British artist Ryan Gander does the spread of contemporary art polysemy through objects, installations, paintings, photography and video. All is brought under the rubric of ¡°conceptual¡± art, for which the catalog of ¡°These wings aren¡¯t for flying¡± at The National Museum of Art, Osaka, names him the new ¡°standard-bearer.¡±
To emphasize his creativity, the exhibition is prefaced with a fawning BBC documentary about the artist. Every time Gander appears in the film, little animated stars circle his head in what is referred to as a ¡°mind whirlwind.¡± He is portrayed constantly envisaging exciting new ideas while conjuring the magical innocence of childhood.
While the exhibition catalog calls Gander¡¯s pieces and processes ¡°unique,¡± it is worth considering that this is a ¡°made for Japan¡± tweaked version of his ¡°Make Every Show Like it¡¯s Your Last¡± exhibition that toured internationally in 2013-16. Characterizing Gander¡¯s works and ideas as ¡°recycled,¡± or even ¡°up-cycled,¡± given that he confers additional values, is perhaps more apt. Indeed he conceives of himself as a modern-day Womble from Wimbledon Common, making good uses of the things that he finds.
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