Phung-Tien Phan

Literally a sculptural pinboard, Phung-Tien Phan’s edition for this year’s jahresgaben pastes together various threads running through her recent practice. Developing out of her “Volkswagen” series of altar assemblages, the box accumulates the ephemera of contemporary living: a plant, a pen, some unrecyclabe packaging. Meanwhile the little yellow post-its point back to an Untitled (2020) series of paintings made together with Simon Mielke that detail the mundane domestic itinerary of a young student/mother. To top it off, a small battery-powered lamp lends the entire construction an awkward if unredeemable air of mobility and functionality. Though the object draws heavily on Phan’s pre-existing vernacular, it is curiously devoid of the autobiographical narratives that mark many of her other works. Nevertheless, it exemplifies her cavalier way of working, almost as if done on the fly. Quick, easy, and without much pretence, it seems at once a testament to everyday life, but also a tongue-in-cheek gesture that asks whether art is ultimately anything else.