{"id":852,"date":"2009-04-09T08:50:11","date_gmt":"2009-04-09T13:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/the-bomb\/2009\/04\/09\/ry-rocklengood-heavens\/"},"modified":"2009-04-09T10:09:46","modified_gmt":"2009-04-09T15:09:46","slug":"ry-rocklengood-heavens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/the-bomb\/2009\/04\/09\/ry-rocklengood-heavens\/","title":{"rendered":"~RY ROCKLEN\/GOOD HEAVENS !!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ry<\/p>\n

RY ROCKLEN – ‘Good Heavens’
\nMARCH 5 – APRIL 11, 2009
\nMARC JANCOU<\/a> – GREAT JONES ALLEY – EAST VILLAGE (sort of ….) – NYC<\/p>\n

see: PIX from the gallery website\/RY ROCKLEN\/Good Heavens
\n<\/a>
\nok. so this is one a-m-a-z-i-n-g show. just because it is so solid and so transient !! all at the same time.
\nit’s the visual equivalent of the “thwack” when a baseball batter hits the ball – solid – and it soars out through the field – as in – HOME RUN !!<\/p>\n

it’s obvious from the image above – that LA-based RY ROCKLEN not only caught the tattered vibe of these newly distressed times – but dished it back out – in appropriately low-fi materials – in an elegant chant of: connect to the beauty in the sparseness of the moment – a focused creative voice can prevail – and magic will always sing – even if its – only the sound of a wooden flute and a rolled-up futon. not that easy to do – esp when the work is showcased in such an over-the-top Faberge Egg of a gallery setting. the fact that they kept the exhibit sparse and presented the small assortment of works – with quiet grace – among a pristine setting of pure white walls and high ceilings – and, left the work alone – to work its magic – was key.<\/p>\n

didn’t always like Ry Rocklen’s work. see: gallery archives<\/a>.
\nit seemed too needy, and too obvious. too pointy. for collectors it was way – too high maintenance !!<\/p>\n

but, when I first the image of his metal ‘mattress\/box spring’ formally titled: ‘Refuge’, 2007 – at ELEANOR CAYRE’S ‘STATION’ exhibit this past December 2008 in Miami – I jumped. whoa – RY ROCKLEN – had connected, formally and visually – & – was calling the shots – flat out, and down solid. he had connected on all levels. GOOD HEAVENS !!<\/p>\n

see: FIRST POST\/THE STATION !!<\/a><\/p>\n

see: THE STATION\/OPENING PIX !!<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ry
\nRY ROCKLEN, ‘10,000 YEAR WAIT’, 2005. Styrofoam, wine glasses and water.
\nIMAGE COURTESY: MARC JANCOU ARCHIVES<\/a><\/p>\n

\"RY
\nRY ROCKLEN – ‘REFUGE’. 2007. Box spring, screen, thread, nails.
\nIMAGE\/COURTESY: THE STATION – AN ELEANOR CAYRE PROJECT<\/a>
\ncan’t begin, to tell ya – how much I dig this piece. it’s just – so much of a gut feeling.
\nits like it caught the exact moment when large monumental art – crossed over into the recession blues !! <\/p>\n

\"Ry
\nRY ROCKLEN – ‘on the fourth day’, 2009. mattress, aqua resin, tiles, grout.
\nin this current show, the garbage dump mattress of the old-timer homeless – has become the rolled-up futon of the newly de-minted wave of depression-stricken – formerly middle class shelter seekers. no joke intended. I’m this close to being on the street myself. the irony is that it can ring so true in the upper class & collector friendly setting. I’d say that was Ry’s doing.<\/p>\n

\"ry
\nRY ROCKLEN – detail, ‘on the fourth day’.
\nyo, of course the magic lies in the ordinary mosaic hobby tiles. the way they make the futon hard. the way the palette is limited. the way the chosen few – iridescent pieces – twinkle amidst the dreary reality, and the concrete paste. the low-fi durability and ingenuity. the cool factor. as in tactile. as in concept.<\/p>\n

\"ry
\nRY ROCKLEN – detail, ‘LUCKY PENNY TILES’, 2009. pennies on plaster tile. each 17 x 17 x 17 in.
\nsay, what !! the streets of America are paved with gold ?!!<\/p>\n

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH – unless otherwise noted.<\/p>\n

\"Ry
\nRY ROCKLEN at the THE STATION, MIAMI OPENING. DEC 2, 2008 – MIAMI ART FAIR WEEKEND.
\nPHOTO COURTESY: THE STATION\/PHOTO BY CLINT SPAULDING\/NICK HUNT\/PatrickMcMullan.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RY ROCKLEN – ‘Good Heavens’ MARCH 5 – APRIL 11, 2009 MARC JANCOU – GREAT JONES ALLEY – EAST VILLAGE (sort of ….) – NYC see: PIX from the gallery website\/RY ROCKLEN\/Good Heavens ok. so this is one a-m-a-z-i-n-g show. just because it is so solid and so transient !! all at the same time. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}