Dieter Roth in ‘The Nature of Disappearance’ at Marianne Boesky Gallery

Dieter Roth, Lauf der Welt (The Way the World Runs), 1970, chocolate, aluminum foil, folding carton board in plastic bag.
Dieter Roth, Lauf der Welt (The Way the World Runs), 1970, chocolate, aluminum foil, folding carton board in plastic bag.

Nobody outdoes iconic German artist Dieter Roth for the aesthetic possibilities he derived from rotting food, from oil-extruding sausage to pressed bananas.  It makes his work a shoe-in for ‘The Nature of Disappearance’ at both of Marianne Boesky’s galleries, a group show focusing on “…the intentionally initiated process of decay.” ‘Lauf der Welt’ (The Way the World Runs), 1970 (seen here in detail) is one of three Roth pieces included and features a smashed chocolate Santa and Easter Bunny.  Though he does it by crushing the gaiety from children’s treats, Roth easily lays low the commercialism of the holidays by displaying a graphic version of their aftermath.