Anat Ebgi and her self-named gallery have been restrained for far too long, so it’s joyful news that the Los Angeles gallery has re-opened a vibrant two-person exhibition, featuring Chilean born Alejandro Cardenas and Toronto-based An Te Liu, two artists fascinated with design and architecture. Both artists focus on shape and form, presented here, respectively in painting and sculpture, portraying the familiar in exciting new ways.
Through his practice, Liu transforms his keen interest in consumer objects and even the ubiquitous packing materials delivered to our doors on a daily basis. Wooden, bronze, clay and steel sculptures appear with Honda Civics and dustbusters resurrected, as the artist regularly reimagines objects beyond their perceived utility, abstracting and attributing them with new purpose as each achieves a kind of persona. Much like industrial designers, yet expanding their mission, he allows the softness of wood, the rigidity of bronze, or the flexibility of polycarbonates to define the work.
Cardenas' newest pieces from the Field House series continue the staging of scenes from his pristine tableaux that function within their own internal logic. Subjects are hermetically sealed from the outside world within modern glass country houses, creating a kind of mise en scène setting. Perhaps inspired by the pampered few who can afford leisure, or more recently, the cloister of Covid-19, the images chill with melancholic malaise radiating from evocative postures. Gazing into the distance, staring at household objects, sitting silently together, they reflect pensiveness and the surrender of world-weariness. In direct contrast with their sophisticated surroundings, populated by icons like Mies Van der Rohe, the designer chairs and sofas reflect trophies of more vibrant days. The alien-like appearance of humanoid characters portend more apt inhabitants. Anat Egbi continues to show exciting artists, and we welcome ber back to the scene. —Sasha Bogojev