PRESENTATION: Taryn Simon-Kleroterion
Taryn Simon directs our attention to familiar systems of organization (bloodlines, criminal investigations, flower arrangements) making visible the contours of power and authority hidden within. Incorporating mediums ranging from photography and sculpture to text, sound, and performance, each of her projects is shaped by years of rigorous research and planning, including obtaining access from institutions as varied as the US Department of Homeland Security and Playboy Enterprises, Inc.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Gagosian Archive
The new works by Taryn Simon that are on viw in her solo exhibition “Kleroterion” icludes an interactive sculpture and a group of photographs that take an archaeological view of public attention and politics. “Kleroterion” (2024) is a cast resin sculpture that functions as both a game and a model of governance. Named after a device developed during the era of democracy in ancient Athens (c. 460–c. 322 BCE), the work invites individuals to assemble in groups of five and determine what power the game’s winner will be granted. Each participant inserts a colored chip into an empty slot, and a hand crank sets in motion a weighted set of balls that travel through the machine and knock out all but one chip, employing chance to determine a victor. According to historical accounts and surviving artifacts, the kleroterion was used to select male citizens for civic offices. To prevent corruption, all male citizens of Athens were given the opportunity to hold public office or sit on a jury through the unpredictable workings of a kleroterion. This instrument implemented a lottery system that ensured randomized selection of a winner. The integrity of a transparent election process was preserved by placing the kleroterion in public areas, where everyone could observe the proceedings. Commissioned by Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, New York, Simon’s reimagined “Kleroterion” was first exhibited in the fall of 2024 in advance of the US presidential election. Accompanying “Kleroterion” is a collection of photographs from a developing body of work. Traveling across the United States, Simon followed the political vapor trail of the 2024 presidential campaigns in pursuit of flash points that captured the nation’s attention. Rendered as fragments, these images memorialize the stagecraft of collective distraction. Presented in colored, nested frames designed by the artist, the photographs (all 2024) depict Miss Sassy, a cat whose owner reportedly told police that her pet had been eaten by Haitian migrants before it was found in her basement; a bleacher-like formation of fries from the McDonald’s where the Republican candidate staged a viral photo op, set atop a saturated field of red; Representative Jasmine Crockett’s eyelashes, the accessory that sparked a verbal altercation with Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene during a congressional hearing; a lone SpaceX rocket in mid-ascent, its thrusters illuminating the night sky and the shimmering waters below. Eerie, lyrical, and seductive, Simon’s pictures radiate beyond the present.
Photo: Taryn Simon, Representative Jasmine Crockett’s Eyelashes, 2024, Archival inkjet print, 27 1/2 x 33 inches (69.7 x 83.7 cm), Edition of 4 + 2 AP, © Taryn Simon, Courtesy Gagosian
Info: Gagosian, 821 Park Avenue, New York, NY, USA, Duration: 20/3-26/4/2025, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, https://gagosian.com/
