‘Art Has No Rules’ at the Telegraph Hill Gallery
Chris Blum’s Assemblage Boxes and Sculptures
Decoding societal values with pop culture and politics using found objects
The Telegraph Hill Gallery is pleased to present Chris Blum in a solo exhibition Art Has No Rules featuring his assemblage boxes and sculptures. Art Has No Rules will run from 6 September through 6 October 2017 with an opening reception on Friday, 8 September 2017 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.
Art Has No Rules will highlight Blum’s shadow boxes and sculptures created from found objects. Blum meticulously crafts his materials into scenes inspired by the nonstop news blitz and renders them with his brand of humor and satire. The works resemble freeze frames taken from videos showing cultural pop trends and political tenor sweeping into our daily lives.
‘I believe pop culture to be one of the best decoders of the cultural values of the times. In my work, I juxtapose and connect the dots the way I see them and hope to share a cosmic giggle with the viewer.’
Blum started incorporating found materials into his artwork twenty years ago. He is shaped by decades of working in media and design, including projects with Apple and Rolling Stone Magazine as well as film and music videos working with musicians like U2 and Billy Joel. His insight in those fields has enhanced his storytelling and imagery allowing him to draw attention to every day topics.
A few of the works included are, Spruce Goose a piloted wooden goose alluding to Howard Hughes’ flying boat made entirely of wood which flew once for less than a minute; Pop Tart made of Kellogg pop-tart boxes with a layered image of a Hollywood starlet; and Irish Eyes Crying depicting a single potato, referencing both the potato famine and ironically a photograph of the humble vegetable selling for €1,000,000.
There is also a sculpture of Uncle Sam with his head on a truffle grater titled Make America Grate Again. Other pieces are, a trio of plated plastic figures all fancied up for a monster themed masked soiree titled Kelly-Ann-Conway and Word Mill a sculpture made from an antique hand blender mixing benign words or whipping out fake news, among others.
Art Has No Rules is also the title of one of the works that parodies the art world. The piece is a shadow box with a woman viewing a painting on the wall and on the foreground a dog with a paintbrush.
Blum’s works are included in the permanent graphic collections of the New York Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). NY, NY; Smithsonian, Washington DC; the Legion of Honor Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, SF, CA; Djerassi Foundation, Woodside, CA.
Telegraph Hill Gallery
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