Brion Nuda Rosch: Forms & Objects
July 18–August 29, 2014

Adams and Ollman is pleased to announce Forms & Objects, an exhibition of new work by Brion Nuda Rosch on view with a selection of Pre-Columbian Peruvian ceramics. The exhibition will open on July 18 and be on view through August 30, 2014.

Throughout the gallery, Rosch will install a group of new works united by a single color—a deep, earthy red-brown— and dominated by a simple form—a rectangle, irregular and often missing a corner. Rosch’s assemblages—made with materials that are humble in origin and slightly altered or transformed—are presented on pedestals where they defy easy categorization as paintings or sculptures, insignificant or monumental. These poetic, slight works are ambiguous in form and meaning, yet call to mind signposts that mark and highlight the ancient objects in the room.

United by several themes, across time, place and intention, Rosch's contemporary works and the Pre-Columbian Peruvian pottery are found, fragmented, abstract, and guided by rule and ritual. Rosch’s creative process, which involves searching for, manipulating and layering found materials, is evocative of the archaeological process of digging for evidence of a lost culture.  

The people of the Nazca culture, who flourished from 100 BC to 800 AD on the southern coast of Peru, didn’t leave a historical record in the form of  a written language.  Their cups, vases, and effigy forms, while highly abstract, contain illustrations of anthropomorphic creatures and ritualistic trophy heads that provide us with insight into these ancient peoples.  Similarly, a central shape—a paired down head or bust—pushes Rosch's works into the realm of figuration.

Working within the context of Pre-Columbian Peruvian pottery, Rosch further expands his practice of constructing or reconstructing narrative and identity through objects. Together, they gesture towards a reconsideration of the historical material and our relationship to the object and its history. How much can we know from what little we are given? What have we unearthed and how can we piece it together? What do we value and what do we hold sacred?

Brion Nuda Rosch (b. 1976, Chicago) is an artist and curator living and working in San Francisco. His work has most recently been exhibited at ACME., Los Angeles; DCKT Contemporary, New York; Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College, New York; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; and The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center. He has also organized exhibitions and projects for San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's Open Space, Adobe Books, as well as his residential gallery, Hallway Projects and OneDay Residency Program. In 2009, he was the recipient of the Artadia Award. Rosch is represented by DCKT Contemporary, New York, and ACME., Los Angeles.

installation view: Forms & Objects


installation view: Forms & Objects


installation view: Forms & Objects


installation view: Forms & Objects


installation view: Forms & Objects


installation view: Forms & Objects


installation view: Forms & Objects


installation view: Forms & Objects


installation view: Forms & Objects


installation view: Forms & Objects


installation view: Forms & Objects


Brion Nuda Rosch
This Form is Intentionally a Form to Potentially Represent a Portrait, 2014
acrylic, paper, artist frame, wood
19 x 15 3/4 x 2 1/2 inches


Brion Nuda Rosch
Form (Right Angle), 2014
acrylic, found frame, wood
57 1/2 x 12 1/2 x 6 3/4 inches


Pre-Columbian Peruvian Pottery
Head Jar, Nazca, 100 BC-600 AD
ceramic, pigment
5 1/4 x 3 1/2 inches in diameter
Peru 67


Brion Nuda Rosch
Form (wood on wood), 2014
acrylic, wood
21 x 9 3/4 inches


Pre-Columbian Peruvian Pottery
Jar, late Nazca/Huari, 800-1000 AD
ceramic
10 1/2 x 3 1/4 x 2 inches
Peru 59


Pre-Columbian Peruvian Pottery
Bowl, Nazca, 100 BC-600 AD
ceramic
3 1/2 x 6 3/4 inches
Peru 82


Brion Nuda Rosch
Form Balanced (Potential Side Profile), 2014
acrylic, fabric, wood
55 x 19 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches


Brion Nuda Rosch
Blank Form, 2014
acrylic, paper on found book page
11 x 9 inches


Brion Nuda Rosch
Abstract Form (Two Legs Or Two Wings You Decide You’re the Post-Modern Expert), 2014
acrylic, paper on found book page
11 x 9 inches


Brion Nuda Rosch
Form (Painted Wood on Wood), 2014
acrylic, wood
21 x 11 1/2 inches