Matthew Ronay: The Crack, the Swell, an Earth, an Ode

October 22, 2022 - January 15, 2023 10/22/2022 11:00 AM 1/15/2023 5:00 PM
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Brooklyn-based artist Matthew Ronay is best known for his chromatic, handmade wood sculptures that at different turns suggest otherworldly landscapes with futuristic architectures and bodily processes like digestion and aging. For his exhibition in the Nasher’s Lower Level Gallery, Ronay expands the scale of his work to create his largest and most ambitious sculpture to-date.

Titled The Crack, the Swell, an Earth, an Ode, the nearly 24-foot-long sculpture offers a comprehensive introduction to Ronay’s surreal worlds and the various creatures inhabiting them. Representing that tension between abstraction and representation, the various connected elements in The Crack achieve what Ronay describes as “the razor’s edge of familiar and unfamiliar; you think you’re seeing something, but you’re not quite sure.”

Ronay’s sculptures begin as drawings, materialized first on notebook pages in pencil, before going on to become enlarged in charcoal, then translated into three dimensions. This relationship between two and three dimensions is evident in the front-to-back orientation of his sculptures, with the “front” determined by its position in the corresponding drawing. Both the scale and frontality of The Crack relate the sculpture to architecture, with its narrative elements recalling an ancient frieze. An amalgam of nearly three dozen drawings the artist made over the previous three years and containing a multitude of leitmotifs recontextualized and reimagined in new compositions, colors, and textures, Ronay’s The Crack represents a culmination of nearly a decade of thinking, making, and creating.

A lavishly illustrated catalogue with essays by exhibition curator and Nasher Associate Curator Dr. Leigh Arnold and Clark Art Institute Associate Curator of Contemporary Projects, Robert Wiesenberger, will accompany the exhibition.


About Matthew Ronay

Matthew Ronay was born in 1976 in Louisville, Kentucky, and studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art before earning his MFA from Yale University in 2000. Ronay has exhibited at institutions including Kunsthalle Lingen, Germany; University of Louisville, Kentucky; Artspace, San Antonio, Texas; Serpentine Gallery, London; Sculpture Center, New York; Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, New York; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas; Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, Kentucky; and Parasol Unit Foundation for Contemporary Art, London. Ronay participated in the 2013 Lyon Biennale, curated by Gunnar Kvaran, and the 2004 Whitney Biennial. In 2016, his work was the subject of solo-presentations at the Blaffer Art Museum, Houston, Texas and the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida.

Sponsors

Matthew Ronay: The Crack, the Swell, an Earth, an Ode is made possible by generous support from the Dallas Art Fair Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District (DTPID) and Cindy and Howard Rachofsky.

 

 

 


El artista basado en Brooklyn, Matthew Ronay, es más conocido por sus esculturas cromáticas hechas a mano en madera, que en diferentes momentos sugieren paisajes de otro mundo con arquitecturas futuristas y procesos corporales como la digestión y el envejecimiento. Para su exposición en la Lower Level Gallery del Nasher, Ronay amplía la escala de su obra para crear su escultura más grande y ambiciosa hasta la fecha.

Titulada The Crack, the Swell, an Earth, an Ode (La Grieta, la Inflamación, una Tierra, una Oda), la escultura de casi 24 pies de largo ofrece una introducción comprensible a los mundos surreales de Ronay y las diversas criaturas que los habitan. Representando esa tensión entre abstracción y representación, los diversos elementos conectados de The Crack logran lo que Ronay describe como "el filo de la navaja entre lo familiar y lo desconocido; crees que estás viendo algo, pero no estás del todo seguro".

Las esculturas de Ronay comienzan como dibujos, materializados primero en páginas de cuaderno a lápiz, antes de continuar y ampliarse en carboncillo, luego traducidos a tres dimensiones. Esta relación entre dos y tres dimensiones es evidente en la orientación de adelante hacia atrás de sus esculturas, siendo el “frente” determinado por su posición en el dibujo correspondiente.  Tanto la escala como la frontalidad de The Crack relacionan a la escultura con la arquitectura, con sus elementos narrativos recordando un friso antiguo. Amalgama de casi tres docenas de dibujos realizados por el artista a lo largo de los tres años anteriores y que contiene multitud de leitmotiv re-contextualizados y re-imaginados en nuevas composiciones, colores y texturas, The Crack de Ronay representa la culminación de casi una década de pensar, hacer y crear.

La exposición irá acompañada de un catálogo profusamente ilustrado con ensayos de la Dra. Leigh Arnold, curadora de la exposición y curadora asociada del Nasher, y de Robert Wiesenberger, curador asociado de proyectos contemporáneos del Clark Art Institute.


Acerca de Matthew Ronay

Matthew Ronay nació en 1976 in Louisville, Kentucky, y estudió en el Maryland Institute College of Art antes de obtener su MFA (Master in Fine Arts) en Yale University en 2000. Ronay ha expuesto en instituciones que incluyen Kunsthalle Lingen, Alemania; University of Louisville, Kentucky; Artspace, San Antonio, Texas; Serpentine Gallery, Londres; Sculpture Center, New York; Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, New York; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas; Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, Kentucky; y Parasol Unit Foundation for Contemporary Art, Londres. Ronay participó en la Bienal de Lyon 2013, curada por Gunnar Kvaran, y la Bienal de Whitney de 2004. En 2016, su obra fue objeto de presentaciones individuales en el Blaffer Art Museum, Houston, Texas, y el Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida.

Patrocinantes

Matthew Ronay: The Crack, the Swell, an Earth, an Ode ha sido posible gracias al generoso soporte de la Dallas Art Fair Foundation. Aporte adicional ha sido provisto por el Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District (DTPID) y Cindy y Howard Rachofsky.


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