9 May – 15 June, 2014
Exhibition
Spencer Brownstone Gallery will be exhibiting a selection of new and previously unseen works of Jaime Pitarch.
With the artist's 'Momentum' series as the starting point, this grouping displays the breadth of creativity present in his work. Using humble, mundane objects, through clever manipulation and repurposing, he creates sculptures that are overwhelming in both their simplicity and beauty.
Pitarch describes his work as stemming from actions that are "futile." But by removing the usefulness from functional objects, he breaks them free of their intended purpose in the cycle of human consumption. As in his 'Momentum' pieces, chairs, tables, ladders and other such items we interact with on a daily basis, have been violently dismembered only to be reborn as entirely new, often humorous, sculptures.
On view at the gallery will be works that make use of an electric razor, a flagpole, and a broken ladder, among other such incongruous materials. In Stupid Sculpture the razor has been turned into a levitation device for a ping-pong ball. The flagpole has been whittled down by the artist, its center carved away until only a sliver remains, but it still stands as if it were whole. Representing the momentum series, the broken ladder has been reassembled, though now balances on two feet rather than four. Similarly, Qui custodiet ipsos custodes removes the contents of a can of paint and reapplies it to the exterior.
For these and the rest of the works on display, there is a sense of precariousness; what should be comfortingly familiar has become wholly alien in Pitarch's hands. Yet the minimal nature of his interventions allows for a dialog to arise between the altered and the original, highlighting the relationship that exists between the objects and us.
Artist Bio
Jaime Pitarch (Barcelona, 1963) received his MFA from the Royal College of London and lives and works in Barcelona. He has been featured in numerous exhibitions internationally, including at Manifesta 7, Bolzano; Musée d'Art Contemporain d'Lyon; MassMOCA, North Adams, MA; and the Joan Miro Foundation, Barcelona among others. Reviews of his work have appeared in arts publications such as tema celeste, Contemporary, Frieze, and Art Review, which named him a 'Future Great' in 2007.