Used in removing material from a surface, sandpaper is also the carrier of what has been subtracted. In Love Streams, sandpaper acts as a recurring background for a series of rubbings against the floors and walls of the artist’s studio, using an antidepressant (escitalopram) as a medium. Negative imprints of the site of their production, the works double as automatic drawings that index unconscious gestures. Material intended to be broken down by the body has been ground down by hand; in a similar redirection of materials, the subtractive function of sandpaper becomes a tool for creating form.

Dora Budor (*Croatia, lives and works in New York) is a New York-based artist and writer. Working with a wide range of media – including video, sculpture, installation, sound, and architectural interventions. Her recent solo exhibitions include: Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (2026); Bonner Kunstverein (2026); Nottingham Contemporary (2024); De Ateliers (2024); Kunsthaus Bregenz (2022), GAMeC Bergamo (2022), and Kunsthalle Basel (2019). Budor’s work has been featured in international group exhibitions, most recently WIELS – Comtemporary Art Centre, Brussels (2026); the Whitney Biennial (2024), the 15th Gwangju Biennale (2024), and the Venice Biennale (2022). Budor was the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship in 2019 and PollockKrasner Foundation Grant in 2018 and 2026. Since 2025, she has been a professor at the Städelschule in Frankfurt.