Installation view
Concrete Spiritual, 2022
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Concrete SpiritualCurated by Ajay Kurian

mn The invention, reinvention, and discovery of Gods or the Divine are not just matters of linguistic and cultural shifts, they are tantamount to changing our experience of the divine, and thus, the space of the divine. Each relation made with the infinite is another path towards it, carving reciprocal paths between the seen and unseen. The ineffable will always be out of reach, but the space we make to connect with it is precisely the invention of the Gods we are prepared to understand. And with every further development, we create different vistas to the ever receding horizon line of absolute understanding.

Gathered here are artists that begin by taking the world as it is, caring for it both in its beauty and its violence. They make works that transcend their parts, and illuminate that inheritance and history are inevitable and important to honor, but are never ultimately defining. We are the stuff of the world – all of it – and yet from it will come endless invention.

One’s devotion to creation is the highest form of prayer. Each of these artists are devoted to their own forms of creation, making this exhibition akin to a chapel, housing all forms of faith to the ineffable. The artists assembled are deeply invested in the world, in the rubble and glory of it all. They’re wrestling with what is here and what is over the horizon; what the stuff of our lives and our histories dictate, as well as ways to short circuit this arithmetic. Here is an object hymnal of our time that offers pathways to our many Gods. Altogether, it is a proposal to continue developing our sense of spirit in order to find our way to the forms of transcendence that these prayers open up. We will continue to reform the sacred as we deepen our relationship to it, or as we squander it.

– Ajay Kurian, June 2022

Dates

June 25 - August 13, 2022

Opening Reception

Saturday, June 25, 6-8pm

Location

641 N WESTERN AVE
LOS ANGELES, CA 90004

Artists

Danica Barboza
Kerstin Brätsch
Susan Cianciolo
Emmanuel Louisnord Desir
Bea Fremderman
Goutam Ghosh
Frieda Toranzo Jaeger
Ajay Kurian
Heidi Lau
Raúl de Nieves
Fin Simonetti

Installation Views

All images: Concrete Spiritual, 2022, installation view. Photographs courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
Concrete Spiritual, 2022
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Artworks

Danica Barboza
At one with you, Even while you look at other things, I, 2022
Newspaper, cardboard, polyvinyl acetate, paper, yarn, clay, acrylic paint, spray paint, gloss, found materials, fabric, plastic crate, tape, metal rods, metal hose clamps, metal music stand, medical axilla support crutch
White bust: 27 × 19 × 16 inches (68.58 × 48.26 × 40.64 cm)
Legs: 57 × 22 × 54 inches (144.78 × 55.88 × 137.16 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and LOMEX Gallery, New York

Danica Barboza
At one with you, Even while you look at other things, II, 2022
Newspaper, cardboard, polyvinyl acetate, paper, yarn, clay, acrylic paint, spray paint, gloss, found materials, fabric, plastic crate, rope, tape, wooden crate, metal rods, metal, laserjet printing cartridge,
Figurative sculpture of a seated male with leg extended: 3
9 × 43 × 68 inches (99.06 × 109.22 × 172.72 cm)
Found object; wooden shipping crate placed as platform:
5 × 25 × 49 1/2 inches (12.70 × 63.50 × 125.73 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and LOMEX Gallery, New York

Kerstin Brätsch
Fossil Psychic For Christa (Stucco Marmo), 2020
Plaster, pigments, glue, wax and oil on honeycomb, felt
25 5/8 x 26 3/8 x 2 1/8 inches
(65 x 67 x 5.5 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Gió Marconi Gallery, Milan

Susan Cianciolo
Raising the energy level of a person Allowing cosmic healing energy I am you and you are me trees, sky, stars and birds, 2020-2022
Wood, paper, cloth, metal, hanger, tape, glue
80 × 24 inches
(203.2 x 61 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Bridget Donahue, New York

Susan Cianciolo
REMEMBER Kids Activity Kit, 2004-2014
Wooden box, Petite Grand book image, Run Home digital prints by Wallace Lester, ink on paper, on quilt with Run Home textile, sweater, 3 dresses, tights, wings, box of clay pieces, star pin, crystals
19 1/2 x 76 x 53 inches
(49.5 x 193 x 134.6 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Bridget Donahue, New York

Susan Cianciolo
The Source Box Kit, 2005-2015
Cloth stars, watercolor on cardboard, Cone Denim book pages, embroidery thread, paper mobiles, tape on quilt by Coulter Fussell, on watercolor, on book page, on floorboards
61 x 27 1/2 x 22 inches
(154.9 x 69.8 x 55.9 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Bridget Donahue, New York

Emmanuel Louisnord Desir
Feel’n Blue, 2021
Wood and acrylic paint
49 x 49 x 18 inches
(124.5 x 124.5 x 45.7 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and 47 Canal, New York

Emmanuel Louisnord Desir
Screwed Up Crew, 2021
Bronze and marble
1 × 9 × 9 inches
Top: 1 x 9 x 9 inches
(2.5 x 22.9 x 22.9 cm)
Base: 42 x 18 1/2 x 9 inches
(106.7 x 47 x 22.9 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and 47 Canal, New York

Bea Fremderman
Untitled No. 2 [Barren Island], 2019-2021
Found glass, shells, plastics, electronics, tin/lead solder, light
34 x 29 x 10 inches
(86.4 x 73.7 x 25.4 cm)
Courtesy of the artist

Bea Fremderman
Untitled No. 10 [Barren Island], 2022
Found glass, shells, plastics, electronics, tin/lead solder, light
27 x 18 x 8 inches
(68.6 x 45.7 x 20.3 cm)
Courtesy of the artist

Goutam Ghosh
Cat can not be isotope, 2022
Raw cotton textile, Kite paper, organic glue, ink pigments
98 3/8 x 118 1/8 inches
(250 x 300 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Standard, Oslo

Frieda Toranzo Jaeger
Big Four seasons; Summer, 2021
Oil on wood and hinges
21 1/4 x 13 3/4 x 13 3/4 inches
(54 x 34.9 x 34.9 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Arcadia Missa, London

Frieda Toranzo Jaeger
The Island of Lesbos, 2021
Oil on panel and embroidery
Three panels, each: 70 1/2 x 40 1/2 inches
(Three panels, each: 179.1 x 102.9 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Arcadia Missa, London

Ajay Kurian
Devil Fruit, 2021
Foamcore, hot glue, plaster, fiberglass, epoxy clay, plaster wrap, gesso, oil paint, hardware, steel, pvc pipe
60 x 36 x 48 inches
(152.4 x 91.4 x 121.9 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and 47 Canal, New York

Ajay Kurian
Parvati’s Victory Over Artemis, 2022
Foamcore, hot glue, plaster, fiberglass, shellac, gesso, pvc pipe, epoxy, clay, oil paint, steel, polyurethane, NASA coins
50 x 40 1/4 x 17 1/4 inches
(127 x 102.2 x 43.8 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and 47 Canal, New York

Heidi Lau
Title forthcoming, 2022
Ceramic
12 x 12 x 18 inches
(30.5 x 30.5 x 45.7 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Matthew Brown Gallery, Los Angeles

Heidi Lau
Pillars of the Earth IV, 2019
Glazed ceramics
32 1/2 x 15 1/2 x 16 inches
(82.5 x 39.4 x 40.6 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Matthew Brown Gallery, Los Angeles

Heidi Lau
Pillars of the Earth I, 2019
Glazed ceramics
33 1/2 x 15 x 15 1/2 inches
(85.1 x 38.1 x 39.4 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Matthew Brown Gallery, Los Angeles

Raúl de Nieves
Enlightenment, 2019
Wood, cardboard, fiberglass, plastic beads, glue, and resin
48 x 48 inches
(121.9 x 121.9 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Company Gallery, New York

Fin Simonetti
Rose Window (Rosa Erika), 2022
Marble, lock shackles
24 ø x 4 inches
(61 ø x 10.2 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Matthew Brown Gallery, Los Angeles

Fin Simonetti
Rose Window (Madreperola), 2022
Quartz, alabaster, marble, lock shackles
28 ø x 3 inches
(71.1 ø x 7.6 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Matthew Brown Gallery, Los Angeles