Lulu presents
Michael E. Smith
December 13, 2014 – February 1, 2015
Opening Saturday December 13th, 12 to 6 pm
Lulu
Bajio 231, the red door (corner of Manzanillo).
Colonia Roma
06760 DFMexico
Open by appointment only
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All photos Martin Soto Climent. Courtesy the artist.
Lulu presents
Lulu is proud to present a solo exhibition of
the US-born, Hopkinton-based artist Michael E. Smith.
the US-born, Hopkinton-based artist Michael E. Smith.
Detroit-native Michael E. Smith has earned a
well-deserved reputation as one of the most radical sculptors of his generation
for his terse, aesthetic prognostications. An evoker of aftermath, human
fragmentation, and urban desolation, he has a strong penchant for unusual
materials ranging from everything to plastics, protective gear, automotive
components, foams, animal parts, industrially produced comestibles, human bone,
and perhaps most importantly, textiles. When not re-contextualizing a given
object or quite simply disfiguring it in order produce a work, sculptures are
often the byproduct of strange and improbable conjunctions (to wit: a piece of
human skull inserted into a fragment of a laptop computer; weed whacker engines
dipped in oatmeal; clarinets stuffed into PCV piping). What he does brings to
mind the absorbed and idiosyncratic industry of the garage-bound tinkerer, yet
contrary to the harmless stereotype, his variety of tinkering borders on the
psychopathic. The object, precise and harrowing as it may be, however, is not
all. Placement plays an integral role in what Smith does. Carefully arranged in
atypical locations (low on the wall, ceiling, corners, and obscurely lighted)
with stunning economy and great dramatic effect, a given work’s installation is as important as the
object itself. When thus aligned in an exhibition space, a piece is liable to
strike something between terror, fascination and laughter in its viewer. Indeed
for all its fatalism and deadpan drama, what Smith creates is often so bleak
and cornering that it is difficult not to guffaw when faced with it, as if what
it portended was so stark that it forced its own inevitable catharsis.
well-deserved reputation as one of the most radical sculptors of his generation
for his terse, aesthetic prognostications. An evoker of aftermath, human
fragmentation, and urban desolation, he has a strong penchant for unusual
materials ranging from everything to plastics, protective gear, automotive
components, foams, animal parts, industrially produced comestibles, human bone,
and perhaps most importantly, textiles. When not re-contextualizing a given
object or quite simply disfiguring it in order produce a work, sculptures are
often the byproduct of strange and improbable conjunctions (to wit: a piece of
human skull inserted into a fragment of a laptop computer; weed whacker engines
dipped in oatmeal; clarinets stuffed into PCV piping). What he does brings to
mind the absorbed and idiosyncratic industry of the garage-bound tinkerer, yet
contrary to the harmless stereotype, his variety of tinkering borders on the
psychopathic. The object, precise and harrowing as it may be, however, is not
all. Placement plays an integral role in what Smith does. Carefully arranged in
atypical locations (low on the wall, ceiling, corners, and obscurely lighted)
with stunning economy and great dramatic effect, a given work’s installation is as important as the
object itself. When thus aligned in an exhibition space, a piece is liable to
strike something between terror, fascination and laughter in its viewer. Indeed
for all its fatalism and deadpan drama, what Smith creates is often so bleak
and cornering that it is difficult not to guffaw when faced with it, as if what
it portended was so stark that it forced its own inevitable catharsis.
Michael E. Smith (b. 1977) is an artist living
in Hopkinton, USA. A selection of recent solo exhibitions includes: Culturgest,
Lisbon, Portugal (2012); Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany (2013); CAPC musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, France (2013); The Power Station,
Dallas, USA (2014); Susanne Hilberry gallery, Ferndale, Michigan, USA (2014);
Zabludowicz Collection, London, UK (2014); La Triennale di Milano, Italy
(2014). In 2015, Smith will have solo exhibitions at: Etablissement d’en face, Brussels, Belgium; Sculpture
Center, New York, USA; De Appel, Amsterdam, Holland; and Kunstverein Hannover,
Germany.
in Hopkinton, USA. A selection of recent solo exhibitions includes: Culturgest,
Lisbon, Portugal (2012); Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany (2013); CAPC musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, France (2013); The Power Station,
Dallas, USA (2014); Susanne Hilberry gallery, Ferndale, Michigan, USA (2014);
Zabludowicz Collection, London, UK (2014); La Triennale di Milano, Italy
(2014). In 2015, Smith will have solo exhibitions at: Etablissement d’en face, Brussels, Belgium; Sculpture
Center, New York, USA; De Appel, Amsterdam, Holland; and Kunstverein Hannover,
Germany.
The inauguration of the exhibition will be
accompanied by a discussion between Lulu founders Chris Sharp and Martin Soto
Climent, and the artist and director of Galleria Lodos, Francisco
Cordero-Oceguera about the work of Michael E. Smith. The discussion will take
place at 4 pm.
accompanied by a discussion between Lulu founders Chris Sharp and Martin Soto
Climent, and the artist and director of Galleria Lodos, Francisco
Cordero-Oceguera about the work of Michael E. Smith. The discussion will take
place at 4 pm.
Lulu is an independent, Mexico City-based project space founded and run by the
artist Martin Soto Climent and the independent curator Chris Sharp.