Benjamin Reiss at Bel Ami

Artist: Benjamin Reiss

Exhibition title: Package Factory (Natural Marriage of Natural Resources)

Venue: Bel Ami, Los Angeles, US

Date: April 12 – May 19, 2018

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Bel Ami, Los Angeles

Note: A Lover’s Guide to the Package Factory by Ana Iwataki can be found here

Benjamin Reiss’s Package Factory (Natural Marriage of Natural Resources) (2016-2018) probes at the limits of understanding, the unconscious, and the outsourcing of agency via the card-backed blister package, used for selling batteries, toys, chapstick, pens, and a great many other quotidian items.  The work is presented alongside research notes and drawings made during its production, and a series of satellite works.  This exhibition is accompanied by A Lover’s Guide to the Package Factory by Ana Iwataki, a booklet published with a selection of Notes for Package Factory.

Benjamin Reiss (b. 1985, Los Angeles) lives and works in Los Angeles. Recent and forthcoming exhibitions include Parker Gallery, Los Angeles; Actual Size, Los Angeles; 247365, New York; M+B, Los Angeles (forthcoming).

Ana Iwataki (b. 1989, Los Angeles) is a curator, writer, and translator who lives and works in Los Angeles.

Benjamin Reiss, Package Factory (Natural Marriage of Natural Resources), 2018, exhibition view, Bel Ami, Los Angeles

Benjamin Reiss, Notes for Package Factory, 2016-2017, pen, pencil, colored pencil on paper, various dimensions

Benjamin Reiss, Package Factory (Natural Marriage of Natural Resources), 2016-2018, wood, MDF, epoxy, acrylic, PVC, ABS, styrene, urethane, latex, vinyl, papier mache, concrete, plaster, copper, steel, sculpey, wires, graph paper, hula hoops, party toothpicks, plastic cups, funnels, approx. 58 x 95 x 93 in (147 x 241 x 236 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Package Factory (Natural Marriage of Natural Resources), 2018, exhibition view, Bel Ami, Los Angeles

Benjamin Reiss, Tadpole Dish, 2018, plaster, epoxy, paint, 1 x 5 1/8 x 5 1/8 in (2.5 x 13 x 13 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Sperm, Tadpole & Worm, 2018, mdf, epoxy, glue, urethane, 1 3/4 x 5 1/8 x 3 in (4.7 x 13.2 x 7.8 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Accelerator, 2018, mdf, wood, epoxy, metal, urethane, 3 x 4 3/4 x 4 1/4 in (8 x 12.2 x 10.6 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Untitled (acrylic coffin), 2017, acrylic, 5 x 1 3/4 x 1/2 in (13 x 4.5 x 1.5 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Untitled (designer’s hand), 2017, plaster, 3 x 2 x 1 1/2 in (7.5 x 5 x 4 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Untitled (package), 2016, acrylic, plaster, paint, glue, 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 in (14 x 11.5 x 5.2 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Untitled (finger test), 2017, polymer clay, wood, paint, 1 1/2 x 2 1/8 x 1 in (4 x 5.5 x 2.7 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Tadpole Going In, 2017, mdf, epoxy, glue, 3 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 3 in (8 x 19.2 x 7.7 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Dirt Car, 2017, concrete, gravel, dirt, paint, wood, epoxy, 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3 3/4 in (7 x 11 x 9.5 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Toaster Sketch, 2018, masonite, papier mache, acrylic, styrene foam, shellac, paint, glue, beads, 6 3/4 x 6 3/4 x 9 in (17.5 x 17.5 x 23 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Untitled (acrylic sun), 2017, acrylic, permanent marker, 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 x 1/2 in (10.8 x 10.8 x 1.5 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Untitled (clouds and plunger), 2018, polystyrene foam, wood, acrylic, epoxy, paint, screws, 7 x 5 x 2 1/2 in (18 x 12.6 x 6.5 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Cutting Board with Vegetables, 2018, acrylic, epoxy, glue, 4 x 2 1/2 x 3/4 in (10.2 x 6.5 x 1.5 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Split Bag, 2018, plaster, wood, acrylic, epoxy, screws, 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 2 in (16 x 15.7 x 4.5 cm)

Benjamin Reiss, Package Factory (Natural Marriage of Natural Resources), 2018, exhibition view, Bel Ami, Los Angeles

Benjamin Reiss, Untitled (Automobile drawing A), 2010, pencil, colored pencil on paper, 30 x 22 in (unframed)