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Scott Ingram: Blue Collar Modernism
10am - 5pm
2013/2014 Working Artist Project
The MOCA GA 2013/2014 Working Artist Project was selected by Frank Sirmans, Terri and Michael Smooke Department Head and Curator of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles.
About the Exhibition:
Scott Ingram: Blue Collar Modernism
“Dissecting the built environment and mining the fields of modernism, be it art or architecture, are through lines of my work. Recently, my practice has been influenced by a realization that my community in Atlanta is becoming increasingly void of its history as it reaches for a future of hopeful prosperity, constantly destroying to build again. This fluid evolution of the built environment interests me. By working with the materials used and discarded in this process − the cinder block, I-beam, plywood, sheet rock and plaster − I am trying to understand and capture the essence and power of these forms. My work is a visually abstracted form of documentation, a perspective that re-contextualizes the build environment. I strive to present the beauty of these pedestrian objects such that they become extraordinary. In many ways, I am celebrating and elevating those things that people take for granted.”
– Scott Ingram
About the Artist:
Scott Ingram (b. 1968 in Drumright, Oklahoma) has a diverse practice that includes painting, drawing, sculpture, and collage as well as producing furniture and design products. All are connected by Ingram’s process of abstracting the real and reducing his subjects to their most essential elements, which he reflects in a combination of color and line. Modernist architecture is one of his favorite subjects as he deconstructs its forms to the most essential elements. Cast concrete, cinder blocks, steel I-beams, and glass: materials that were so essential to the period become the subject matter as well as the material vocabulary of his practice. Modernist designers also come under his scrutiny as he studies their sinuous, aerodynamic lines. While his admiration for his Modernist predecessors is evident, Ingram’s work is often infused with irreverent humor, particularly in his use of materials. In his hands, a solid concrete block can turn into foam, a line drawing can be made out of nail polish, and the facade of a house can be covered in automobile paint. In this transformation, Ingram solidly roots his work in the present.
Growing up in the Midwest, he was heavily influenced by the great modern architects of Chicago. Working for the Des Moines Art Center, Ingram developed an in-depth understanding of contemporary art within the context of architecture. In 2011 he was a resident at the MacDowell Colony and in 2013 he was awarded a Working Artists Fellowship from the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia. Ingram has been exhibiting for more than 18 years and has been included in exhibitions around the United States as well as in Spain and Canada. Most recently he exhibited at Solomon Projects, Emily Amy Gallery in Atlanta, Anna Kustera Gallery in New York, Florida Atlantic University, and Auburn University. His work is collected by numerous private and corporate collections, including the High Museum of Art. Ingram lives, works, and produces his work in Atlanta, GA.
More info on Scott Ingram can be found here.
Photographs by Fredrik Brauer
More info on Scott Ingram can be found here.