Lot 41
Michael O'Malley
Untitled
2004
baltic birch, polyurethane rubber
value $1,100-$1,300
8"x16"x 6"
courtesy of cherrydelosreyes

This sculpture typifies Michael O’Malley’s desire to represent “imposters in a built environment.” A convoluted rubber element is affixed beneath a kind of wooden shelf, as if representing part of the subconscious. The result is an object that suggests a “mental landscape” that illustrates dichotomies between the elegant and the abject, the synthetic and the natural. According to O’Malley, “the identity of an object doesn’t necessarily help with the experience of it.” Currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Pomona College in Claremont, California, O’Malley received his BFA in sculpture from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and an MFA in sculpture from Stanford University. Earlier this year his work was featured in solo exhibition at cherrydelodreyes in Venice, California.