4 - 23 November 2010
about the exhibition
Drawn to materials that are weathered and worn, Alex Asch reinterprets found objects in the construction of his unique house sculptures. His found, disregarded materials are marked by the elements of nature and use, revealing a story of their past lives. The remnants of painted surfaces and the scars left by rusty nails remind the viewer of the history of the materials that are reincarnated and given a new life. Alex personifies his materials, and is particularly fond of old painted boards that he describes as having been “ripped from their resting places and thrown in piles like amputated limbs”, likening the nails to “twisted and hardened arteries”. ‘Murus’, the title of this body of work, is the Latin word for wall and is connected to the modern term intramural which describes something that is situated or performed within the walls of a building. This is an apt explanation as the houses are as interesting on the inside as they are from the outside. The house forms often feature surreal and unusual interiors, again incorporating found objects and materials that can include model animals, decorated surfaces, and miniature pop art collages of art and landscape photography.
Alex Asch was born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA in 1965 and moved to Australia in 1988 to study Visual Arts at the Canberra School of Art at the Australian National University. Since the 1990s Alex has worked as a technical assistant at the Australian National University, Craft ACT and Canberra Contemporary Art Space, as well as a Visual Arts tutor for the Messengers Arts program (ACT). Alex was awarded the Rosalie Gascoigne Memorial award by the Capital Arts Patrons Organisation (CAPO) in 2008 and has been a finalist in Bondi’s Sculpture by the Sea in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Alex has participated in over thirty solo and group exhibitions throughout Australia and his work is included in the collections of Artbank and the Canberra Museum and Gallery, as well as corporate collections in Australia, USA, UK, Denmark and the Netherlands.
