Hoffmann + Maler + Wallenberg is delighted to announce Machine Works, the gallery’s first solo exhibition by US artist Marika Thunder (b. 1998, New York) and the artist’s premiere in Europe. Featuring nine new oil paintings, Machine Works is a nuanced exploration of exercise machines through a photorealistic yet abstract lens. The titles, such as Agnes, Lawrence, or Roberta, are deliberately anthropomorphizing—perhaps, we wonder, to deflect our ever-increasing dependency on nonhuman apparatuses. Machine Works extends Thunder’s ongoing exploration of belonging—the cognitive processes that contribute to a sense of solidarity—the yearning for which inspires purpose and ardor.

The paintings expose the inherent aesthetic allure of certain technologies. For instance the exultant upward trajectory of Karla resonates powerfully with Modernist and Futurist artworks wherein automation and all things machinic heralded liberation and innovation. Karla depicts gears and other mechanical components in a deconstructivist manner, with canny, monochromatic accuracy. Still, these realistic elements are juxtaposed with white streaks of paint and an abstract outer chamber that disorients and envelops. This play with perspective adds an unpredictable edge to the machine—we’re not sure if this is a macro perspective of something handheld or a towering behemoth capable of consuming us.

Indeed, Machine Works conveys a fundamental anxiety—one that has persisted since the dawn of the Industrial Age and has been repeatedly borne out as justified, as for instance given the latest developments in AI, in which the nature of identity and unique thought are now challenged. Thunder’s urgent strokes, combined with her meticulous attention to detail, illustrate this conflict and the latent peril of assimilating technology into the crucible of human existence.

Thunder’s measured scrutiny imbues her subjects with a disconcerting and almost grotesque quality, invoking parallels with the writings of J. G. Ballard and the cinematic world of David Cronenberg, which often highlight sexual dimensions of the human-machine relationship. Thunder’s iconography might also remind us of apparatuses used in BDSM, wherein participants engage in various forms of power exchange, sensory exploration, and psychological stimulation.

Human motivations for working out are influenced by various factors. Beyond personal health goals or societal pressures, exercise can serve as a means of psychological empowerment in preparation for the demands of contemporary life. The idea of “muscular armor” proposes that the mental aspect of exercise might be likened to that of knights of yore preparing for the battlefield. Thunder’s work draws on this idea as well, blurring conventional demarcations separating organic vitality from mechanical prowess.

Marika Thunder’s most recent solo presentations include exhibitions at Nina Johnson Gallery, Miami (2023) and Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles (2022).