Richard Heller Gallery is pleased to present Supererogatory Structures, a group exhibition featuring work by: Arjen, Amy Bennett, Sofia Bjurström, Jackson Casady, Liam Fallon, Neil Farber, Sean Norvet, Horacio Quiroz, Joakim Ojanen, Ivan Seal, Mike Shultis, Riikka Sormunen, Mark Whalen, Von Wolfe

Opening reception: October 19th, 4-6pm

ARJEN
Hole in One, 2024
Oil on canvas
115 x 80 centimeters

Supererogatory Structures was originally conceived as a project to honor and expound on the legacy of Rube Goldberg’s fantastical, Supererogatory machines. I’ve been fascinated with Rube Goldberg since I bought one of his toy model kits in the mid-1960’s. The idea that I find most appealing is that of creating machines or structures that do far more than is necessary to create a desired result. 

In, A Simple Way to Feed Baby Automatically, Goldberg proposes a machine to feed a baby. A simple bottle-bearing robotic arm that could be gently lowered to feed a baby is imagined in a far more complex way turning the task into an almost Herculean task. In Goldberg’s vision, a sword-swallower pulls a string which releases a ball from a meat grinder which then drops into a waiting baseball mitt which is balanced on a fulcrum on the other side of which is an outstretched hand which tips a fishing pole, on the other side of which is a baby bottle that is finally lowered into the waiting baby’s mouth. I like that you need a run-on sentence to describe Goldberg’s work.

This brings me back to art! Excluding minimalist painting and other monastic pursuits, the act of making art often embraces the idea of creating something more than is required or expected. The exhibition is comprised of works by fourteen international contemporary artists who often make works that involve doing more than is necessary to achieve their desired result.