john ros

untitled: chamberlain, a solo project by New York and London based artist john ros, was on view in Artspace’s Project Room from July 25 through September 13, 2014.  ros participated in a Closing Conference on Art and Public Space on Saturday, September 13.

ros creates minimal site-responsive installations, which he often manipulates throughout the length of an exhibition.  His process begins with a meditative and thorough investigation of the site surrounding the host space, which may extend anywhere from several days to weeks.  During the installation period, ros takes to the streets to collect materials from his given site, driven by a specific interest in collecting overlooked, forgotten and discarded objects.  These recycled objects are humble and typically include cuts of cardboard, paper, wood, brick and glass.  ros situates these materials in the exhibition in a way that initiates a tension or challenge to the gallery’s architecture.

The unseen or forgotten elements of a space are of most interest to ros.  He writes, “awareness [of subtleties] is the only way we can begin to understand our surroundings.”  For ros, making installations with everyday objects is an opportunity to encourage people to become more active and attentive viewers both inside and out of the gallery context.  His work offers the reward of locating the unharvested resources in objects and situations.

For his site-specific installation at Artspace, ros will take over the Project Room.  His installation will reference the space’s changing light and its play on three prominent architectural features: the row of antique windows that line the gallery’s south wall, two sidewalk grates that lie just outside a floor to ceiling window, and an electrical outlet hidden in the corner of the room.  Gleaning its name from the civil-war era signage located on Artspace’s exterior, which reads “Chamberlain”, untitled: chamberlain will amplify the building’s overlooked history.  In fact, Artspace itself is living proof of the message and potential reward of ros’s show.  When Artspace moved to its current location on the corner of Orange and Crown Streets in 2001, the corner was undesirable.  Thirteen years later, Artspace occupies the same corner, now dotted with charming shops, independent restaurants and historic private residences. For more images of the project, please click here.

This exhibition is made possible thanks to support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.