Lynn Aldrich "Free Refill: Old and New Works"
Jenkins Johnson Projects
This event has ended.
A solo exhibition of recent sculptures and installations by Los Angeles artist Lynn Aldrich.
Lynn Aldrich’s sculptures combine a whimsical aesthetic with content-driven punch. Her inventive creations made of colorful and textured mass-produced, everyday items raise questions about the state of the environment and human consumption. Often the Los Angeles-based artist’s works reference environmental concerns, like deforestation, plastic accumulating in the ocean, or coral reef degradation, and every piece contains some reference to nature, whether through implied water, light, astronomical bodies, or flora and fauna. Aldrich juxtaposes these societal topics with visually interesting constructions that exhibit varying relief and powerful colors.
Her 21st century interpretations of Ready-Made sculptures have been caricaturized as "Home Depot Pop," but unlike other Ready-Made artists, she often embraces the physical purpose of the object, using hoses or pipes to represent water flow or sponges to imply ocean cleaning. Aldrich’s piece "Plastic Pacific", fabricated from garden hoses and clear plastic hoses, references the masses of plastic that collect in oceans, like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The tides and flow of the oceans cause debris, including plastics and other non-biodegradable polymers, to amass in one large unit existing both above and below the water level; although these exist in all five oceans, Aldrich’s focus on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch reflects her residence in California.
Living in Los Angeles leads Aldrich to ruminate on the tendency of its citizens to submerge themselves in powerful distractions, particularly the movie industry and computer technology, while ignoring the ideal “fairweather landscape.” She writes about her art, “[it] is an attempt to be grounded in Realism or what is actually present, influenced by the empiricism of the natural sciences.” "Free Refill: Old and New Works" brings environmental awareness to its viewers, hopefully challenging their expectations and offering further insight into both nature and our relationship to it.
[Image: Lynn Aldrich "Sky Light (Noon)" (2009) wood, modeling compound, gesso, acrylic, and oil 44 x 44 x 18 in.]
Media
Schedule
from February 07, 2013 to March 30, 2013
Opening Reception on 2013-02-07 from 18:00 to 20:00