Pauline Boudry and Renate Lorenz

In the recent exhibition “Silent,” Berlin-based duo Pauline Boudry and Renate Lorenz used a self-described practice of “queer archaeology” to out archetypes of modern art. Attaching themes of self-censorship (closeting) and silent protest to monochrome painting, geometric sculpture, and—most specifically—John Cage’s resounding silences, the artists debunked canonical heteronormative interpretations. Whereas Boudry and Lorenz have previously relied heavily on archival documents to expose systemic homophobia (which has resulted in some very dense, didactic works), the pieces presented here were refreshingly object-oriented.

Black walls created a theatrical, anti-white-cube setting for four curtain-like rectangles of synthetic hair installed in the gallery’s main space. Boudry and Lorenz’s “Wig Pieces,” 2017, are what Donald Judd described in 1965 as “specific objects,”

— Mara Hoberman