Fireplace mantels or Triumphal Arches? Strauss Burque-LaFrance at Rachel Uffner
-
- Installation view, Strauss Bourque-LaFrance, “No Aloha”. Courtesy of Rachel Uffner Gallery,
-
- Installation view, Strauss Bourque-LaFrance, “No Aloha”. Courtesy of Rachel Uffner Gallery,
-
- Strauss Bourque-LaFrance, “Live Show Neon,” 2014, plexiglas, plastic mesh and spray enamel, 40 x 30 x 2.25 inches. Courtesy of Rachel Uffner Gallery.
-
- Strauss Bourque-LaFrance, “Bait and Switch,” 2014, plexiglas, plastic mesh and spray enamel, 40 x 30 x 2.25 inches. Courtesy of Rachel Uffner Gallery,
-
- Strauss Bourque-LaFrance, “Wallpaper Wishlist (ornament with deviant face),” 2014, plexiglas, plastic mesh and spray enamel, 40 x 30 x 2.25 inches . Courtesy of Rachel Uffner Gallery,
-
- Strauss Bourque-LaFrance, “Split Vision: Pattern,” 2014, MDF, laminate, lacquer, 53 x 57 x 15 inches. Courtesy of Rachel Uffner Gallery,
-
- Strauss Bourque-LaFrance, “Split Vision: Marble,” 2014, MDF, laminate, 53 x 57 x 15 inches. Courtesy of Rachel Uffner Gallery,
-
- Strauss Bourque-LaFrance, “Handyman Palm,” 2014, plastic mesh and spray enamel, 87 x 58 1/2 inches. Courtesy of Rachel Uffner Gallery,
-
- Strauss Bourque-LaFrance, “Ivory Boy,” 2014, plexiglas, plastic mesh and spray enamel, 40 x 30 x 2.25 inches. Courtesy of Rachel Uffner Gallery,
-
- Strauss Bourque-LaFrance, “Showpiece,” 2014, cast bronze, 8 x 2 1/4 x 1 1/2 inches. Courtesy of Rachel Uffner Gallery.
-
- Strauss Bourque-LaFrance, “Sushi for Scene Six,” 2014, rubber tubing, plexiglas, clay, Dove soap, sculpy, composite rubber, plastic rice, plastic shrimp, 24 x 12 x 6 inches. Courtesy of Rachel Uffner Gallery.
There are still a couple of weeks left to visit Strauss Burque-LaFrance‘s first solo show at Rachel Uffner Gallery in New York, No Aloha, and to see for real his Memphis inspired three-dimensional geometrical objects that reject the soft transparency of his new series of paintings. The gallery’s introductory text suggests that the “sculptures” may recall fireplace mantels, or pedestals. We would like to add that they could also address to triumphal arches or indeed advanced versions of them as Le Grande Arche at La Défense district in Paris is to be considered.
From this point of view, the entire setting is turned inside out, with the two elements that “activate” the scene – the cast bronze remote control and the “Sushi for scene six” – becoming urban instead of domestic objects.
The air and the sense of depth given by the neither framed nor stretched four two-dimensional pieces in the sculptures’ room picture the urban landscape as perceived by a character whose presence is embedded in the setting. The artist is saying: « this is what I see around me, inside and outside, and I am showing you certain details in order to bring into focus the place where I am». The second series of two dimensional pieces hanging on the corridor’s wall are, according to their title, signals.
Formal references for transparency: Sam Falls, Ayan Farah, Valerie Snowbeck, Jack Greer. Less evident references: Sterling Ruby, George Henry Longly, Jack McConville, Ella Kruglyanskaya, Torey Thornton.
October 2, 2014
