"A survey of the works by long time Houston artist Ken Luce.  On view at Redbud West Gallery from September 12 through November 3, 2020. "One of the first works Sharon and I collected years ago was a heart sculpture pierced by a phallic figure. The piece still resonates today." - Gus Kopriva, Redbud Gallery Owner, August 2020 The statement below is by curator Eugene Binder from Marfa, Texas: "Ken Luce develops his work on a highly individualistic trajectory. Discarded, weathered, materials, abandoned as detritus, are reimagined, combined, and mediated into three dimensional assemblages that quite often blur the original application, if any can be discerned, of the various components. The whole of the composition radically changes the context of each element that is hiding within plain sight. The discovery of an object, close to unrecognizably camouflaged (and sometimes the complete opposite is true), having been assimilated into the realm of other unlikely objects and materials, can easily become a visual preoccupation in itself. Appearing as spontaneously random, each work is meticulously thought through by the artist, referential, visual nuances are not accidental. Sly implications to early twentieth century modernism and other references, as commonplace as a child’s pull toy, are simultaneously at odds with one another, while asserting an unlikely, but visually cohesive, unity. It’s an impossible edge that Luce is able to achieve effortlessly. Luce’s work breaks down preconceived, barriers with wit and humor, sometimes subtle, sometimes not. It’s a strategy that enables him to take his work beyond judgmental, predefined boundaries, engaging with the viewer, while sharing the importance of enjoyment he derives in making each object unmistakably his own.""

Image info:

"Pintail", wood construction, 26”x 38”x 12"