written by Matty Pipes
The scene at the opening of GRIDSCAPE can be described as very LA: buzzy, casual…crowded. All can be accredited to artists Bradley Duncan and Ben Medansky’s innate ability to accumulate devout friends. I say friends instead of fans because everyone in attendance seems to have a genuine connection to the duo or knows someone who JUST ADORES them. Current company included.
GRIDSPACE is very much a passion project for Medansky and Duncan and draws inspiration from their last four years since making the move from Chicago to Los Angeles. The cobalt-blue azurite stones, the only pop of color in the otherwise black-and-white exhibit, remind Ben of the rocks he came across on that long cross-country trip. And it’s hard to miss the correlation between the geometry of Brad’s work and the strict grid system with which the City of Angels is built. The point hits home when one considers the abundance of pegs as people – Angelinos! - navigating the manipulated landscapes; sometimes in striking unison like in Duncan’s large mounted piece and at other times in crazy disarray as seen in Medansky’s Pyrite ceramics.
Bradley Duncan and Ben Medansky.
In many ways the collection is a study of reinvention. The reinvention of shape, the artists reinvention of self and, if one considers the transformative powers of the stones, reinvention of soul. GRIDSCAPE is on view until September 9th. www.space15twenty.com
Large grid piece by Bradley Duncan.
Pyrite ceramic bowls and artifacts by Ben Medansky.
Collection of Azurite stones.
California cacti standing erect in geometric vases.
Obsessed with these bowls.