EXHIBITION: IRL OBJECTS
IRL OBJECTS
Nick Lenker
Friday, March 15 – Saturday, April 20, 2024
OPENING RECEPTION | Friday, March 15, from 5-8 pm
ARTIST TALK | Thursday, March 21 at 6 pm
Candela Gallery is pleased to share three solo features by artists incorporating the photographic image from the perspectives of ceramics and painting. These exhibitions open Friday, March 15th, running alongside the 2024 NCECA ceramics conference (March 20 – 23) and closing Saturday, April 20th, 2024.
Nick Lenker, MARCH HARE, 2022, ceramic, custom ceramic decals, luster, 20 x 12 x 26.5 inches. INQUIRE.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
The front gallery will highlight the ceramics works by Philadelphia artist, Nick Lenker. Lenker applies found imagery to the surface of his geometric ceramic objects, which include references to his personal relationships through the visual language of video games and 3D modeling. The solo exhibition will include 35 works from the Philadelphia artist’s series IRL Objects, touching on imagery from fairy tales, role-playing games, biblical stories, and everyday objects. In this series, Lenker discusses identity and isolation in a world of avatars: where do the lines get drawn between the “irl” self and the virtual self? How does one influence the other? How do we seek real connection in a convenient, yet disconnected, landscape?
Nick Lenker will be giving an artist talk about his incredible works Thursday, March 21, at 6pm. RSVP here.
Nick Lenker, RED DRAGON (the hoarder), 2021, ceramic, custom ceramic decals, luster, epoxy, gold leaf, wood, 18 x 18 x 26 inches. INQUIRE.
BONNET (Alice), 2019, ceramic, custom ceramic decals, luster, 14 x 14.5 x 7 inches. INQUIRE.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Nick Lenker holds an MFA from Tyler School of Art at Temple University and a BFA from University of the Arts with a Ceramics focus. In 2021, he completed a residency at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia. In 2019, Lenker completed the courtyard commission for Project HOME’s most recent project, the Gloria Casarez Residence (an LGBT-focused homelessness-prevention project). In 2020, Lenker had a solo exhibition at the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum. He was included in the international exhibition of ceramic art for Art Macau in Macau, China, as well as in the Korean International Ceramics Biennale, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, in 2021. Lenker’s work is included in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Alfred University’s Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, New York, as well as in numerous private collections.
LINKS
Nick Lenker Artist Talk on Zoom at the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum in 2020
Inventory: The Ceramic Art of Nick Lenker at the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum
NCECA Emerging Artist 2019 - Artist Talk