Artist's Reception: March 3, 2012, 6-9pm

Charlie James Gallery is delighted to present a solo show by L.A. artist Andrew Lewicki in our new location at 969 Chung King Road titled Fabricatio Desiderii, Latin for “The Fabrication of Desire.” Investigating objects of monetary vs. societal value, Andrew Lewicki’s newest work plays with the artificial construction / destruction of an object’s perceived worth. Lewicki is fascinated by the processes involved in the transformation of one object or substance into another. He makes work that draws out an array of ideas about place, innocence, economics and desire. Operating at diverse scales, Lewicki’s production process extends careful consideration to material symbolism, while mimicking professional-grade production practices.

In the main chamber of the gallery Lewicki presents four sculptural pieces organized around the theme of fabricating desire. Atop a pedestal, resting on a white guitar stand is a fully functioning 1957 Gibson Les Paul electric guitar made out of the crudest, least ideal construction materials. An experiment that took Lewicki months and several abortive attempts to complete, the piece playfully suggests Tim Hawkinson’s Überorgan, here substituting labor of painstaking precision, aggravated by the use of the most improper materials, for Hawkinson’s sprawling scale. In the center of the space a large quilt is suspended from the ceiling of the gallery. The piece consists of a patchwork of scarves and shawls from some of the world’s most venerable luxury houses. These coveted items were cut to scraps and seemingly destroyed by Lewicki, then reassembled by local master quilter Joan Hobbes in the style of traditional Americana. Opposite these pieces a fully operational Louis Vuitton waffle iron rests on a pedestal, the traditional waffle grid replaced with the time honored LV imprints. Another pedestal supports a stack of nine gold bars, complete with serial numbers and the ornate imprints found on bars smelted from bullion. In the case of Lewicki’s gold, the “bullion” is actually hundreds of gold crayola crayons melted down and recast by the artist.

In the basement and rear galleries we will present work from Lewicki’s L.A. series, as well as some recent independent projects. In the L.A. body of work, pieces were conceived and executed in response to visual information Lewicki encountered living and moving around in Los Angeles. The ubiquitous, “dream is over” mattress, discarded so frequently in front of Hollywood apartment houses gets a treatment, and with the Concrete Oranges, Lewicki takes on the origins of Los Angeles and how it’s evolved.

Andrew Lewicki (b.1983, Redwood City, CA) took his BFA from the Otis College of Art and Design in 2007. He was the recipient of the 2011 California Community Foundation Grant for emerging artists. Lewicki’s work has been exhibited at the Architecture and Design Museum, Los Angeles, the Torrance Art Museum, and the Luckman Gallery at Cal State LA. He has been covered in Frieze Magazine. Lewicki lives and works in Los Angeles.

SORRY, THERE ARE NO INSTALLATION IMAGES FOR THIS SHOW.