ASMA’s Show at SculptureCenter Stages an Obscure But Dystopic Reality in New Hybrid Forms

Drastic historical and cultural changes, political chaos, collapsing secular ideologies and a rising tide of individual alienation can summon the monsters of human consciousness. The Mexican duo ASMA’s work thrives on a similarly eerie, magnetic blend of influences—an uncanny inner hybridity that’s partly the product of their collaboration but more often channels a disturbingly prophetic sense of a dystopian future that feels all too possible. Their pieces, made from silicon, metal, resin, steel and bronze, play out fictional narratives at the crossroads of inter-species and post-human hypnoses, layered with the history of human consciousness, mythopoiesis and psychology. With each work, fragments of the entirety of cultural history emerge in hybrid forms, conjuring what might be relics of our civilization—or artifacts from an alien world—shaped by an otherworldly fusion of styles and cultural moments.

In their latest show at SculptureCenter in New York, ASMA has staged an elaborate, eerie choreography between mysterious, symbol-laden sculptures, abstract two-dimensional works, sound and the already psychologically charged, hollow lower level of the art space. This immersive, almost theatrical experience is underscored by the exhibition’s title, “Ideal Space for Music,” highlighting the duo’s vision of a mise en scène that lingers in your mind long after you’ve left.

At the opening, Observer spoke with ASMA about how this show marks a new chapter in their practice, channeling more structured fictional narratives within the space, inspired by visual and symbolic parallels they’ve traced between modernism’s recent history and currently circulating cultural and visual imaginary.

Characterized by its highly theatrical setting, the works in the exhibition were conceived to match the psychological depth of the space, ASMA told Observer. “When we received the invitation and saw the space, we became interested in the possibility of creating a visualization of the subconscious, of something underneath. We wanted to create a psychological space, so it feels a bit theatrical, and also because of the low lighting to push certain aspects that couldn’t be achieved in a more neutralized setting.”

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In our conversation, the duo delved into how the exhibition was inspired by an imaginary post-human world populated with monstrous, hybrid entities—a trend they see gaining traction in today’s cultural output, spanning art, fashion, cinema and beyond. “We noticed a post-modern attitude happening around us, which was like revising elements, some narratives and symbols that express necessities that resulted from the pressure of late capitalism,” ASMA explained. “So we started to question why this was happening.”

While this aesthetic is undeniably symptomatic of today’s anxieties—our collective reckoning with an ever more precarious future—ASMA has identified striking parallels with the visual language of the interwar period. As the duo pointed out, depictions of fragmented, alienated bodies began to appear in avant-garde works featuring puppets, like Hannah Höch’s collages, Hans Bellmer’s dolls and in performances ranging from Futurism to Bauhaus to the Theater of the Absurd. “These puppets were a result of the psychological necessity of the anxiety and alienation created by the new modern model of the organization of labor and society, by technology and the horror of violence in the world with the war. These symbols are psychological projections of this collective trauma,” ASMA explained.

This nostalgic but critical revisitation of our visual past animates the series of Frankensteinian, cyber-like ball-jointed sculptures now haunting SculptureCenter’s labyrinthine lower level. Dramatic lighting and an accompanying soundscape heighten the dystopian atmosphere, guiding visitors through a oneiric journey—a shared nightmare of societal evolution gone awry, confronting the twisted reflections of our modern-day distortions.

As visitors proceed through this surreal space, they encounter a series of mysterious metallic spheres, like otherworldly relics that could have just touched down from a distant planet. These alien objects disrupt the spatial experience with reflective yet distorting surfaces that act as portals, hinting at multiple dimensions of spatial and temporal reality. The soundscape serves as the sole symbol of purity, offering brief relief from the space’s restless energy—a reminder of the unfulfilled modern longing for representation, animating the gallery with an ethereal tension.

The entire orchestration pivots on a dynamic, tension-filled debate between the desire for representation—requiring unity and coherence—and the inevitable fragmentation and dissolution of identity as a singular, stable construct that modernity has imposed. Yet the final interpretation remains intentionally open, probing the limits of language and communication in capturing the inherently multilayered, complex nature of reality. “We like to place the viewer in a feeling or an emotion, but at the same time also in some other dimension, elsewhere,” ASMA said.

Throughout the show, various elements emerge like epiphanies—snippets of narratives and fragments of memories—imbued with symbolic resonance, yet leaving visitors to piece them together to grasp some semblance of meaning. Ultimately, ASMA’s exhibition challenges the illusion of control and containment within the boundaries of human linguistic and scientific knowledge, embracing a vision of reality that transcends the limits of our sensory and intellectual capacities.

“ASMA: Ideal Space for Music” is on view at SculptureCenter through February 3.