exhibitions

assemblages

13 - 17 August 2014

about the exhibition

Drawn to materials that are weathered and worn, Alex Asch reinterprets found objects in the construction of his unique sculptures presenting new ways to examine our environment. Discarded materials are favoured in his constructions as they reveal remnants of a past life and are often weathered by the elements of nature as well as altered or marked by tools and fittings. These characteristics of his media indicate the previous value of his materials as a whole object, now seen as composite elements in an entirely new structure. Alex is interested in the capabilities of association between object and form, deconstructing elements of nature to a simplified, symbolic form and reinterpreting them with his found materials. In his recent work he turns to the facade of buildings with windows and doors acting as the eyes and mouth. The carefully constructed collages, behind the coloured glass windows, provide us with a glimpse and social critique of contemporary society. Sasha Grishin, Sir William Dobell Professor of Art History at the Australian National University, recently reviewed the work of Alex: “Engaging, humorous and increasingly confronting, Asch is now emerging as one of the serious artist critics of contemporary Australia and of its broader context.”

Alex Asch was born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA and was involved in university art programs in Los Angeles and New York before moving to Australia and studying art at the Australian National University in 1988. He has provided technical assistance to a number of arts organisations around Canberra, and has exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions throughout Australia. In 2008, Alex was awarded the Rosalie Gascoigne Award by the Capital Arts Patrons Organisation (CAPO). In 2009, Alex was a finalist in Sculpture by the Sea, and was invited to represent Australia in Sculpture by the Sea in Denmark the same year. Alex’s work is in corporate collections in Australia, USA, UK and Netherlands as well as Artbank, the ACT Legislative Assembly, the Wesley Art Foundation and Canberra Museum and Gallery.

exhibition images

  • 1. $4,200 Peral Street - reclaimed materials & worked images, 135 x 20.5 x 23cm

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  • 2. $6,200 Primates in the Shrewsbury attic - reclaimed materials & toy apes, 122 x 46 x 26cm

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  • 3. $5,200 Road side shrine 1 - reclaimed materials & worked images, 133.5 x 40 x 21cm

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  • 4. $3,600 Road side shrine 2 – reclaimed materials & worked images, 97 x 41 x 17.5cm

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  • 5. $1,200 Road side shrine series 1 – reclaimed materials, 36 x 18 x 17cm

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  • 6. $1,200 Road side shrine series 2 – reclaimed materials, 36 x 18 x 17cm

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  • 7. $1,200 Road side shrine series 3 – reclaimed materials, 36 x 18 x 17cm

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  • 8. $5,500 The hubris of neglect – reclaimed materials & worked images, 150 x 31 x 30cm

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