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Ako Castuera · Art ·

GR2: Banana Flats – Ako Castuera

  Giant Robot is proud to present Banana Flats, an exhibition featuring new work by Ako Castuera. Sept 13th – Oct 1st, 2014 at Giant Robot 2 (GR2 Gallery) 2062 Sawtelle Blvd, LA, CA 90025 310.445.9276 There are no Bananas in Banana Flats. “Banana Flats” is an idea for a place where the mind is free. It’s a land of non- geographical dimensions, a twilight zone of creative energy where nature and imagination come into synthesis.  It is an environment capable of supporting an abundance of life, impossible for us to witness from Earth except through a portal of artistic expression.  Fragile but tenacious, the inhabitants of Banana Flats live all around us, in a state of lively suspension until they are channelled by a sympathetic human who will provide them with a body. The exhibition “Banana Flats” is the first recorded gathering of these bodies, brought into our dimension by the sculptural exertions of artist Ako Castuera. To the average eye, they will look like colorful anthropomorphic sculptures made from a range of clays from locally dug earth to the finest porcelain. Over a time of 9 months Ms. Castuera has provided ceramic bodies to scores of distinct entities from Banana Flats. On Earth, shadows are cast by objects. In Banana Flats it’s the other way around. Our earth shadows project objects into an imaginary world. Our biggest shadows are cast by the abuse humans inflict on each other and on our planet. These shadows crush all kinds of life, making it seem like we are not connected, like we have broken apart and will never come together again. The clay forms from Banana Flats are opposite reactions to the big shadows of Earth. They are small, but in their humble way they have the potential to keep us connected to each other and our humanity. Ako Castuera recently exhibited at the Oakland Museum of California: SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot Opening reception for Banana Flats will take place from 6:30 – 10:00 PM on Saturday, September 13th. Exhibition duration: September 13th – October 1st, 2014 For more information about Ako Castuera, GR2, or anything else: Eric Nakamura / Giant Robot Owner / eric@giantrobot.com
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