ANGELL GALLERY is pleased to present NICHOLAS CROMBACH: TRAPPED, a solo exhibition of recent figurative sculpture by this award-winning artist. The show runs in the east gallery from July 25 to August 15, 2015, with an opening reception on Saturday, July 25, 1:00 to 4:00 PM.
In the past two decades, figurative sculpture has re-emerged as a potent form, with international heavy hitters such as Kiki Smith, Charles Ray, Maurizio Cattelan, Carole Feuerman and Pierre Huyghe using figuration to express a wide spectrum of issues.
In presenting 2014’s twenty-five person group show, The Human Factor: The Figure in Contemporary Sculpture, the Hayward Gallery in London noted that artists today “use the figure as a point of departure for exploring a far-ranging social landscape, and for questioning the ways in which we represent the ‘human’ today.
Within Canada, emerging artist Nicholas Crombach is quickly joining the ranks of Evan Penny, Stephen Scofield and Karine Giboulo as an important figurative sculptor. While working within the tradition of representation, Crombach, like Giboulo, tackles contemporary ethical issues, specifically our dependency on, and obsession and coexistence with the animal world. Raised on a dairy farm, Crombach grew up surrounded by animals, and the works in Trapped act as a metaphor for humankind’s paradoxical relationship with our fellow creatures.
Canny juxtapositions of domestic objects, human figures and animals, sculpted in clay then cast in resin, represent the complex dynamics of instinct and emotion. An aging male wearing long johns and a toque, a classic Canadian symbol, carries a toy bow and arrow. Like the other figures in Trapped, he appears resigned, exhausted, a prisoner of life, his weapons transformed from tools of survival into the accoutrements of a child’s game. In the large wall-mounted sculpture, Still Life, a representation of a bear hide, coupled with a bouquet of flowers and an empty vase, reference the Dutch 17th century vanitas tradition, while questioning the ethics of trophy hunting and taxidermy.
Several works feature the unusual technique of embroidered lead. The contrast between these two very different materials is mirrored by the opposing themes they embody. In Kissed Goodbye, a pebble, slingshot and dead bird evoke both regret and triumph, a fitting statement on the human-animal relationship.
Nicholas Crombach graduated from OCAD University’s Sculpture and Installation program in 2012. He has been awarded the Hayden Davies Memorial Award, Samuel Lazar Kagan Award, Abraham and Malka Green Award, and a BMO 1st Art Nomination. His work has been seen at Word On The Street, Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects, the Al Green Gallery and Whippersnapper in Toronto. He was also preselected for Figurativas 13 at the Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona. In 2012 Crombach executed a public art commission, Billy, Nanny, and the Kids, in Burlington.
