Not Playing Around: Ball Pits and Art

The Shin Gallery has transformed its space into an intriguing ball pit for John Baldessari’s monumental “A Fix’d Inflexible Sorrow.” Through the existential lens of Jean-Paul Sartre, the artist reminds us that heartache and agony unavoidably loom overhead using knotted ropes that hang like nooses from the ceiling. Visitors wade through playpen balls, accompanied by the melody of “Come, Sweet Death,” lyrics which bluntly describe the artist’s search. A modern twist of the anguish of life.