Friday, September 23, 2022

Raymon Elozua: Structure/Dissonance
Everson Museum of Art

Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

"Structure/Dissonance" celebrates nearly five decades of work by New York-based artist Raymon Elozua, who first came to prominence in the 1970s with detailed trompe l'oeil ceramic sculptures of decaying industrial landscapes. Elozua's first major museum exhibition since his 2003 retrospective at the Mint Museum, "Structure/Dissonance" focuses on three conceptual bodies of work that explore the combined physical properties of three elemental materials: ceramic, glass, and steel. This exhibition contextualizes these vital sculptures within Elozua's intellectual landscape through the inclusion of a series of collections and research projects that are inextricably linked to his artistic output.

Elozua's insatiable appetite to uncover the hidden cultural meanings attached to his chosen materials has led him to obsessively collect esoteric objects like gas stove burners and rusted enamel cookware, as well as photographs and ephemera related to topics as varied as labor history and decaying "borscht belt" bungalow colonies. These collections and obsessions help to construct a more accurate picture of the complex intellect that gives depth and meaning to Elozua's singular expressive sculptures.