Relevancy is a double-edged sword in art. Work has to resonate with the generation that views — and buys — it, but if it’s too grounded in the right-here-and-now, the work has an expiration date. What would future generations of art-heads want with it?

Of the current avalanche of designed-based and site-specific poster, performance and installation art inspired by the messy Iraq headlines, most won’t stand that test of time.

Stephen J. Shanabrook’s visceral creations, however, are just sharp enough to balance on that edge of relevancy. There’s something delicate — if deeply discomforting — about the chocolate casts of body wounds, artfully arranged to rival any Parisian confection display for maximum hunger to ingest. Usually, chocolate melts at body temperature; here, it is a fossil.

But alongside the the oscillating, bodily desire to consume and repulse the violence and life of others, there’s also a sweetness — an untwisted and un-nostalgic reflection on what once was; a film of torn slides from stock childhoods floating endlessly in oil.

Check out Shanabrook’s newest work at the Daneyal Mahmood Gallery in New York, which will likely have a much longer expiration date than some of the materials he uses. Open to the public starting tonight, with an opening reception on April 3rd from 6 to 8pm.