Ryan Gander – The Fallout of Living (Gallery View), Lisson Gallery

The work of Ryan Gander is an exercise in polysemy.  The British sculptor continually explores concepts of loose association and interaction in his work, combining disparate elements to form complex relational narratives. Working in a diverse range of media that includes found objects, plexiglass, wood and marble, his pieces blend intimate symbolism with common artifacts, creating pieces rich in interpretive significance on any number of planes.

Ryan Gander – I is…(i) (2012), Lisson Gallery

Gander’s current exhibition of new work at Lisson Gallery’s 52-54 Bell Street location, The Fallout of Living, reflects this complexity down to the show’s title.  Referring to the point in an artist’s development where living and practice become indistinguishable, the pieces on view reflect a recasting of everyday detritus, allowing brief interactions to flood the piece with deeply symbolic undertones.

Ryan Gander – Tell my mother not to worry (ii) (2012), Lisson Gallery

In one work, Tell My Mother Not To Worry, Gander draws from his experience playing with his daughter, casting a child draped in a white sheet out of marble.  Through his representation, Gander  deals in the duality of  life and death, allowing the playful, innocent nature of the event captured to double as an ominous foreboding of death.  In others, he challenges considerations of space and spectacle, such as in his piece Kodak Courage, allowing attendees to view each other from behind smoked glass.

Ryan Gander – Kodak Courage (2012), Lisson Gallery

Also noteworthy are Gander’s “Ghost Templates,” a series of overlaid pieces of perspex that appear as a sort of map to his approach, allowing the various shapes cut in each piece to create complex arrangements of form and shade out of a simply layered material.

Ryan Gander – Associative Ghost Template #3 (2012), Lisson Gallery

Gander’s work on view walks a fine line between seemingly random and deeply considered arrangement of each element he uses, highlighting the interaction of both the items and the viewer’s consideration of them.

The Fallout of Living is on view until August 25th.

Ryan Gander – The way things collide (macaron, meet stool)  (2012), Lisson Gallery

Ryan Gander – More Really Shiny Things That Don’t Mean Anything (2011), Lisson Gallery

Ryan Gander – The Best Club (2012), Lisson Gallery

—D. Creahan

Ryan Gander Bio at Frieze
Lisson Gallery Website
Coverage in Wallpaper

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