Lukas positions Kim’s work in conversation with John Baldessari’s iconic piece “I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art,” which repeats the phrase “I will not make any more boring art” over and over again, with a hand-drawn simplicity that feels almost mundane — an intentional act of contradiction. “It’s this conceptual twist,” Lukas said, “asking us to speak or verbalize in a way that is more complex than it seems on the surface.”

The contrast between these two works — one a reflection on the limitations of language, the other a playful, defiant reimagining of what art can do — captures the heart of “Public Texts”: the dynamic tension between the written word and its surrounding context.

The exhibition also explores the ways in which California’s visual language has been shaped by counterculture movements, graffiti and activism. Barry McGee’s work, for example, draws on the Bay Area’s rich graffiti tradition. As Lukas noted, McGee’s text-based pieces use “coded language” — a style that’s deeply rooted in the vibrant, often rebellious visual language of street art. “For McGee, language isn’t just something to read — it’s something to experience, to decode,” Lukas added. “There’s a vibrancy in how he aestheticizes text.”