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Installation view
This American Life, 2023
Courtesy of Morán Morán

This American LifeLizzie Fitch, Calvin Marcus, Borna Sammak, Martine Syms, Ryan Trecartin, Robin F. Williams, and Dena Yago

This American Life is an exhibition about stories, how they are conjured, how they are communicated, and how they relate to lived experience. These accounts are freighted in race, in gender, and in sexuality. It is also about the relationship between contemporary art and its reframing of the imagery of American culture. While negotiating the skewed protocols of media, the loops and networks of distribution, this constellation of artworks insist upon the intimacy and proliferation of artistic experimentation.

The artworks on view can be seen through the filter of language and media. Lizzie Fitch and Ryan Trecartin’s work deftly reflect emerging cultural shifts that represent changes in the perception of collective value systems – forming new understandings and revealing new meanings. Robin F. Williams refigures the form to build a new way of picturing, generously intervening into pop culture and cultivating multilayered narratives that challenge the viewer. Martine Syms offers a visual memoir of contemporary American life, exploring the power of the gesture, and embedded assumptions concerning gender and racial inequities.

Most of the imagery concerns America, its tragicomic stories of its heroes and heroines mingled with the material of daily life. Tension is the central force surrounding these works, enhancing the mystery of the given story, such as the haunted urban landscapes and scenes of Dena Yago, or the compressed metaphors and dense patterns present in the works of Borna Sammak. In other cases, the works bring to light the absurd realities of contemporary life, as in the work of Calvin Marcus, who places the viewer at the heart of the humor.

The artists in This American Life intervene, dissecting narratives and reassembling them to offer a new perspective. In the process, fresh truths are revealed and a deeper insight into our shared American experience emerges.

Dates

September 08 - October 28, 2023

Opening Reception

Friday, September 8, 6-8pm

Location

641 N WESTERN AVE
LOS ANGELES, CA 90004

Artists

Lizzie Fitch
Calvin Marcus
Borna Sammak
Martine Syms
Ryan Trecartin
Robin F. Williams
Dena Yago

Installation Views

All images: This American Life, 2023, installation views. Photographs courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
This American Life, 2023
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
This American Life, 2023
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
This American Life, 2023
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
This American Life, 2023
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
This American Life, 2023
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
This American Life, 2023
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
This American Life, 2023
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
This American Life, 2023
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
This American Life, 2023
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
This American Life, 2023
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
This American Life, 2023
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
This American Life, 2023
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
This American Life, 2023
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Artworks

Lizzie Fitch / Ryan Trecartin
Porchright, 2023
Repurposed hand-woven gaming chair prototype, metal garden bugs from the summer aisle at Target (c. 2015), wooden laundry sign, decorative wooden flower signs, garden, porch, and pool propaganda from Target circa (c. 2015), metal garden candle holders and pottery from Ross (c. 2015), faux cement snail from Walmart (c 2015), heavy duty ribbon, electrical tape, bungee rope, key chain rings, Fiji water bottles, Sutter Home mini wine bottles, styrofoam, woven basket, handle rubber dip, dog leash, sewing pins, Tetra Pack chardonnay, custom aluminum yard and street signs (2023), metal editorial ant from Menards (2023) masking tape, sharpie, two-by-fours, braided area rug, wagon wheel, wheelbarrow handles, red construction gloves, shutter welding/steel, plywood, a variety of screw types, cardboard, rubber cement glue, a variety of epoxies, Great Stuff expanding foam, underwater pond foam, pea-gravel, gas fireplace logs, flag pole holders, rubber door matte, plant stake rods, plastic clothing pins, wood clothing pins, plant stake rubber twine, bolts, washers, metal yard sign holder, metal street sign holder, free-standing parking sign structure, plastic garbage bag, smooth cast 325 plastic, Smooth-On flexi and rigid foams, Plasti-Paste, UVO colorant, acrylic paint, gel medium, fabric, thread, stuffing, baby clothing from Marshalls (2023), woven bean bag from Target (c. 2015), “Relax” throw pillow from Target (c. 2015), metal rods, wood rods, fashion tape from Micheals (c. 2015), knife & kitchen set from Target (c. 2015), and used cigarettes from the sidewalk. Additional credits: Rhett LaRue: Hand-woven gaming chair prototype.
71 x 149 x 60 inches, in two parts
(180.3 x 378.5 x 152.4 cm, in two parts)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Calvin Marcus
Untitled, 2022
Watercolor and pencil on paper
25 3/4 x 33 1/2 inches
(65.4 x 85.1 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and C L E A R I N G, New York, Brussels, Los Angeles

Borna Sammak
If You Win Things Might Get Worse, 2023
Heat applied t-shirt graphics and vinyl on canvas
60 x 50 inches
(152.4 x 127 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Martine Syms
I miss the kids, 2021, 2021
Archival pigment print
24 3/4 × 33 1/8 × 1 1/2 inches
(62.87 × 84.14 × 3.81 cm)
Photo by Gregory Carideo. Courtesy of the artist and Bridget Donahue, NYC

Martine Syms
Oh, that was such a fun day!, 2021
Archival pigment print
33 1/8 × 24 3/4 × 1 1/2 inches
(84.14 × 62.87 × 3.81 cm)
Photo by Gregory Carideo. Courtesy of the artist and Bridget Donahue, NYC

Ryan Trecartin
Please Knock Before Going Outside (Flood Season), 2023
Micro-relief prints, area rugs,architectural roofing shingles, stanchions, rope, roofing screws, metallic finishing paint, black walnut, cherry wood, white elm, and plywood. Additional credits: Adam Trecartin: Wood milling, carpentry, and print housing construction; Murphy Maxwell: Whether Line prop and font consultant
91 x 72 x 10 1/2 inches
(231.1 x 182.9 x 26.7 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Robin F. Williams
Stepford Carrie, 2023
Pastel and colored pencil on paper
36 x 42 inches
(91.4 x 106.7 cm)
Courtesy of Robin F. Williams and P•P•O•W, New York. Photograph by JSP Art Photography.

Dena Yago
Capacity, 2023
Acrylic and inkjet on canvas
54 x 100 x 1 1/2 inches
(137.2 x 254 x 3.8 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and JTT, NYC. Photograph by Charles Benton.

Dena Yago
Bets Hedged, 2023
Acrylic and inkjet on canvas
54 x 80 inches
(137.2 x 203.2 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and JTT, NYC. Photograph by Charles Benton.

Martine Syms
SHE MAD: Bitch Zone, 2020 (excerpt)
Digital video (color, sound)
10 minutes and 50 seconds, no loop
Edition of 5 plus 1AP
Courtesy of the artist and Bridget Donahue, New York