drawing at all?

Banknote Question Mark, 2023, gunpowder and chromium oxide on canvas. Credit: https://adnyc.co

While the dollar bill painting, Banknote Question Mark, made with gunpowder and chromium oxide on canvas, is the most complex artwork by Chang (in terms of medium and conveying ideas associated with the sometimes-deadly obsession with wealth), there isn’t enough works to match the nuance and convolution of this piece.

For the title and setting of the exhibition I was expecting to be challenged, to be uncomfortable. Instead, the artists’ intent remained unclear as I couldn’t see how some of the artworks related to each other.

Bandana Pattern with Question Marks, 2024, Gauche on cotton drop cloth. Credit: https://adnyc.co

Some pieces left me questioning their connection to the ideas of obsessive compulsivity. For example, Bandana Pattern with Question Marks, a gouache painting, is underwhelming. The question mark being its only tie to the other pieces. While the use of question marks prompts reflection, it ultimately feels too obvious.

The greater challenge would have been to question the normalized fetish of fame and success without funneling question marks into both the paintings and titles.

Nympho is on view at the A.D. NYC gallery until Oct. 19, 2024.