Demo
Kavi Gupta Gallery
Chicago, IL
2002



Demo

The deconstruction of the presupposed image of the future is the basis for Gualdoni's first solo show, titled "Demo". This series of paintings is based on the 1999 demolition of the Horizons Pavilion, in Future World at Disney's Epcot Center. Horizons was an in-depth 15-minute ride-through attraction that brought viewers on a journey through the history of futuristic premonitions of what the 21st century was to behold. Audio-Animatronics described life in environments such as underwater cities, a desert farming community, and a space colony. As the building was demolished its guts oozed and dripped and the minimal building became organic.

Gualdoni's paintings of the fallen structure are embedded with muted tones and exploding blotches of painterly remains. She represents different phases of the demolition as the structure morphs into a monstrous heap of dirtied hues and bright pulses that are making their way back into the earth. Demo suggests that the actual destruction and recycling of these expectations of the future is more prophetic than the revelations themselves.


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