Mike Kelley

The Kandors Experience

- Gregg Gibbs

Regarded as one of the most influential artists of his generation, Mike Kelley was a maverick in his explorations of the relationship between American low culture and elevated conceptualism. As the subject of one of his last projects, he chose to focus on the fictional city of Kandor, which he discovered while reading Superman comics in his youth. As the legend goes, the city of Kandor, Superman’s birthplace on the planet Krypton, was miniaturized and stolen by the villainous Brainiac. The superhero ultimately rescued the tiny city, encased within a laboratory bell jar to preserve the Kryptonian atmosphere its inhabitants required, and brought it to his Fortress of Solitude for safekeeping as he searched for a way to restore it to full size.

The iconic construct of Kandor had multiple meanings for Kelley. It was a metaphor for Superman’s alienated residence on the planet Earth, as well as an illustration of the imagined cities of the future. For the first time ever, the entire series of work based on Kandor, created from 2006 to 2011, was brought together in the sprawling gallery spaces at Hauser & Wirth, Los Angeles. This comprehensive exhibition combined all of the disparate elements of Kelley’s immersion into a conjured reality which inevitably led to his personal obsession with social isolation. Sadly, Kelley committed suicide in 2012 after battling depression for most of his life. Viewing the show induces a disquieting sensation that reverberates with a dark foreboding presence of the artist.