daniel arsham's fossilized musical instruments exhibit at galerie perrotin paris

daniel arsham’s fossilized musical instruments exhibit at galerie perrotin paris
‘obsidian eroded walkman’ 2014
obsidian fragments, ground glass, hydrostone
16,5 x 18 x 7,5 cm — 6 1/2 x 7 x 3 inches 

daniel arsham: the future is always now
galerie perrotin, paris
now through july 26th 2014

for his ninth solo exhibition at galerie perrotin, new york-based artist daniel arsham presents a new body of work comprising approximately twenty of his distinctive eroded sculptures designed around the theme of music. ‘the future is always now’ features a series of casts of traditional instruments like guitars, turntables, microphones, boomboxes, walkmans and keyboards. these tools are crafted to seem as if they are damaged by the passage of time, resembling fossilized items found in a futuristic archeological dig. semi-deteriorating and worn down to look like volcanic specimens, the collection of monochromatic modern relics probe questions about the linearity of time and history.

(left) ‘glacial rock eroded hollow guitar’ 2014
glacial rock dust, fragments of marble, hydrostone
106,5 x 38 x 7,5 cm — 42 x 15 x 3 inches
(right) ‘rose quartz eroded guitar’ 2014
rose quartz fragments, marble dust, hydrostone
99 x 33 x 6,5 cm  — 39 x 13 x 2 1/2 inches

with materials like glacial rock dust, ground volcanic glass, hydrostone, rose quartz, and steel, arsham handcrafts these fictional disused items exposed to the effect of time. present at the exhibit is a stage with instruments, reconstituting elements of a performance and four car tires on the walls, which evoke a music tour as if a rock band abandoned them in the main gallery space.

daniel arsham the future is always now galerie perrotin paris
(above) ‘obsidian eroded keyboard’ 2014
obsidian fragments, ground glass, hydrostone
39,5 x 133 x 12,5 cm — 15 1/2 x 52 1/4 x 5 inches
all images courtesy of galerie perrotin

‘steel eroded tire’ 2014
steel fragments, volcanic glass, hydrostone
76 x 76 x 25 cm — 30 x 30 x 10 inches

(left) quartz, obsidian, and volcanic ash microphones
(right) volcanic ash marshal stacks
images courtesy of daniel arsham

(left) eroded compact disc sign
volcanic ash, obsidian, steel
(right) eroded CD
53 x 48 inches
hand painted / gouache on mylar
images courtesy of daniel arsham