Downtown, Los Angeles
Awol Erizku
Bad II The Bone
Duchamp Detox ClinicNight Gallery is proud to present a solo exhibition of new work by Awol Erizku titled Bad II the Bone at nomadic exhibition venue Duchamp Detox Clinic. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, and the inaugural exhibition at Duchamp Detox Clinic. Bad II the Bone presents recent works that begin with the experience of moving through Los Angeles. Erizku’s colorful and tactile assemblages are formal investigations on this specific urban environment, and the interplay of socially-charged markings and climate that contribute to the look of the city. Growing up in the Bronx, Erizku lived in a housing complex overlooking a basketball court frequented by local gangs. Through that upbringing he developed a sensitivity to the social and political implications of markings found on the street, and a fascination with the intertwining of formal and political elements in visual culture. In his work, ingredients taken from street art, gang turf markings, and day-to-day urban life are combined to respond to current events, often subtly and satirically referencing art history. The surfaces of Erizku’s paintings are built up with casually-scrawled words and numbers, multiple layers of color, and “buffing”—the method of blocking out existing spray paint on the street. Creating layers of house paint and spray paint, Erizku references turf markings from his current neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles. He works at an architectural scale—the experience of viewing his paintings parallels an encounter with the side of a building that has been repeatedly re-painted. The recurring political motifs and assertive scale of Erizku’s work are underscored by the urgency of his titles. Say It Here, While It’s Safe and Black Americans Killed by Police in 2014 Outnumbered Those Who Died on 9/11 are two examples of how Erizku's work seeks to catalyze social engagement and appeal directly to the viewer's political awareness. Awol Erizku (b. 1988, Addis Ababa) received his B.A. From Cooper Union in 2010, his M.F.A from Yale in 2014 and has exhibited recently at The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2015), The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2015), The Only Way is Up at Hasted Kraeutler, New York (2014) and lectured in conjunction with Carrie Mae Weems at The Guggenheim, New York (2014). Recent solo exhibitions include New Flower | Images of the reclining Venus at The FLAG Art Foundation, New York (2015). Erizku lives and works in New York and Los Angeles. The Duchamp Detox Clinic is a conceptual gallery created by Awol Erizku. It is not fixed to a location, but rather to a context. Geared towards showing artists with multidisciplinary practices, specifically those whose work includes interpretations of ready-mades, it is a space for re-thinking and re-purposing both objects and ideas.