Opening Reception: Friday June 24, 6-8 PM
Casey Kaplan is pleased to present an exhibition of new sculptures by renowned artist, Brian Jungen.
In 1998, while living in Vancouver the artist conceived his first sculptural works, Prototype for New Understanding (1998-2005). Converting Nike Air Jordan trainers into anthropological masks, using the traditional colors of black, white, red, integrated with human hair, Jungen made poignant references to contemporary assimilations and the commercial devaluing of revered customs and symbols. The process was an intimate one, as the shoes were laboriously altered by Jungen’s hand. Ultimately they were presented in a museum-like display as precious artifacts, with glass vitrines and supporting armatures. The Nike Air Jordan was a sought-after, pop-cultural symbol among Jungen’s adolescent peers in the Doig River band of the Dane-zaa First Nation and established Jungen’s interest in the reciprocal link between objects and people.
In Jungen’s fourth exhibition at Casey Kaplan, he revisits this medium so instrumental to the beginnings of his practice. Jungen’s new sculptural objects, wall reliefs, and hanging curtain are made of cut, spliced and reformatted Air Jordan trainers transformed into abstracted compositions that generate broader interpretations.
Image Credit: Brian Jungen, “To be titled”, 2016. Courtesy of Casey Kaplan Gallery.
