This weekend during an NELA art crawl on York Boulevard, artist/collector/store owner Clare Graham blew my mind. Part obsession for flea marts, part sincere journey to find an object's true gestalt, and part unbridled imagination, his work filled the space like an installation gone wild. That he can make such beautiful, complex, even entertaining forms out of singular repeating items such as bottle caps (or buttons, or yardsticks, or scrabble tiles) is truly impressive. I think we've all seen art, especially these days, made out of recycled materials that is a bit raw, unfinished, and proud of it, reminding us that the medium-formerly-known-as-trash is rebelliously enjoying its meteoric rise in social status while simultaneously smearing our noses in it. But Graham's work has a complex logic and clarity that to me defies the medium. What I mean is, I will never look at tin can tops the same way again.
This was just one of the many goodies I saw on the North East side of Los Angeles this weekend on one of the famous gallery tours led by Artist Quinton Bemiller.
:: bogna ::
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