CHADWICK RANTANEN: "More Often And In More Places"

24 Feb - 24 Mar 2012 STANDARD (OSLO)
Installation Views
Press release

STANDARD (OSLO)

PRESS RELEASE

 

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CHADWICK RANTANEN

"MORE OFTEN AND IN MORE PLACES"

24.02.-24.03.2012 / PREVIEW: 24.02.2012 / 19.00-21.00

 

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STANDARD (OSLO) is pleased to announce its first solo exhibition by Los Angeles-based artist Chadwick Rantanen. Consisting of 15 sculptures and a suite of framed drawings, Rantanen's premiere is a measuring and mapping out of the gallery space. Continuing his series of anodized telescopic sculptures Rantanen has these works conforming to physical conditions as opposed to being purely adjustable for subjective reasons.

 

1.) "The One Step Solution! No matter what age group, Walkerballs offer a unique alternative to the expensive rubber tips and glides available today. One look and you'll see why it's such a great improvement. With Walkerballs, you can add personality to your walker - while enjoying effortless, scuff-free movement across the floor." (www.walkerballs.com)

 

2.) "Such would have been my domicile, if the imperious scarlet hadn't set everything to march in unison with it."The tale told by French philosopher Denis Diderot's essay, "Regrets on Parting with My Old Dressing Gown" (1769) is one of unforeseen and unrewarding changes. When given a scarlet dressing gown as a gift, the sheer beauty of the new garment leaves him unsatisfied with all his old belongings. In an attempt to reestablish a balance he replaces some of his old furniture, then his artworks and as the commitment to cohesiveness becomes a complete addiction it sends him spiraling into debt. "I was absolute master of my old dressing gown," Diderot concludes, "but I have become a slave to my new one … Beware of the contamination of sudden wealth. The poor man may take his ease without thinking of appearances, but the rich man is always under a strain."

 

3.) "These are works formed by negation. Made through denial and avoidance, not in an attempt to move a dialogue forward but to stop motion altogether. They have rules that leave many options unexplored. In this confined space, form and content are not one-and-the-same but are preoccupied with mimicry and stutter back-and-forth. They are repositionable, reoriented, cropped and re-cropped. This is not indecisiveness but restlessness: options presented in a reductive system that blurs as it stutters. They embody a pedestrian elegance; not opulent or comical but efficient, like a high-rise." (Chadwick Rantanen)

 

4.) "We design Nike products to bring quality and performance to your active life. We feel the same way about customer. If you feel the need to return or exchange an item based on the guidelines below, we will gladly make it happen. NIKEiD merchandise can be returned for a refund for any reason within 30 days from the shipping date. In the event that you have a NIKEiD product with a material or workmanship flaw, you can return it as long as it has been less than 2 years since it was manufactured. To find the date of manufacture, check the date on the label inside of the shoe. NIKEiD will not accept returns with evidence of excessive wear, misuse, or alteration." (NIKEID return policy)

 

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Chadwick Rantanen (b. 1981, Wausau, Wisconsin, USA) lives and works in Los Angeles where he graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2010. Rantanen has since been included in exhibitions such as "I Think and That Is All That I Am" at Thomas Duncan Gallery, Los Angeles; "The Museum Problem" at Frutta Gallery, Rome; "Ryan Foerster, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Chadwick Rantanen" at Laurel Gitlen, New York; in addition to having had solo exhibitions at Dan Graham, Los Angeles (2010), and Jancar Jones Gallery, San Francisco (2010).

 

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Installation photography: Vegard Kleven

Works