Shelf Life introduces onto the world a conception of preservation which helps better refine our understanding of consumption with the process and ideas expressed by Mr. Ry Rocklen at Wilding Cran Gallery. His clever choices of media representations impose that cultural perspective which is accustomed to disposability; of commodity purchases which are primarily aimed for absorbing spills; cleaning up; discarding upon job done. Yet with the ingenious involvement of mortar in his compositional media, Mr. Rocklen commands our attention to pay respect to what those jobs build up to.

Absorption Panel (Big Toast), 2024. Ry Roklen.
Ceramic, mortar, grout, wood, metal
51 1/4 x 37 3/4 x 2 1/2 inches
130.2 x 95.9 x 6.3 cm. Courtesy the artist and Wilding Cran Gallery. Copyright Ry Roklen.

Absorption Panel (Pizza Bianca), 2024. Ry Rocklen.
Ceramic, mortar, grout, wood, metal
42 1/4 x 30 x 2 1/2 inches
107.3 x 76.2 x 6.3 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Wilding Cran Gallery. Copyright Ry Roklen.

These are not everyday spills. And yet again, is that not where precious moments, such as children birthday parties and football festivals, bring out the best understanding of family life? Of common love? That so much of American consumer history involves the need to absorb pizza grease like the tears of victory or defeat? (And how unfortunate face masks are now apart of the celebratory ticker tape.) In this humble, yet certainly playful meditation on permanence, Mr. Rocklen’s media represents this “life-tension” of the ordinary being composed of moments of extraordinary events – yet which are all universally understandable as we all descend from family experiences.

Absorption Panel (Lion King), 2024. Ry Rocklen.
Ceramic, mortar, grout, wood, metal
26 x 24 x 2 inches
66 x 61 x 5.1 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Wilding Cran Gallery. Copyright Ry Rocklen.

There is no contemplation of the disposability or rather preservation of family life ipso facto. Yet the fragility of continuing this grout-tiled absorbing experience, of unhappy accidents from Coca-Cola spills etcetera, moves myself towards appreciating this thoughtfulness of sacred space. And Mr. Rocklen’s further testimony to his adventurous curiosity in preservation yields his shelf life pieces which are themselves as innocuous in assembly as they are in discovery.

Shelf Life (Blue Angels), 2024. Ry Rocklen.
Industrial shelving, found objects, ceramic
77 1/2 x 48 x 24 inches
196.8 x 121.9 x 61 cm. Courtesy the artist and Wildin Cran Gallery. Copyright Ry Rocklen.

Shelf Life (Brian’s Family), 2024. Ry Roklen.
Industrial shelving, found objects, ceramic
78 x 48 x 24 inches
198.1 x 121.9 x 61 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Wilding Cran Gallery. Copyright Ry Roklen.

Are we to leave his show concerning ourselves with making more efforts at conserving what is thought of as disposable? Are we to affirm family life as that healthy in the preservation of the pursuit of happiness? Then there is a moral affirmation to protect this natural handiwork and give the good, away from hostility, lest someone refuses to clean up.

For more information, please contact the gallery:
WILDING CRAN GALLERY

1700 Santa Fe Ave. Unit 460
Los Angeles, CA 90021

INFO@WILDINGCRAN.COM
+1 213 553 9190