Zach Reini: Not Much Will Change When I'm Gone

17 May - 15 June 2019
Overview
Reini questions the utility of nostalgia and the fickle nature of commercialized cultural systems.

For his debut with the gallery, Reini will present a diverse array of works ranging from shaped canvas panels to found object assemblage. Rendered in his meticulously crafted style, he takes inspiration from cultural ephemera of the ‘90s, namely, Pogs. Envisioned as the embodiment of disposable trends, imagery, color palette, and composition are culled from classic Pogs, which are then reproduced in comparatively monumental scale. In his futile effort to return to the blip in time when Pogs enjoyed popularity, Reini questions the utility of nostalgia and the fickle nature of commercialized cultural systems.

 

Pogs were the primary elements of a game that swept 1990s by storm. Highly collectible, with customizable game-play, the rules of Pogs could change from person to person, effectively posturing itself as vehicle for individuality. Now almost entirely forgotten, the rise and fall of Pogs as cultural icon acts as metaphor for larger social systems. Reviving imagery and phrases printed on the original game pieces, Reini conjures the past to then preserve in a New Age tomb.

 

Part weighted rumination on the nature of success inexorably marked by capitalism and part bold visual frenzy, Reini tempts deeper realization by revisiting a mercurial flash in the pan. Not Much Will Change When I’m Gone rifles through the past to better understand the present, pulling out dusty old boxes from the back of the closet only to find that things are pretty much the same. 

Works
Installation Views