Amanda Ross-Ho at Bonner Kunstverein

Bonner Kunstverein announces the upcoming exhibition by L.A. based artist Amanda Ross-Ho

Working primarily as a sculptor, Amanda Ross-Ho uses a diverse range of materials and techniques from traditional handicrafts to 3D printing. Within her exhibitions banal, everyday objects from her domestic or studio environment are translated and transformed with dramatic effect.

The exhibition at Bonner Kunstverein presents a new body of work inspired in part by Charlie Chaplin’s political comedy ’Modern Times’, made in 1936 during the last great global recession.

The installation will take the form of a factory floor organised around a large, video projection of a ‘barber’s shop clock’, designed to be viewed in a mirror. A series of sculptures in the form of oversized pairs of trousers with empty, turned out pockets will line the walls. Enlarged beyond human scale, these handmade but apparently identical ‘garments’ will be presented with other works that refer to their production. These include a series of mirrored tables bearing a selection of objects including tape measures, tailors’ chalk, dressmaking pins, rolls of fabric and an array of antique clock hands.

It will be Ross-Ho’s first solo exhibition in Germany and the largest presentation of her work in Europe to date.

The exhibition is co-commissioned with Vleeshal, Middelburg and generously supported by Kunststiftung NRW, Volksbank Bonn Rhein-Sieg and the Mondriaan Fund. We are also grateful to Bönnsch for sponsoring the exhibition.

Amanda Ross-Ho (b. 1975, Chicago) studied at California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland and the Art Institute of Chicago before completing an MA in Fine Art at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Solo exhibitions of her work have been presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (2014); Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2013) and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2012). Her work has also been presented within significant group surveys including ‘Ordinary Pictures’, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, ‘New Photography’ Museum of Modern Art, New York; ‘Production Site: The Artist’s Studio Inside and Out’, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (both 2010) and at the 2008 Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum, New York. In 2015 she was commissioned by the Public Art Fund to produce a major new work for City Hall Park, New York. Ross-Ho lives and works in Los Angeles.

Amanda Ross-Ho, Installation view, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher

Amanda Ross-Ho, Installation view, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher

Amanda Ross-Ho, Installation view, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher

Amanda Ross-Ho, Installation view, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher

Amanda Ross-Ho, `Untitled Production Line, Part 1 (MODERN TIMES)´ (detail), Mirrored table, Black canvas, White canvas, thread, straight pins, coffee cup, water glass, water, belt loops, tailor’s chalk, stainless steel 3D printed Silverfish, Acrylic on Black Nike Air Force Ones, Acrylic on White Nike Air Force Ones, vintage clock hands, bobbin spools, 2016/2017, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher

Amanda Ross-Ho, `Untitled Production Line, Part 1 (MODERN TIMES)´ (detail), Mirrored table, Black canvas, White canvas, thread, straight pins, coffee cup, water glass, water, belt loops, tailor’s chalk, stainless steel 3D printed Silverfish, Acrylic on Black Nike Air Force Ones, Acrylic on White Nike Air Force Ones, vintage clock hands, bobbin spools, 2016/2017, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher

Amanda Ross-Ho, Untitled Production Still (SLEEP PATTERN, Pattern paper, pattern hook, pattern card, Black Sleep Mask, Black canvas, 2017, Untitled Production Still (NIGHT SHIFT), Black canvas, thumbtacks, rolled and folded Black canvas, French Black glass coffee mug, 3D printed stainless steel Silverfish, Acrylic on Black Nike Air Force Ones, 2017, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher

Amanda Ross-Ho, Installation view, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher

Amanda Ross-Ho, Untitled Reverse Movement, Video, TRT: 60 minutes, 2016, installation view, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher

Amanda Ross-Ho, `Untitled Production Still (RED DAWN)´(detail), Black canvas, Acrylic on Black Nike Air Force One, bias seam binding and straight pin, Red canvas and straight pin, Red canvas, thread, bias binding and straight pin, Red canvas and straight pin, Red canvas and straight pin, 3D printed Red plastic Silverfish, 2017, installation view, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher

Amanda Ross-Ho, Installation view, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher

Amanda Ross-Ho, Installation view, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher

Amanda Ross-Ho, Installation view, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher

Amanda Ross-Ho, Installation view, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher

Amanda Ross-Ho, `Untitled Production Line, Part 2 (MODERN TIMES)´ (detail), Mirrored table, Black canvas, White canvas, belt loops, pocket facings, grommet tests, coffee cup, waistband strips, lint roller, buttons, 3D printed Stainless Steel Silverfish, Sewn pocket and grommet hole punches, 3D printed Black plastic Silverfish, water glass, water, non-slip rubber, White belt loop, lack straight pin preparator’s glove, ironing pad, vintage clock hands, grommet test surface, gold thimble, bias tape and straight pin, seamstress glove, wine glass, Acrylic on White Nike Air Force One, Black belt loops, Red belt loop, 2016/2017, installation view, Bonner Kunstverein, 2017. Photo: Mareike Tocher