This exhibition takes its title from an ‘advertiser’s announcement’ by J G Ballard that appeared in Ambit magazine in 1967, asking the ambiguous question “Does the angle between two walls have a happy ending?”

In a new body of work, Brock Enright re-presents images from his performances through a series of paintings. His focus on performance and the theatrical have in the past created sprawling installations as the remnants of live action. In 303 and Middle Finger Idea this action is immortalised through paintings of a disheveled scene of props and a close-up of a finger with a bruised and broken nail.

By creating abstract images divorced from their original performance contexts, Enright denies the viewer a coherent narrative. In a similar approach to many of his performances, the paintings are evidence of a cathartic ritual carried out by the artist. In this act, the violent and direct impact of action is diffused and transferred into the still image.

Magali Reus presents new work indicative of her occupation with work and leisure environments; minimal abstractions of familiar objects present themselves as empty sets for a mundane experience. A site-specific piece on the facade of the gallery, Untitled (Double Vision) acts as a mirror to the expansive view, reflecting the city back on itself whilst simultaneously concealing the interior of the gallery. Inside, the over-sized structure of Cool Condition barricades an access point to and from the gallery’s office space. Formally resembling an industrial shelf unit, its purpose is blurred by the indistinctive bright blue board lodged inside. Two metal rings hang at unequal heights from the ceiling; titled Accessory, the object reveals its potential as functional exercise apparatus but also its complete futility due to the awkwardness of its own aesthetics.

For MOT International, the angle between two walls is the space occupied by Brock Enright and Magali Reus. With an underlying relationship to the view of the city from the gallery, the exhibition considers how these artists’ practices reveal new perceptions of everyday spaces and psychologies. Through their distinct performative approaches, they present explorations of desire and the limits of experience. The works share a subdued approach to creating familiar scenarios and objects as theatrical estrangement. Despite the dramatic suggestions in Enright’s paintings and the aggressiveness of Reus’ metal sculptures, the dormant quality of the objects and images question the possibility for any real or stimulating encounter.

Brock Enright was born in New York, USA in 1976, where he currently lives and works. His solo exhibitions include The Good Times Will Never Be The Same, Perry Rubenstein Gallery, New York, Raising Dead Mothers, Vilma Gold Gallery, London. Selected group exhibitions include Between Two Deaths, ZKM, Karlsruhe, Greater New York, PS1, New York.
Magali Reus was born in The Hague, The Netherlands in 1981 and currently lives and works in London. Her solo exhibitions include Playstation: A Billion Balconies Facing the Sun, Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam. Selected group exhibitions include ARTFutures 2008, Bloomberg Space, London, Sun Shine Shine, Nieuwe Vide, Haarlem, Modern Solitude, Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam.