Laura Langer's 'Execution' at Lodos Gallery: Five Paintings of Bones, Jars, and a Rooster

Laura Langer's exhibition 'Execution / Ejecución' at Lodos in Mexico City features just five paintings, marking her debut at the gallery and in Mexico. The centerpiece is a triptych titled 'Execution I–III' (2021–23), large horizontal canvases dominated by white fields with glued-on remnants of oil-painted canvas. These fragments originate from Langer's 2021 Berlin exhibition 'Homesick' at The Wig, where they depicted human bones; here, the bones are cut apart and reassembled into abstract, unrecognizable forms. Flanking the triptych are 'Pee & Glass' and 'Untitled' (both 2023), both depicting a jar half-filled with yellow liquid—one placed on a radiator with a glass sphere, the other floating alone on a white canvas. Two additional works are positioned unconventionally: 'Discharge Painting I' (2023), a colorful abstract piece created from a paint-wiping rag, hangs in a back corner, while 'A Violent World' (2023), a large painting of a rooster behind a fence, is mounted above the entrance door. The show runs through 27 January. Langer, born in Buenos Aires and based in Berlin, presents work that contrasts with Lodos's typical conceptual program, yet aligns with its cerebral approach. The gallery, known locally for its Germanic influences, rarely hosts painting exhibitions. The paintings explore themes of decay, transparency, and trapped existence through a mix of literal and cryptic imagery.