Basement Roma is set to welcome visitors to Life’s a Bite, Ryan Gander’s first solo exhibition in Rome, opening on March 20. Curated by CURA. and Adam Carr, the exhibition takes a site-specific approach, blurring the boundaries of the gallery space while addressing the existential anxieties of contemporary life.
The show brings together Gander’s latest works, incorporating animatronics. Having previously worked with a gorilla, a mouse, and a puppet version of himself, Gander now constructs a different kind of narrative. Basement Roma’s workspace is transformed into the exhibition area, inviting visitors into a setting where fragments of a suspended ceiling allude to the site’s institutional past—making a subtle reference to the dynamism and monotony of capitalism.
One of the exhibition’s standout pieces is The Magpie’s Tale (Life’s a Bite), a sound installation featuring a magpie perched high up near the ceiling, delivering a fable-like story to the audience. Written by Gander and voiced by his daughter, the tale questions the impact of technology on human life, addressing contemporary concerns such as the illusion of connection promised by social media and the rise of artificial intelligence. Through its cyclical narrative structure, the work proposes a slower, more contemplative approach in contrast to today’s fast-paced information flow.
Other featured works include I’m Never Coming Back to New York Again (2016), God Blind Me! The Widow Exclaimed (2025), and Everything is Political (2025). In the latter, an animatronic fly appears to be dying, leaving viewers to wonder whether it is an intentional part of the exhibition’s central narrative or merely a coincidental detail.
By playing with chance and mysticism, Gander explores the greed and collapse of capitalism as core themes. Yet, hidden beneath the exhibition’s surface lies a subtle message: perhaps the best way to experience life is to surrender to its nature—after all, life’s a bite.
The exhibition will be on view at Basement Roma from March 20 to May 30, 2025.