Wilding Cran Gallery presents Shelf Life, an exhibition of recent works by multi-media artist and sculptor Ry Rocklen. An opening art party was held on March 16, 2024. However the exhibition will continue through May 4, 2024. 

Ry Rocklen

Through ceramic, modular assemblage, and installation, Shelf Life uncovers the aesthetic sincerity held within the debris of everyday life. The exhibition features a series of wall-mounted mosaics, inspired by the delicate patterns on squares of household paper products.

While much of Rocklen’s past work plays with the role of scale in our interpretations of an object’s form and function, the series of wall works mark a departure in their adherence to pattern, repetition, size equivalencies, and set color palette. Within Absorption Panel (First Slice), the muted tones and low relief emphasize the formal surface of the sculpture. In contrast to the disposable nature of his subjects, Rocklen’s careful preservations serve to highlight the presence of aesthetic care and intention imbued within each embellishment.

Throughout the gallery, oversized aluminum casts of ritz, goldfish, saltines, cheez-its, and club crackers lie scattered across the floor, as though plucked from the surfaces of the absorption panels. By approaching the same objects from different angles, Rocklen presents a visual iconography which celebrates mass produced products as objects of veneration and value.

In conjunction with the exhibition of Shelf Life at Wilding Cran Gallery, Ry Rocklen will be presenting a concurrent series of ceramic works inspired by abandoned desert homesteads near Joshua Tree, CA. Held at neighboring Night Gallery, the exhibition of Sand Box Living will open on March 16, 2024 and run until April 20, 2024.

Ry Rocklen (b. 1978) is an American sculptor and installation artist known for rendering the aesthetic value and historic significance of found objects. Rocklen grants his subjects second lives as revered sculptural objects, uncovering the overlooked artistries of everyday life.

About the Gallery

Wilding Cran was founded in 2014 by Anthony Cran and Naomi deLuce Wilding. The gallery represents international contemporary artists working in a variety of mediums.

On view: March 16, 2024 – May 4, 2024

What: Group Anniversary Exhibition
Where: Wilding Cran Gallery, 1700 South Santa Fe Ave, Unit 460, LA, 90021
When: Running through May 4, 2024
Website: https://wildingcran.com/

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