Oakland based artist, Brendan Monroe (interviewed), is opening an exhibition at Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica on May 18. After having solos in Switzerland, France, and Canada, this will be Monroe’s first show in the LA area in a long time (see 2009). This time around, he prepared number of acrylic paintings on paper, as well as some exceptionally well crafted sculptures in wood, mostly using very abstract, figurative images and elements. His work always had recognizable abstract segments that play with the idea of texture and state of matter, but pieces for this show are completely dedicated to this aspect. With a fitting title, Melting Into the Floor, the new pieces demonstrate the undefined state between solid, liquid and gas, a state in which it is uncertain what happens next. Through dissolving or morphing, the images form new shapes and textures ranging from ribbons, drips, blobs and even worms. By capturing that moment in which elements, objects, and characters change their state, Monroe adds a dynamic nature to the pieces, and questions the “before and after” of the object we are observing.
This collection of new work is basically a follow-up to drawings and paintings that recently got published in the publications such as New York Times, New Yorker and Nature magazine. The show will be on view until June 15th, 2013.
Discuss Brendan Monroe here.
