Aleks Danko It’s such a thin line between clever and stupid

12 February –
14 March 2009

Aleks Danko is recognised for a prolific career spanning over 30 years, working in a range of media from installation and performance art to public commissions. The past decade has seen Danko create a body of work which suggests, discusses, & interrogates the social, political & cultural landscape of Australia.

In these new works Aleks Danko continues his humorous and ironical investigation of the artist in his studio. He presents the site as a space where objects are never dormant, but evolving and redefined by both artist and audience. These unremitting layers of meaning in objects, for Danko, is sought in the relationship between them, a notion clearly at play in “NUTS AND BOLTS (TEXT) – (DRAWING)“, 2008.

Aleks Danko’s exhibition at Sutton Gallery this February is a continuation of “Humour as a Weapon“, 2008, for Optimism at the Gallery of Modern Art Queensland where Danko presented an installation of a studio simulacrum. Danko’s installation is a witty reflection on the spatial boundaries and social conventions in relation to the place of the artist in the outside world. This studio also incorporates Danko’s Song Cycle which began in 1996, continued in Volume 18 – A new valley of tears, with further criticism of the absurdities of conventions within the use of an “Australian national language.”

This exhibition at Sutton Gallery has been developed directly from his simulated studio as Danko extracts elements and reaffirms individual staged objects as artworks on the gallery wall. Danko’s works come to fruition in the form of drawings, installation, and sculpture each piece an affirmation of the artist’s presence and the evolution of his objects.

Artist’s profile
It’s such a thin line between clever and stupid
Aleks Danko

It’s such a thin line between clever and stupid

, 2008–2009
Sand blasted mirror and plastic mirror clips
59 x 42cm
?/2009
Aleks Danko

?/2009

, 2009
Ink, pencil on hand made Blue Lake paper
100 x 70cm
A Joycean Laugh
Aleks Danko

A Joycean Laugh

, 2008–2009
Engraved gravoply, stainless steel screws
59 x 42cm
An Oak Tree and a River Red Gum (for Michael Craig-Martin)
Aleks Danko

An Oak Tree and a River Red Gum (for Michael Craig-Martin)

, 1973–2009
Glass, chromed steel, water, laser prints
Dimensions variable
An Oak Tree and a River Red Gum (for Michael Craig-Martin)
Aleks Danko

An Oak Tree and a River Red Gum (for Michael Craig-Martin)

, 1973–2009
Glass, chromed steel, water, laser prints
Dimensions variable
Chatter
Aleks Danko

Chatter

, 2008–2009
Engraved gravoply, stainless steel screws
21 x 40cm
DEE ONE TWO THREE BOX…BOX
Aleks Danko

DEE ONE TWO THREE BOX…BOX

, 2008–2009
Pencil, acrylic on hand made Blue Lake paper, acrylic on timber
100 x 350 x 19cm
FACE TO FACE (for Norman Laliberte)
Aleks Danko

FACE TO FACE (for Norman Laliberte)

, 2009
Ink on hand made Blue Lake paper
70 x 140cm
HEARTACHE AMID ABSTRACTION (for Chitti Kasemkitvatana)
Aleks Danko

HEARTACHE AMID ABSTRACTION (for Chitti Kasemkitvatana)

, 2009
Ink, gouache on hand made Blue Lake paper, acrylic on timber
210 x 210 x 19cm (approx)
i fascinate one
Aleks Danko

i fascinate one

, 2008
Acrylic, pencil, ink on canvas board
25 x 20cm
K(not) and B(lot) (for Anni Albers and Eva Hesse)
Aleks Danko

K(not) and B(lot) (for Anni Albers and Eva Hesse)

, 2009
Ink on hand made Blue Lake paper
100 x 210cm
meaning is so… over-rated… (for Bianca Hester)
Aleks Danko

meaning is so… over-rated… (for Bianca Hester)

, 2009
Ink on hand made Blue Lake paper
33 x 140cm
NUTS AND BOLTS MAKE A LOVELY PAIR WHEN YOU SCREW THEM
Aleks Danko

NUTS AND BOLTS MAKE A LOVELY PAIR WHEN YOU SCREW THEM

, 2008–2009
Ink on hand made Blue Lake paper
100 x 70cm
PHELTFONES (or why I still haven’t got an email address)
Aleks Danko

PHELTFONES (or why I still haven’t got an email address)

, 2008–2009
Cotton waste felt, tin plate, chromed steel, synthetic string
225 x 235cm
POETIC SUICIDE
Aleks Danko

POETIC SUICIDE

, 2008–2009
Engraved gravoply, stainless steel screws
SALT? PEPPER? (for David Shrigley) 9th version
Aleks Danko

SALT? PEPPER? (for David Shrigley) 9th version

, 2008–2009
Pencil, acrylic, varnish on MDF
150 x 125cm
SITUATION: A Post?
Aleks Danko

SITUATION: A Post?

, 2009
Synthetic rug, acrylic on timber, laster print on timber
Dimensions variable
SONGS OF AUSTRALIA VOLUME 18 – A NEW VALLEY OF TEARS
Aleks Danko

SONGS OF AUSTRALIA VOLUME 18 – A NEW VALLEY OF TEARS

, 2008
Laser printed
Artist's book
Edition of 50
THE TRIUMPH OF BUMMIFICATION OVER BRAIN
Aleks Danko

THE TRIUMPH OF BUMMIFICATION OVER BRAIN

, 2007–2009
Enamel on cast iron, foam rubber, laser print
16 x 16 x 26cm
It’s such a thin line between clever and stupid
Aleks Danko

It’s such a thin line between clever and stupid

, 2009
Installation view, Sutton Gallery
It’s such a thin line between clever and stupid
Aleks Danko

It’s such a thin line between clever and stupid

, 2009
Installation view, Sutton Gallery
It’s such a thin line between clever and stupid
Aleks Danko

It’s such a thin line between clever and stupid

, 2009
Installation view, Sutton Gallery
It’s such a thin line between clever and stupid
Aleks Danko

It’s such a thin line between clever and stupid

, 2009
Installation view, Sutton Gallery

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