In this group exhibition of artists based in Germany, curated by the Cologne gallery DREI, the videos, paintings and photographs come together to comment on surveillance and pop culture, creating a sense of eeriness and familiarity within the show. Featuring the works of Rosa Aiello, Matthias Groebel, Markus Saile and Julia Scher, the exhibition also includes a mysterious selection of Polaroids from a body of photos that was found in New York in 2012, dated approximately from the late 1960s to early ’70s. Named Type 42, these photos show up-close portraits of TV and film stars such as Eartha Kitt and Gail Russell, their names scrawled in pink pen on the white borders. While Saile’s paintings are gestural and Scher’s are reminiscent of landscapes, Groebel’s compositions are from TV and film stills with subtitles, the source of the exhibition’s name.

Bel Ami
I Call it Home, My Hell
709 N. Hill St.,
Los Angeles, CA 90012
On view through April 13, 2024