Commonwealth & Council presents new work by Benjamin Love, his first solo exhibition in Los Angeles.

As an extension of his interest in site-specific work and the history of abstraction, Love will present polished aluminum sculptures, wood inlayed paintings, and carpeted floor works that represent two distinct methods of production. Modeled on Commonwealth & Council’s mission of hospitality, its office has been made mobile to accommodate the needs of each exhibition. The metal and carpet works index and facilitate the movement of the objects by calling attention to the gallery's arrangement, its transience, and support of the relocation of the office within the space. 

West Wall Marker is one of seven polished aluminum sculptures that create trace images that are defined by the artworks that they mark the absence of. Similarly the carpeted floor works mark the absence of the furniture in the space. Initially the Six Jigs appear loosely organized, but upon further looking an underlying system of geometric logic appears. The works reference painting in surface and method of display, and sculpture through their materials. Black Walnut, Cherry, and Maple are applied to surfaces, and then flattened creating formal relationships that reference the history of abstract painting.

Benjamin Love was born in Mountain Home, Idaho, in 1984. He received his BFA from Boise State University (2010), attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2010), and was a fellow at the Art Institute of Chicago’s Ox-Bow Residency (2009). His work has recently been exhibited at the Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA; Yogiga Gallery, Seoul, South Korea; The Sam Fox School of Art and Design, St. Louis, MO; and the Ludwigsburg University of Education, in Ludwigsburg, Germany.