Guggi's Still Life Paintings of Empty Bowls at Yoshii Gallery

Guggi, born Derek Rowen and a former member of the band Virgin Prunes, presented an exhibition of medium-sized oil paintings at Yoshii Gallery from November 10, 2016 to January 7, 2017. The show, titled 'This is not a hotel,' featured rows of empty bowls on colored fields, with works like Conjoined I (2016), Crimson (2016), and Turquoise Drawing (2016) showcasing variations within a fixed format. The title references a statement by his father, Robbie Rowen, about a prior display in a Dublin hotel, suggesting the art transforms public spaces into domestic ones. Guggi's restrained and elusive style contrasts with expectations from self-taught artists or punk musicians, emphasizing modesty and repetition. Critics have compared him to Chardin and Morandi, but his work stands apart, drawing parallels to Samuel Beckett's use of repetition. The paintings, displayed at 980 Madison Avenue between 76th and 77th Street, invite close viewing and explore the character of manufactured objects, differing from Andy Warhol's banal artifacts. The bowls' meaning remains ambiguous, offering aesthetic puzzles without clear emotional significance.