Charles Ray Exhibition at The Art Institute of Chicago

Two weeks ago, I had a chance to visit the Art Institute of Chicago and I found a new exhibition in the Modern wing, called "Charles Ray: Sculpture, 1997–2014." I was not too excited about the exhibition at first as I thought it will be a typical exhibition. However, this one was different. The whole room is almost empty with couple sculptures lying around in the middle of the room.

The first one that stunned me was a sculpture of a life-size car crash. It looks so real, except from the coloring of the sculpture. I found out later that he actually took an actual car crash and making the exact replica from it. This simply shows how detailed-orientated Charles Ray is in making this sculpture. And this is the beginning of my fascination toward Charles Ray.

Unpainted Sculpture, 1997, Fiberglass and paint

We could say that the second sculpture is almost like a painting. However, with the cooperation of the whole area of exhibition and put the left of the painting toward a large window of the building, the name of the painting "Light from the Left" reflects two different things that are equally amazing. The first meaning is the literal meaning from the light of the window while the second meaning is tthe metaphor meaning of his wife as a light that has shined in the painter's life. This double meaning painting left a strong impact on me after I perceived it.

Light from the Left, 2007, fiberglass and paint 

The third sculpture from the exhibition that I am amazed in is the sculpture of the life-size naked boy playing the car toy. Having to lower oneself to the level of the boy to view this piece gives me an impression of understanding his feeling as a kid as it bought back my memory as a child.

The New Beetle, 2006, Stainless steel and paint

And the last piece that I wanted to present today is the sculpture of a dead tree. Once the sculpture found the tree, he chainsawed it out into pieces and transported it back to the his studio in order to make molds for each piece and making the replication using fiberglass. The process is similar to"Unpainted Sculpture" for the crash car. But by painting brown color on the fiberglass, it gives a more realistic feeling than the previous one. 

There are many more sculptures in the exhibition that are equally fascinating. If you have time and happen to be in Chicago from now until Oct 4th, 2015, you should stop by The Art Institute of Chicago and experience it yourself.

Hinoki, 2007, Cypress Wood