The Set of All Sets
November 12, 2016–January 5, 2017
Press Release
Dana Lok's paintings make an analogy between a painting and a theater set—both are visual constructions meant for viewing from a particular perspective at a particular time. These paintings provide a peek at the stage from the side, or a view of the stage before the production has started. Through this theatrical analogy, the paintings present language, representation, and knowledge as miraculous, performative activities that require the framework of a stage, not unlike tricks in a magic show.
The Set of all Sets alludes to a paradox of logic which states that a complete logical system which includes a description of its own framework will ultimately contradict itself. From the infinitely looped voice of Conjurors I & II, to the painting within a painting of Tilted Bather and Enchanted Cel, knots of self-reference and recursion abound across Lok’s paintings. These works undertake a metafictional investigation of the frameworks of painting, observation, and speech.