Gordon Chandler, The “Game” Show
The Lois Lambert Gallery of Functional Art
Bergamot Station, Santa Monica
September 13 - November 9
Many of the galleries at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica are going through a mid-year change of exhibitions. One notable new show opening this Saturday at the Lois Lambert Gallery at the station is The “Game†Show by Gordon Chandler, named for Chandler’s oversized game boards made of society’s cast-off goods. The gallery hosts functional art, perfect for Chandler’s work, which is function in form as well as message.
Chandler has been challenging the value of objects and materials via sculpture for over three decades. By exaggerating size and abandoning orthodox materials for, say, scrap metal and auto parts, his works become critical of the use-value paradigm. Chandler achieves a similar effect when he makes a giant crossword puzzle out of steel, elevating the mundane not only by increasing its size, but also by considering it as an art subject.
One of Chandler’s trademark shape-shifters is the iconic kimono. Chandler’s use of industrial materials to create an object usually made of cloth undermines its use value, as well as that of the creation itself. If it cannot be worn, is it a kimono? This analytical construct reminds the audience that they are looking at bent steel, an important realization considering Chandler’s self-described “practical bent.â€
The “Game†in the title of the show is just as playful as Chandler’s works, referring to wild game as well as the Milton Bradley sort. Coming from a rural background, Chandler is aware of the danger industrialization has on wildlife. He questions the pastime of hunting innocent deer by mounting their heads on trophies, underscoring the cruelty of the act by directly associating the prize with its cost in a single representation.
This simultaneously playful and critical show will be at the Lois Lambert Gallery of Functional Art until November 9, 2008. This Saturday, the gallery will hold the opening reception from six to nine.
Photo courtesy of the Lois Lambert Gallery
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