I can be annoyed.
Granted, my expectations for the only non profit contemporary gallery exhibiting in Marfa, TX, might have been too high. Nevertheless, Ballroom Marfa's recent group exhibition "Every Revolution is a Roll of the Dice" is a slight disaster.
The BM press release never mentions a curator, but instead just says "Organized by Bob Nickas." Honestly? This is much too heavy-handed to simply be "organized."
The two galleries are full of art sand: One white, the other black. The audience can't step on the sand and are thus pushed to the perimeters of the rooms -- or, rather, the "desert/desert island."
It falls flat. Or, it falls like a bad attempt at Dali. Sadly, there is nothing poignant or absurd about it.
Moreover, I'm pretty sure that a couple of pieces were included in the show not because they added to the theme "Every Revolution is a Roll of the Dice," but rather because the organizer thought at the last minute that said pieces might save the show. To you, the artists, I'm sorry that we saw your pieces in this context.
I also feel like there was this half-assed sentiment from the organizer: "It's only in Marfa, No one will see it." Also, literally, "Marfa is in the desert. Let's make a desert exhibition."
It's gone all wrong. And not in a good way.