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Contemporary Art Gallery

555 Nelson Street
Vancouver, Canada
Admission always free

Today's hours
12 pm - 6 pm
CurrentExhibition
7 Jun 24until8 Sep 24

Rochelle Goldberg

Sun Moon Stars

B.C. Binning Gallery

Rochelle Goldberg, Partial View, 2023, Mercer Union, Toronto. Photo: Vuk Dragojevic. Courtesy of the artist and Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver.

The work of Vancouver-born, Berlin-based artist Rochelle Goldberg finds root in the unstable boundaries between seemingly fixed entities: animate and inanimate, self and other, renewal and decay. Her sculptures often merge ephemeral and enduring matter such as crude oil, bronze, glitter, steel, and seeds to enact installations that project forward and backward in time, combining art historical iconography with allusions to ongoing processes of transformation, contamination and growth.

In Sun Moon Stars, Goldberg continues her engagement with Mary of Egypt, a fifth-century saint who has served as a recurring point of reference in her practice. Historically framed as a repentant sinner who turned away from the carnal and material to pursue a life of scarcity in the desert, the artist recasts Mary here in dialogue with the image of another highly determined figure — the 20th-century pinup model — tracing the anachronistic frameworks that tether these icons to both one another and the present moment. The images and forms that Goldberg marshals in this scene are at once fragmentary, suspended and unfixed, pointing us toward continuous cycles of making and unmaking — material, mythical and epistemological — and to the sedimentary structures that have long shaped Western constructions of body, self and environment.

Sun Moon Stars (2023) was originally commissioned by Mercer Union, Toronto.

Biography

Rochelle Goldberg lives and works in Berlin. Her solo exhibitions include Mercer Union, Toronto; Commercial Street, Los Angeles; Kunsthalle Lingen, Germany; The Power Station, Dallas; GAMeC di Bergamo, Italy; and SculptureCenter, New York. Her work has also been featured in group exhibitions at institutions such as Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive; Oakville Galleries, Canada; Montpellier Contemporain; Fondation d’Entreprise Ricard, Paris; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Dortmunder Kunstverein, Germany; and Swiss Institute, New York, amongst others. She was Artist in Residence at The Chinati Foundation, Marfa and Atelier Calder, France, and was selected to present for the inaugural Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center, New York (2019). She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the Milton Avery School of the Arts at Bard College, New York.

A wide view of several sculptures hanging from wire: magic wands, vanity lights and silver baguettes. Two bronze sulptures of partial human figures sit among aluminum cans and painted baguettes on the floor.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. The sculpture's form appears to be precarious. Behind it are silver baguettes and aluminum cans.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. Above, silver magic wands hang from wire.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. The sculpture appears to be disintegrating.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. The sculpture appears to be disintegrating.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. The sculpture appears to be disintegrating.
A wide view of several sculptures hanging from wire: magic wands, vanity lights and silver baguettes. A bronze sulpture of a partial human figure sits among aluminum cans and painted baguettes scattered across the floor.
A wide view of several sculptures hanging from wire: magic wands, vanity lights and silver baguettes. A bronze sulpture of a partial human figure sits among aluminum cans and painted baguettes scattered across the floor.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. The sculpture's form appears to be precarious. Nearby are silver baguettes, aluminum cans and bronze cans that appear to be melting.
A textured bronze sculpture of a partial human figure. The sculpture appears to be disintegrating.
A wide view of several sculptures hanging from wire: magic wands, vanity lights and silver baguettes. A bronze sulpture of a partial human figure sits among aluminum cans and painted baguettes scattered across the floor.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. The sculpture's form appears to be precarious. Nearby are a vanity light, more aluminum cans, silver baguettes, and bronze cans that appear to be melting.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. Nearby are more aluminum cans, silver baguettes, and bronze cans that appear to be melting.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits among aluminum cans, baguettes and smaller bronze forms. Above, a magic wand, silver baguettes and a vanity light hang from wire.
A wide view of vanity lights and silver magic wands hanging from wire. A bronze sulpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans.
A detail of a sculpture comprised of silver-painted baguettes, wire, aluminum cans and a bronze can.
A detail of a sculpture comprised of silver-painted baguettes, wire, aluminum cans and a bronze can. The bronze can is in focus and its background is blurred.
A detail of a sculpture comprised of silver-painted baguettes, wire, aluminum cans and a bronze can whose form appears to be disintegrating.
A detail of a sculpture comprised of silver-painted baguettes, wire, and aluminum cans.
A silver magic wand, a vanity light and dozens of painted baguettes are held by wire fixed to the wall. Four wires hang from the silver wand and stretch out of frame.
A worm's eye view of dozens of silver-painted baguettes and a magic wand held by several wires. Above them the ceiling lights are visible.
Vanity lights and a dozen silver baguettes hang from wires fixed to the wall. On the floor are another vanity light, more silver baguettes and aluminum cans.
A detail view of a silver magic wand. In the background are a vanity light and more magic wands hanging from wire.
A detail view of a silver magic wand. In the background are a vanity light and more magic wands hanging from wire.
Dozens of magic wands and a vanity light hang from wire.
A wide view of several sculptures hanging from wire: magic wands, vanity lights and silver baguettes. Two bronze sulptures of partial human figures sit among aluminum cans, a vanity light, glass bowls, and painted baguettes on the floor.
A sculpture comprised of three glass bowls and five aluminum cans. One of the cans is tied to wire that stretches out of frame.
A detail of a sculpture comprised of glass bowls, wire, aluminum cans, and a ball with copper coins sticking out.

Documents

Essay: "Enter Mary," Kristian Vistrup Madsenpdf3mbExhibition materialpdf154kbLarge print exhibition materialpdf266kb

Talks & Events

EventOpening ReceptionSummer 2024
6 Jun 24·7:00 PMuntil9:00 PM
EventCuratorial Tourwith Matthew Hyland
18 Jun 24·6:00 PM
EventSaturday SessionRebecca Brewer on Rochelle Goldberg
22 Jun 24·12:00 PM
A pair of windows featuring line drawn figures engaged in various activities. Some of the figures spell out “for” and “ever” with their bodies.EventCuratorial Tourwith Godfre Leung
16 Jul 24·6:00 PM
EventIn ConversationRochelle Goldberg & Liz Magor
10 Aug 24·12:00 PM
A wide view of several sculptures hanging from wire: magic wands, vanity lights and silver baguettes. Two bronze sulptures of partial human figures sit among aluminum cans and painted baguettes on the floor.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. The sculpture's form appears to be precarious. Behind it are silver baguettes and aluminum cans.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. Above, silver magic wands hang from wire.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. The sculpture appears to be disintegrating.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. The sculpture appears to be disintegrating.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. The sculpture appears to be disintegrating.
A wide view of several sculptures hanging from wire: magic wands, vanity lights and silver baguettes. A bronze sulpture of a partial human figure sits among aluminum cans and painted baguettes scattered across the floor.
A wide view of several sculptures hanging from wire: magic wands, vanity lights and silver baguettes. A bronze sulpture of a partial human figure sits among aluminum cans and painted baguettes scattered across the floor.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. The sculpture's form appears to be precarious. Nearby are silver baguettes, aluminum cans and bronze cans that appear to be melting.
A textured bronze sculpture of a partial human figure. The sculpture appears to be disintegrating.
A wide view of several sculptures hanging from wire: magic wands, vanity lights and silver baguettes. A bronze sulpture of a partial human figure sits among aluminum cans and painted baguettes scattered across the floor.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. The sculpture's form appears to be precarious. Nearby are a vanity light, more aluminum cans, silver baguettes, and bronze cans that appear to be melting.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans on a concrete floor. Nearby are more aluminum cans, silver baguettes, and bronze cans that appear to be melting.
A bronze sculpture of a partial human figure sits among aluminum cans, baguettes and smaller bronze forms. Above, a magic wand, silver baguettes and a vanity light hang from wire.
A wide view of vanity lights and silver magic wands hanging from wire. A bronze sulpture of a partial human figure sits on aluminum cans.
A detail of a sculpture comprised of silver-painted baguettes, wire, aluminum cans and a bronze can.
A detail of a sculpture comprised of silver-painted baguettes, wire, aluminum cans and a bronze can. The bronze can is in focus and its background is blurred.
A detail of a sculpture comprised of silver-painted baguettes, wire, aluminum cans and a bronze can whose form appears to be disintegrating.
A detail of a sculpture comprised of silver-painted baguettes, wire, and aluminum cans.
A silver magic wand, a vanity light and dozens of painted baguettes are held by wire fixed to the wall. Four wires hang from the silver wand and stretch out of frame.
A worm's eye view of dozens of silver-painted baguettes and a magic wand held by several wires. Above them the ceiling lights are visible.
Vanity lights and a dozen silver baguettes hang from wires fixed to the wall. On the floor are another vanity light, more silver baguettes and aluminum cans.
A detail view of a silver magic wand. In the background are a vanity light and more magic wands hanging from wire.
A detail view of a silver magic wand. In the background are a vanity light and more magic wands hanging from wire.
Dozens of magic wands and a vanity light hang from wire.
A wide view of several sculptures hanging from wire: magic wands, vanity lights and silver baguettes. Two bronze sulptures of partial human figures sit among aluminum cans, a vanity light, glass bowls, and painted baguettes on the floor.
A sculpture comprised of three glass bowls and five aluminum cans. One of the cans is tied to wire that stretches out of frame.
A detail of a sculpture comprised of glass bowls, wire, aluminum cans, and a ball with copper coins sticking out.