TAIT
IT’S ABOUT TIME
March 21 – April 20, 2008
Opening reception Friday, March 21, 6 to 8 pm
Los Angeles Ca, 90012
www.gallerydesoto.com
De Soto Gallery is very pleased to present a new series of sculptural installations and video by Tait in his first solo exhibition in Los Angeles “It’s About Time”.
On the largest wall in the gallery, a pair of giant camouflage shorts, 12 feet high, are pinned to the surface like a specimen. To its side, 250 animation cells used in the creation of a time lapse movie are carefully laid out frame by frame. Behind that, a fleet of 100 marching car/baby hybrids are lined up in file.
This and other items are part of an unusual collection of objects that Tait presents as a labyrinthine system for timekeeping. Each piece functions as a record of events, like a unit of measurement representing man-hours expended. This framework for mapping time (along with an emphasis on size and numbers) is informed by aspects of popular culture. Tait’s focus on labor-intensive processes and his fixation with calculations is offset by whimsical humor, puns and witticisms.
“It’s About Time” is an invitation to “serious play” about our physical and psychological relationships to time and space and the constructs we use to make sense (or nonsense) of it all.
This question of time, the idea of it being illusory and infinitely complex, is part and parcel of Tait’s methodology for investigating memory and perception. The directness of straightforward object-making is partly an attempt to make something concrete and measurable. It is also an effort to be accessible and a reaction to heavy conceptual work that seems so prevalent in art lately.
The basic components Tait uses are common (cars, clothes, books, etc) but they take on multiple meanings as they are multilayered. To that effect, they function like riddles. Both My Baby (the fleet of cars) and Living Large (the camo shorts) hint at range of subjects from the sensational aspects of advertising and consumer culture to brand identification, and even the recent pervasiveness of the military. Another piece, a silver plated prescription bottle and pills entitled
Charmiceuticals is a cryptographic play on words and a comment on the increasingly widespread use of prescription medications.
Tait lives and works in Los Angeles. He will be present for the opening reception. His work has been exhibited at numerous art fairs including Scope Miami 2006, Scope New York 2006, and Art LA 2006. He received his B.S. in Painting from Oregon State University.
“It’s About Time” will be on view at de Soto Gallery from March 21 to April 20, 2008. Gallery hours are Wednesday thru Saturday, noon to 5pm, and by appointment.
