Rob Faludi

“Bret Reilly’s art evokes the power of the human spirit, especially in the 4-year wake of 9/11.” Okay, so this guy makes humorous plaster statues of elongated elephants and people holding pencils. He’s clearly got a lighthearted bent, so I doubt he had anything to do with the blurb, which repeatedly invokes the ghost of September 11th for no reason whatsoever. Must be his dealer. I guess if you’re worried about selling a $2,500 plaster elephant you might try to prop up your case with a national tragedy. But surely such tastelessness is counterproductive. Why such desperation over plaster elephants? Do they really need to cost $2,500? Around the corner at West Elm “sculptures” sell for $29. It’s nothing good, but also nobody clings to the image of burning buildings to move the merchandise. So if Bret Reilly sold his elephants for $200, off the back of a truck, could he make it up on volume? I imagine he could spend more time making funny elephants and less time letting dealers make a fool of him. Do we really need galleries, movie studios and multinational record labels to make a few of us stars? Or would we be better off with all of us making a living?