GHOST NOTES

The Brand Art Center and Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of sculpture by Los Angeles based artist Jon Rajkovich. The exhibition will open with a reception from 7–9pm on Saturday, March 29, 2014 and continue through May 9, 2014.

The seven wall and two freestanding sculptures on display explore perception by way of material construction, belief through form and material. Many of the materials in Rajkovich's work impersonate other materials--wood looks like metal, plastic looks like wood. Rajkovich sees this juxtaposition as his response to the fact that so much of our contemporary culture is built on artifice; posture is important on the street and becomes so in the forms within his work.

Romantic exaggerations and neurotic distractions can seem commonplace. A necessity in navigating this culture and creating work, according to Rajkovich, is to locate verisimilitude. Rather than working from a predetermined structure, Rajkovich has created a series of works that explore a theme’s ability to develop. In this way Rajkovich stops short the production of his works before they become didactic or conclusive in order to retain a sense of mystery. The works communicate through use of material, posture, and appearance.

The movement conveyed in Rajkovich's static sculpture begins where the process of its own becoming is made evident, and continues throughout the work. Sometimes this arrangement is charged with a crude elegance, where hints of unresolvedness are maintained and choices are revealed to reflect the complexities of the world as it is, resisting any singular conclusive outcome. At other times the sculptures reflect a playful and imaginative approach. The sculpture "Perfect Skin," for example, is entirely sealed with bright yellow paint, accentuating the subtle shapes of its many flesh-like segments. The shapes squeeze each other gently suggesting the surface tension of flesh. The color invites us to see how the body behaves.

The title of the exhibition, Ghost Notes is Rajkovich’s nod to the fact that his studio is a former mortuary and funeral home. Each of the works in the exhibition was either conceived of or finished in that space. Whether one is a believer in a place retaining memories of the past or not, the relationship between the physical body and transformative state remains intact. Rajkovich sees his work existing in two forms– one where material and process act as an index of engagement over a period of time (what’s truly there), and the second as perceptual (what is believed to be seen.)

prev / next

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·