John Neff & Thomas Love
Survival On Land & Sea

October 28 – December 3, 2023

Survival On Land & Sea

The title of the show, Survival On Land & Sea, is also the title of a survival manual the U.S. Navy issued to John Neff’s grandfather during his service on the Pacific Theater during World War II.

In the exhibition, a wood-frame wall runs two thirds of the length of the gallery. Positioned across from the gallery’s entrance is an opening in the stud wall. In that opening hangs a mink coat belonging to Neff’s grandmother – also worn by his mother. His grandfather’s U.S. Navy knife hangs from the ceiling. A set of photographs in clip frames depicting rat holes is installed on the long wall of the exhibition space. They are photographed using a iphone. The photos have an unreal, landscape-like quality. Chicago, where the artist lives, is a city of alleys. It’s also a city with lots of rats. The rats chew through garbage cans left out in the alleys. Neff has been photographing these rat holes since 2022.

Affixed to the the shorter wall is John Neff’s contribution to the ninth issue of the journal Portable Gray, published in October 2022. The special issue was titled “Arts of Psychoanalysis” and edited by Seth Brodsky. In this piece, Neff documents his mother’s open heart surgery and the infestation of her childhood dollhouse by mice. The dollhouse, a replica of the house his mother grew up in, was designed and built by her father.

The exhibition also includes a set of sculptural objects by Thomas Love collectively titled Cock-of-the-Rock, all from 2023. These include “Lek,” a bird carved out of limestone, and a series of stacks of fake rocks cast out of resin, titled “Cairns.” Such resin rocks are typically used to hide a key around the exterior of a house. An additional text is available in the gallery to accompany Cock-of-the-Rock

Lorenz Liebig

Thomas Love – Monument to an intrusive thought
Room Plan