Emily Cooper is pleased to present “When I take a hint, I take it pretty hard”, a selection of works from UK artist Ryan Gander’s Phantom Ambition series. Initially exhibited earlier this year at Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Helga de Alvear, this marks the first UK presentation of Gander’s most recent speculative exhibition posters and the inaugural exhibition for the gallery.
“Phantom Ambition” unfolds as an accumulation of dreams. On sleepless nights, Gander curates an imagined exhibition populated by artists, writers, designers, and even celebrities. For every work, Gander develops a title, selects a venue, and assigns dates—sometimes in the past, other times in the future. Each poster is designed in the style of the institution it references, situating these fictitious exhibitions as though they might truly occur. Collectively, they form a sculptural archive of personal ambitions, with one poster displayed on the surface while the remaining forty-nine in the series lie layered and concealed underneath.
This process functions as a sort of conceptual melatonin for the artist, easing the persistent stream of thoughts that fill his waking moments. The resulting works become markers of what software developer Garth Kidd termed The Tetris Effect: a hypnagogic state where after-images of persistent waking activity dissolve into a fluid autosymbolism.
Coinciding with Frieze London, “When I take a hint, I take it pretty hard” will be on view at Emily Cooper from October 7-19, 2025, by appointment or invitation only.