Skip to main content
Menu

Installation view
Kick the Tires and Light the Fires, 2014
Photograph by Joshua White

Daniel Arsham Kick the Tires and Light the Fires

Kick the Tires and Light the Fires presents a new series of Daniel Arsham’s sculptural and two-dimensional work, based around aspects of American culture and the archeology of memory.

Molding volume from geological elements, Arsham creates topologically manipulated versions of standard, mass-produced items, as if they deteriorated over time. Objects familiar and integral to America’s cultural heritage, such as Goodyear tires, NBA basketballs, and a McDonalds sign, are cast directly at scale. Rather than replicating them classically with plastics or alloys, he instead uses rocks and minerals, such as obsidian, quartz, volcanic ash, or glacial rock dust. By utilizing geological elements to depict modern convention, he imbues these objects with geological time.

A confusion of temporal dimension arises because it is unclear how to interpret the work: does it concern the future, present, or past? It could seem as though these objects suggest discovery by a future generation – they look deteriorated, and now calcified; on the other hand, each item is clearly recognizable as a relatively recent invention. Potentially, this work presents psychic artifacts, tangible predictions created by a past civilization forecasting the demise of a subsequent culture.

Dates

April 04 - May 03, 2014

Opening Reception

Friday, April 04, 6-8pm

Location

937 N. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90069

Artist

Daniel Arsham

Installation Views

All images: Kick the Tires and Light the Fires, 2014. Photography by Joshua White

Installation view
Kick the Tires and Light the Fires, 2014
Photograph by Joshua White

Installation view
Kick the Tires and Light the Fires, 2014
Photograph by Joshua White

Installation view
Kick the Tires and Light the Fires, 2014
Photograph by Joshua White

Installation view
Kick the Tires and Light the Fires, 2014
Photograph by Joshua White

Installation view
Kick the Tires and Light the Fires, 2014
Photograph by Joshua White

Installation view
Kick the Tires and Light the Fires, 2014
Photograph by Joshua White

Installation view
Kick the Tires and Light the Fires, 2014
Photograph by Joshua White

Installation view
Kick the Tires and Light the Fires, 2014
Photograph by Joshua White

Installation view
Kick the Tires and Light the Fires, 2014
Photograph by Joshua White

Installation view
Kick the Tires and Light the Fires, 2014
Photograph by Joshua White