Complete & Unabridged 2010

Roberto Chabet made "Complete & Unabridged" from neon tubing, fixing this glowing phrase to a dark shelf. The bright, almost buzzing quality of the neon gives the text a life of its own, a kind of electric hum that vibrates in the air. I love the immediacy of neon, how it’s both there and not there, a solid presence made of light. The phrase, “complete & unabridged”, promises wholeness, yet something about its very declaration makes you question the possibility of such a thing. Is anything truly ever complete? The way the light flickers and wavers along the curves of the letters reminds us that everything is in flux. Chabet's work often plays with language and form, inviting us to rethink our assumptions about what is real and what is not. It’s this constant questioning that makes his art so compelling, like a conversation that never quite settles on one answer. It reminds me a little bit of Bruce Nauman's neon pieces, where language becomes a sculptural element, full of contradictions and open to infinite interpretations.