Glen Baldridge at von Nichtssagend

Glen Baldridge, whose solo exhibition is at Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery in Williamsburg until June 7, is also concerned with impending disaster. In Lucky Sevens, a series of screen prints was coated with silvery scratch off material, which Baldridge removed to reveal images of coffins from an undertaker’s catalogue — thus noting that death is the only prize everyone’s certain to win. Model names include “perfection” and “aspen,” and styles range from a plain closed rectangular box (#40) to “titan,” an elaborate satin-lined number with an open lid.

More temporary disappointments are memorialized in collection (2004-2009), a five gallon water bottle stuffed with losing lottery tickets, while the fire next time is evoked in Jenga® (2009) a miniaturized “endless column” of scorched wooden blocks that brings to mind notions of “disaster modernism,” and falling_ash.jpg (2009), a beautiful graphite drawing of a silvery ash-covered tree at night. Prices range from $600 for one coffin print to $3,000 for the bottle of defunct tickets.