November 19 – December 17, 2011
Steve Turner Contemporary is pleased to present Adult Roman Numeral Thirty , Los Angeles-based artist Michael Decker’s second solo show at the gallery, comprised of large-scale sculpture, a multi-media installation and drawings. The works are derived from found objects considered collectible in popular culture.
In the installation We’re Getting Old, So Let’s Talk Like This, the artist has taken aphorisms from wooden novelty plaques that communicate unshakeable optimism, humor or moral values. He printed these messages in black ink onto gessoed plywood panels using an alphabet of rubber stamps. A second element to the piece consists of a computer-generated audio track that recites the text on each panel in a continuous loop. By removing the words from their original context, Decker suggests the malleability of language through its dependency on presentation.
For Trichomes , the artist collected modern ornamental glass bowls and vases that he then broke against a wall in his studio. He embedded the resulting fragments in cement, creating a formal composition similar to the translucent outgrowths found on cannabis and other plants.
In addition to these and two other sculptures, there is a series of drawings, … And All I Got Was This Lousy Graphite Seashell That I Used to Make This Drawing.
Born in Spokane in 1982, Michael Decker received a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts (2005). He has had solo exhibitions at Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles (2010); Dan Graham Gallery, Los Angeles (2010) and Circus Gallery, Los Angeles (2009). Recently his work has been included in group shows in Los Angeles at Paredon Blanco, Las Cienagas Projects, Actual Size, JMOCA and Statler Waldorf Gallery.
Steve Turner Contemporary is a contemporary art gallery based in Los Angeles that represents the work of emerging and established contemporary artists. Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11- 6. Please contact the gallery for further information.
Contact: Steve Turner, info@steveturner.la, 323.931.3721
