James Hoff's Skywiper exhibition critiques painting through digital virus-infected works at Callicoon gallery

James Hoff's 2014 exhibition Skywiper at Callicoon gallery presents a deceptive critique of abstract painting, using computer viruses like Skywiper and Stuxnet to corrupt digital images of monochrome canvases and aluminum surfaces. Hoff transfers these corrupted images onto aluminum plates via dye sublimation, mounting them on wood substrates to mimic paintings, thereby challenging the medium's relevance as a disposable pop idiom. In a BOMB interview, Hoff described abstract painting as a 'kind of culturebound illness,' infecting his works with striated lines and pixelated patterns in red, yellow, and blue that resemble radio waves or grainy TV footage. Specific pieces include Stuxnet No. 7, featuring combed color lines, and Skywiper No. 1, which evokes alien landscapes with horizontal interruptions akin to surveillance breakdowns. The installation extends beyond two-dimensional works, with Hoff infecting a JPEG of the gallery wall and removing sections of Sheetrock based on the compromised image, leaving studs and exposed wires that create an aggressive institutional critique. Despite this aggression, the works remain decoratively pleasant, resembling bite-size pocket paintings that paradoxically propagate the medium they critique, drawing comparisons to Wade Guyton's focus on technological failure. The exhibition was reviewed in ArtReview's January & February 2015 issue, highlighting Hoff's patronizing yet engaging approach to painting's cultural status.