May
19 - June 3, 2007
Homework:
Domestic Totems and Tableaux by Studio Job at Moss Gallery,
New York
In the first
solo exhibition of their work in the USA, Moss presents Homework,
created by Studio Job in 2006-2007 as a suite of eight works:
seven heroic compositions in bronze, glass, and wood, plus one
monumental wall mirror.Each piece is offered in a limited edition
of five, exclusive to moss.
Part domestic
utility, part heroic sculpture, these precious hand-wrought
common household objects-including fully-functional cooking
pots, stools, lanterns, and coal bins-magnified to exalted proportions,
rendered in polished bronze, and placed upon aged wooden pedestals
like sacred statuary or palatial historical busts, define the
term 'oxymoron', and cast to the winds the traditional approach
to both sculptural as well as design practice.
With a genealogy
somewhere between Duchamp and Koons, these seductive, pseudo-erotic
objects, redolent with consumer desire, are neither purely Commodity
nor purely Art, but dwell in an uneasy zone between object and
objet d'art. Transmitting clear visual references to
both classical sculpture and iconic design, these mutant works
suggest a narrative and history and mythology which, in fact,
are never explained.
In addition,
Moss will present a preview from the Studio Job masterwork-in-progress:
Robber Baron - Tales of power, corruption, art, and industry,
cast in bronze. An important suite of five polished bronze functional
pieces, consisting of a Cabinet, Mantel Clock, Table, Standing
Lamp, and Jewel Safe. The Cabinet, alone, will be previewed,
with the remaining pieces to be shown later in the year.
Magnificent
in scale, exceptionally finely detailed, with the precision
of mechanical movements where required, and incorporating deeply
carved iconographic reliefs, these works are guild-like in their
master craftsmanship, each taking approximately one year to
complete.
Their mirror finish reflecting the outrageous excesses of America's
19th century tycoons and Russia's new oligarchs, these surreal,
highly-expressive furnishings, each a complex composition of
multiple visual elements, represent an interior belonging to
a powerful industrial leader, or their heirs. With clouds of
pollution belching from towering smoke stacks, missiles and
falcons and gas masks, warplanes and wrenches adorning golden
surfaces, Robber Baron celebrates and shames both Art and Industry.
Contact:
Franklin
Getchell, President
Moss
150 Greene Street
New York, NY 10012
Tel.: 212-204-7100
Fax: 212-204-7101
franklin@mossonline.com
www.mossonline.com
