John Pilson's Interregna and Video Works at Galerie Praz-Delavallade

John Pilson's exhibition at Galerie Praz-Delavallade in Paris from June 2 to July 21, 2007, showcased his photographic series Interregna and three video works. Born in 1968 in the United States, Pilson began Interregna in 1998, photographing empty New York offices where he was employed, capturing banal, impersonal spaces with faint traces of occupants. The series was recently published as a monograph by Hatje Cantz. The title refers to a political interregnum, evoking a suspension of economic power. His video practice includes Sidewalk (2003), a triptych of monitors on the floor showing pavement and shadows of passersby; Alternate Ending (2004), a meticulous exploration of the Hotel Saint-Denis in New York, where Abraham Lincoln and Marcel Duchamp once stayed (Duchamp's final work Étant Donnés was found there); and 500 (2007), filmed over two days in room 500 of the Duncan Hotel, featuring friends engaged in mundane activities, edited randomly for eleven minutes. Critic Paul Ardenne categorizes Pilson's work under an "aesthetic of disturbance," citing unusual angles, anti-spectacularism, and crafted absurdity that leaves viewers perplexed. The exhibition ran from June 2 to July 21, 2007.