Marginal Utility’s December-through-January exhibit, “Don’t Be A Dreamer Mr. Me” from artist Alexi Kukuljevic, is as self-conscious as it is dismissive, simultaneously pseudo-philosophical and absurd. At first glance, the messy forms strewn around the gallery appear simplistic, but upon reading Kukuljevic’s mostly unintelligible, stream-of-consciousness statement that accompanies the show, one discovers just how nihilistic they actually are. This is to say they are not so much simple as they are actively thoughtless; so oversaturated that they lose meaning instead of garnering their purposelessness from lack of content.

Alexi Kukuljevic smoking in the Marginal Utility space with some art.

Much like the stuff of life that Kukuljevic seems so adamant to ambiguously interpret, the structures he provides in the exhibit are sloppy and not easily grappled with… and by all accounts, he likes it that way. He regards Styrofoam as a spiritual substance and consistently invokes sixth senses, nihilism, self, and knowledge of when to risk being a dummy. By placing his work on this slippery slope of chaos, he essentially parries any valid criticism by embracing the stupidity, ugliness and obtuseness inherent in his work.

Without trying too hard to pry into Kukuljevic’s meanings or non-meanings, it is worth taking a look at the actual structures themselves, since he attempts at length to banish or confound any other options. The promotional image on Marginal Utility’s site actually says quite a bit about the artist and the show, with Kukuljevic sitting nonchalantly beside a painting and a fabricated boulder oozing bubblegum-like goo. He wears a grungy flannel and a fuzzy hat while a puff of smoke surrounds his face from the fat cigar in his hand. Not only does the artist seem to entirely disregard the viewer, but also the art, and even the cigar. It really appears as though he can’t be bothered.

A pink, cake-like creation by Alexi Kukuljevic.

Everything about the show appears to be unhealthy – physically and mentally. Most of the time, the pieces are spray painted or smeared with paint and look sort of like deteriorating bits of insulation. The plastic and foam of some works is countered by the almost edible appearances of others. One three-tiered, pastel pink thing looks remarkably like a cake, complete with a chocolate (or refuse) caked Popsicle stick resting nearby. Inside, the would-be spongy, yellow interior is more like asbestos: stringy, crusty and hard.

Some pressed patterns and textures in a wall piece by Alexi Kukuljevic.

A wicker-looking slice of woven white strands half radiator cover, half dining room chair squeezes out its own imprint like pasta makers. The delicious semolina here though is gray and concrete, more sidewalk than spaghetti. Rounding out the show are various other chunks of stay materials, puddles, blobs, prints, and something that could only be described as an easel holding a gigantic, deformed, yellow Lego brick.

Something like a deformed, yellow Lego brick on an easel by Alexi Kukuljevic.

This is not an easy show, and perhaps not even a likable one, but that is what makes it endearing. Frankly, Alexi Kukuljevic probably doesn’t much care what you make of his crumbling, bubbling pieces of human refuse. We all leave our mark in the piling landfills and flotillas of ocean trash, but Kukuljevic makes the effort conscious and artistic instead of unconscious and ruinous. He also prefers not to dream. “Don’t Be A Dreamer Mr. Me” will be on display through January 19.

Marginal Utility is located at 319 North 11th St., Philadelphia, on the second floor; marginalutility.org/contact; marginalutility.org.