“Post and Lintel” Exhibition
Calico
This event has ended.
Recent work by David S. East is centered on architectural and design references revolving around issues of urban planning, architectural ornament and design as signifiers of our cultural history. The works on view at Calico formally present themselves as models or studies that attempt to connect abstractly with our desire to establish order across an architectural history. The work positions itself between the known, i.e. forms that have become somewhat prosaic (bits of colonial trim, bits of familiar suburban ornament), with an abstracted unknown, pulled from the most basic and classical architectural gestures: an arch, an opening. These pieces behave as models but also obfuscate that view by introducing suburban ornamentation that is scaled as it is in our experience of the everyday.
Robert Raphael’s work draws on the complex history of decorative art, a tradition that intersects and runs parallel to the history of art. His current body of work consists of large imposing columns made completely out of porcelain, a material perceived to be feminine, fragile and delicate. Building large scale works, the artist plays with perceptions of masculine and feminine, structure and ornament, denied function and sexual difference. The sculptures on view at Calico are decorated versions of Brancusi’s endless column. These pieces are both an homage to Brancusi while offering a new layer of contemplative pleasure in the surface and the richness of meaning that ornamentation brings.
David S. East has been exhibited nationally and internationally in juried and curated exhibitions, including the GICBiennale 2011, Icheon, Korea. Recent solo exhibitions include the Jane Harstook Gallery/Greenwich House Pottery (New York, NY), and Schulman Project (Baltimore, MD). He has received numerous awards, including the Individual Artist Awards from the Maryland State Arts Council, the Lighton Foundation, and the McKnight Foundation. David received his B.F.A in Cseramics from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls (1997) and his M.F.A from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (2000).
Robert Raphael’s work has been exhibited nationally, including a solo exhibition at The Clay Studio (Philadelphia, PA). His first public commission, Untitled Folly, was on view this Summer as a part of FLOW, an outdoor Art Exhibition on Randall’s Island, New York, NY. Recent group exhibitions include Field Projects, (New York, NY), Bronx Museum of the Arts (Bronx, NY), Jane Harstook Gallery/Greenwich House Pottery (New York, NY). He has participated in various residencies and will be attending a Residency at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park (Shiga Pref, Japan) this Fall. Raphael has also been a visiting artist at institutions including Tyler School of Art, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Maryland Institute College of Art. Raphael received his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, and his BFA from Rhode Island School of Design.
Media
Schedule
from September 12, 2014 to October 17, 2014
Opening Reception on 2014-09-12 from 19:00 to 22:00