"The Turmoil of Being" Solo Show at Hashimoto
The Turmoil of Being Solo Show at Hashimoto Contemporary
This show highlights my multifaceted studio practice featuring new works on paper, fabricated sculptures and a large scale installation. I utilized a broad range of techniques to inter-weave imagery from a myriad of cultures.
Taking cues from Renaissance portraiture, totalitarian propaganda and Eastern iconography, my goal is to create a unique universe of historic characters and anthropomorphic creatures. The figures are precisely rendered to emulate the stylings of Japanese wood-block illustrations, Medieval religious art, and zoological drawings. However, each pastiche is intervened with bold reference to modernity and a looming dystopian future.
The Turmoil of Being brings together several of my ongoing bodies of work. The Age of Enlightenment series combines traditional methods of printmaking, assemblage, and painting. Dreamlike, unsettling and mysterious, these works unify what is seemingly unrelated, to strive towards something universal.
Pieces from the Mightier Than series will also be on display. For those, I’ve dismantled and welded together pieces of antique typewriters to create realistic depictions of modern assault rifles. Upon closer inspection, barrels and triggers are merely carriages and keys. Each weapon is even loaded with ammunition meticulously crafted from discarded pencil stubs and fountain-pens. This work confronts the violent and absurd by re-interpreting the old adage “the pen is mightier than the sword.”
The exhibition culminates in a life-size sculptural installation. An elaborately costumed Samurai rides on horseback, wielding an assembled typewriter rifle.
I hope you can make it out to see the show before it closes on September 24th.
Gallery images via Artsy.
THE TURMOIL OF BEING
Hashimoto Contemporary
804 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
September 1 – September 24
Opening Reception:
Thursday, September 1, 2016
6 – 10 PM
Contact info@hashimotocontemporary.com to inquire about available artwork.
Colorado Public Radio: Gun Sculptures Draw Shock & Awe
Colorado Public Radio: Gun Sculptures Draw Shock & Awe
An excerpt from my interview with Colorado Public Radio:
Ravi Zupa’s typewriter sculptures have come a long way since his first in 2007. They started as pieces of larger installations and props in videos. He says he didn’t realize their poetic potential until later.
In 2013, renowned street artist Shepard Fairey displayed Zupa’s work in his Los Angeles gallery. That included a big sculpture resembling the Hindu god Shiva. It had six arms, and one held a gun sculpture.
“That particular show was sort of an awakening that it could be its own thing and it could stand alone,” Zupa said.
Zupa’s early guns used parts from cars, vacuums and sewing machines. But with typewriters, he can convey a stronger message and play off his love for words, he said.
Zupa doesn’t take a side when it comes to the gun control debate. But he does want to spark conversation around this complex issue.
“I do like to argue and get at the heart of ideas,” Zupa said.