Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone has a knack for combining melancholy with humor, as illustrated by the clown figures in his earlier works. At Eva Presenhuber, the artist adds an Eastern touch to his repertoire with several massive sculptures shaped to resemble naturally eroded stones, imitating the scholar's rocks that adorn Chinese gardens, albeit finished in humble cement. Lining the walls, black pen drawings on small white canvases represent mundane scenes, with the dates of execution marked by newspaper clippings on the reverse — a contemplative gesture on the passage of time — while elusive pencil writings on the walls evoke haiku poetry. Four orange mandarins made from lead-filled bronze lie simply on the gallery floor, the lone bright spots in a stunningly sober, gray-toned show.

-Marlyne Sahakian