Ry Rocklen

Ry Rocklen
Born 1978
Nationality American
Occupation Artist

Ry Rocklen is a contemporary artist based in Los Angeles, working primarily in sculpture. Rocklen's work has been shown nationally and internationally, and has been included in several major survey exhibitions, including "Made in LA" at the Hammer Museum[1] and the 2008 Whitney Biennial. Rocklen was born in 1978 and attended UCLA. He is represented by Thomas Solomon Gallery in Los Angeles, Untitled in New York and Praz-Delavallade in Paris.

Rocklen's solo exhibitions, which have frequently been reviewed in art publications,[2][3][4][5] often make use of found objects which have been adorned or otherwise modified. Said Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer of his 2009 exhibition at Parker Jones, "But as much as Rocklen’s elaborate sculptural alterations to found objects revitalize the weary and return refuse from the brink of oblivion, they also scrutinize the contingencies of matter’s decomposition and express a sense of wonder at the accidental textures and forms to be discovered in states of decay."[2] Katie Anania wrote, "Rocklen seems to be conceding that his perception of objects is idiosyncratic and partial, so he works to dismantle our experience of them as well."[4] Brian Sholis noted in Artforum, "Rocklen's role as an object healer stems from his interest in diverse notions of health and spirituality, two interrelated themes that underpin other works in the show."[5]

From the Made in LA catalogue: "Ry Rocklen (b. 1978 Los Angeles) works with vintage objects that are chimerically transformed by the artist into farcical performative objects. In his hands, abandoned debris or kitsch is quixotically plasticized into a brand of postminimalist sculpture with a seductive touch of bling. Mundane objects are amplified and aestheticized when chromed or covered with mosaic tiles, producing a sculptural language that is theatrical, absurd, and graceful—a kind of wry ornamental formalism. A modular tiled floor made from paintings bought at thrift stores and flea markets becomes a stage for sculptures, including a tree composed of copper pipes, concrete, and VHS tape and a golden hay bale. In the production of a concretized uncanny, Rocklen attempts to achieve a fantasy of material alchemy that strips objects of their purpose and familiarity while revitalizing their use, circulation, and value."[1]

Trinie Dalton, writing in the 2008 Biennial Catalogue, remarked, "Ry Rocklen’s sculptures paradoxically reflect at once a respect for the Duchampian sculptural tradition and an anarchic rebellion against art historical constraints. Collecting cast-off objects from the streets, dumps, or thrift stores, he doctors and assembles them into readymade sculptures charged with an eccentric delicacy that gives them a second, more “poetic” life. Rocklen strategically capitalizes on the viewer’s mental and emotional associations, as Robert Rauschenberg did for his Combines, by selecting objects as much for their cultural connotations as their form. At times employing a wry sense of humor to balance his stringent editing techniques, Rocklen treats manufactured items, like toys, food packaging, furniture remnants, and construction materials, with a spontaneity he traces back to his youth and the development of the creative process through pretend play. This sense of play is reenacted in Rocklen’s process-based studio practice, as he sifts through and rearranges society’s leftovers."[6]

Solo Exhibitions

  1. http://www.thomassolomongallery.com/artists/view/ry-rocklen
  2. http://www.ryrocklen.com
  3. http://artforum.com/words/id=26719

References

  1. 1 2 Made in LA at the Hammer Museum
  2. 1 2 Artforum
  3. ↑ Ry Rocklen Bibliography and CV
  4. 1 2 Art Lies
  5. 1 2
  6. ↑ Whitney Biennial 2008
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