Press Release
A new work by Los Angeles artist Nathan Mabry, Conversation Piece (Jackin’, Stackin’ and Crackin’), continues the connection between traditional ritual experience and contemporary culture and art. Atop a pedestal—one that references early McCracken sculpture—sits a clay llama head derived by the artist from a Pre-Columbian vessel. The teeth of Mabry’s llama head are capped in white gold with inlaid crystal letters that spell out P-E-A-C-E. The llama—a cloven-hoofed pack animal—references the pressures asserted by war and technology on any society; the gold and crystal PEACE invoke the free floating politics and language of youth culture and its inability to address real crisis. As with his previous works, Mabry posits a seemingly formal juxtaposition between disjointed sources, revealing in the comparison that their concerns and struggles may be closer than at first they appear.
Nathan Mabry received a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute and a MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles. His work has most recently been seen in Thing: New Sculpture from Los Angeles at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Rogue Wave ’05 at LA Louver, Venice, CA and Cornceptual Popstraction at cherrydelosreyes. A solo exhibition is scheduled for February 18, 2006 at Cherry and Martin. Mabry lives and works in Los Angeles.
(Cherry and Martin archive)
Philip Martin Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11am-6pm and by appointment. For further information and images please contact the gallery at +310-559-0100 or info@philipmartingallery.com.
Philip Martin Gallery
2712 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
+310-559-0100
info@philipmartingallery.com
