Walid Raad at Paula Cooper Gallery

In Walid Raad’s tongue in cheek narratives about the emergence of a booming new Arab art world, he’s hunted for refugee color and fonts that have gone into hiding and reflections that are missing; here at Paula Cooper Gallery, a wall text explains that the shadows normally cast by the artwork have run away, no longer interested in being part of the art infrastructure. The artist hopefully builds a series of walls with fake shadows to entice the real ones to return, all the while ostensibly failing to notice that the art itself is missing. (In Chelsea through March 26th).

Walid Raad, installation view of ‘Letters to the Reader,’ at Paula Cooper Gallery, March 2016.
Walid Raad, installation view of ‘Letters to the Reader,’ at Paula Cooper Gallery, March 2016.