The second exhibition in the Art Cave at STONESCAPE features artists who, in their conceptual approaches, use of materials, and extraordinary creativity, have broken important new ground — most during the present decade of radically changing economic and cultural values. All works on view are from the collection of Norman and Norah Stone.

GALLERY 1

The first work to be seen, in Gallery 1 just beyond the Art Cave’s entrance, is Jorge Pardo’s installation of hanging light sculptures (Untitled, 2004). This twenty-one-piece work was first seen at Pardo’s Mountain Bar in downtown Los Angeles, and was later featured in Pardo’s retrospective exhibitions at MOCA North Miami and MOCA Cleveland in 2007 and 2008, respectively. As installed by the artist, the richly colored, creature-like objects seem to inhabit their space more than simply hang from the ceiling. Nearby is another of Pardo’s light sculptures (Untitled, 2007), a crouching figure from a group of like-kind sculptures, each of which is patterned after one of the artist’s studio colleagues (Brian, in this particular piece).

Through the scrim of social interaction, Pardo’s work is at the interstices of architecture, design, decoration and sculpture. The artist first gained wide international recognition with his work, Pier, a functional wooden pier installed on a lake in Münster for the 1997 sculpture exhibition there. He is also well known for 4166 Sea View Lane, an innovative house that he built and inhabited in East Los Angeles that is now part of LA MOCA’s permanent collection.

Over recent years, in a studio full of lasers and other high-tech equipment, Pardo has fabricated an impressive array of functional objects (chests of drawers, beds, lamps, tables, chairs) that stretch the very definition of design, and an equally formidable range of art works (paintings, drawings and collages) that challenge the conventions of each genre.

Works by: Vito Acconci, Ricci Albenda, Martin Barré, Jamie Isenstein, Gareth James, Daniel Lefcourt, Sam Lewitt, Scott Lyall, Lucy McKenzie, Jorge Pardo, Steven Parrino, Sean Paul, Eileen Quinlan , Jimmy Raskin, Blake Rayne, Sterling Ruby, Cheyney Thompson, Padraig Timoney, Alex Waterman.

Curation by Thea Westreich Art Advisory Services