OPENING AT ARK GALLERY AND STUDIOS WITH A RECEPTION APRIL 29TH, 3-6 P.M.
TO BE FOLLOWED BY:
AN ARTIST TALK SUNDAY, MAY 20TH, 3-5 P.M.
ALTADENA OPEN STUDIOS TOUR, JUNE 3RD 11-5 P.M.
CLOSING RECEPTION ON JUNE 10TH, 2-5 P.M.
(Los Angeles, California) Ark Gallery and Studios is pleased to present a solo exhibit with Los Angeles multimedia artist Scott Froschauer. The artist explores themes of social connectivity, community and complexity. Froschauer gained notoriety with his “The Word on The Street” series of subversively positive street signs.
In Froschauer’s latest exhibit at ARK, the artist reflects on America’s increasingly polarized climate, etching distressed mirrors with portraits of various historical American figures. The artist injects elements that complicate otherwise one-dimensional narratives. He states that, “Deciding how to categorize them becomes more of a statement about the viewer, who is reflected in the distressed surface of each piece.” Hero and villain become blurred in the complex reality of the subjects humanity.
That complexity becomes the underlying fabric of the shows centerpiece. The exhibit’s focal point is a model for a large-scale artwork entitled United Divider that proposes a size of 15 feet tall by 20 feet long. Reminiscent of Richard Serra’s Tilted Arc that infamously overtook Federal Plaza in New York in the 1980’s, the 120-foot-long curved steel panel divided an otherwise open public space and was eventually taken down due to public outcry. Froschauer proposes a monument of polished stainless steel, waving, and etched with the likeness of the American flag. When viewed up close, the flag’s stars and stripes consist of lines of text bearing the names of historical Americans, human beings who we might find ourselves simplifying into heroes or villains, but which are actually more complex. Again, the polished surface reminds the viewer that their impression of these individuals is more of a reflection of their own preconceptions. Froschauer comments, “The epic scale of this piece gives it a stance as a wall, separating those who might stand on either side of it. The reflective quality of the piece denotes that this idea of America is a reflection of all who observe it. The symbol of the flag brings us all together and tears us all apart. It is the United Divider.”
Several related events will follow the April 29th opening from 3-6 p.m. including a May 20th artist talk from 3-5 p.m., an Altadena Open Studios Tour day on 3rd from 11-5 p.m., and a closing reception on June 10th from 2-5 p.m.
Ark Gallery and Studios is located at 2599 Fair Oaks Ave., Altadena, CA 91001
Image pictured, by Scott Froschauer:
Top: “United Divider”, 2018
Art, Art, and more Art
Location:Los Angeles
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