LA><ART

A Fireplace and Its Mirror stems from a photograph of the living room of Rochele Gomez’s parents. Plants, a faux fireplace, and large flat screen TV occupy the space. In this work there are two planes interacting. The first is a large photograph that operates as an index because of its exactitude. Its 1:1 scale ratio between subject and representation and its ability to locate its source provide an image of a lifestyle that suggests class and taste can be understood as an externalization of subjectivity in the choice arrangement of objects.

The second plane is a series of stained glass windows that use a vocabulary found in Arts and Crafts or Art Nouveau design, and mimic the objects and architectural details in the photograph. In using stained glass, these windows carry with them the history of the craft—its use in design as an elevated signifier. Here the quotidian rubs up against the historical. A Fireplace and Its Mirror registers the aesthetic sensibility of the artist’s family household, placing in conflict with the artist’s own preoccupations and practice.

From object to photo to glass, A Fireplace and Its Mirror allows meaning to hover between its vertical planes. The artist is invested in a space for reflection upon the means of representation in and of itself.

Selected by Daniel Joseph Martinez in memory of Deep River.

About the Artist

Rochele Gomez was born in 1980 in Panorama City, CA. Her work is invested in situating subjectivity and working with aesthetic histories that are often negated. She recently completed her graduate studies at the University of California, Irvine in 2014. She is a recipient of numerous scholarship and grants including: H.B. and Isabelle Yolen Memorial Scholarship (2013), The University of California Institute of Research for the Arts Mini-grant (2013), the Claire Trevor School of the Arts Research/Travel Grant (2013) and the UC Irvine Trevor School of the Arts Shiela K. & James J. Peterson Community Spirit Scholarship (2012). This past summer she attended the Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts as a recipient of the American Austrian Foundation/Seebacher Prize (2014). Recent exhibitions include Spaces that Surround Us at the Experimental Sculpture and Painting Studio on the UC San Diego campus (2014), Out at the Elbows at metro pcs (2014), and Saucy Leechcraft at JB Jurve (2012). She lives and works in Los Angeles.