Sculptor finds inspiration in ordinary materials

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University welcomes artist Ryan Roa in his solo exhibition “It’s Complicated.” The New Jersey native’s art will be on view from Oct. 16 through Dec. 8. There will be an opening reception Thursday, Oct. 19, from 5 to 9 p.m. Consisting primarily of floor and wall sculptures, the work incorporates new media and forms into his repertoire.

The sculptures on view in this show were conceived during his recent residency at the University of Texas, Dallas – Centraltrak and will be the first time this work will be presented publicly as a whole. The artist’s choice of materials date to Roa’s past experience as a carpenter, and include common hardware and construction supplies such as tempered glass, drywall, plexiglass, steel mesh and tape. The use of prefabricated objects allows visitors an accessible entry into the works, which often include surfaces comprised of simple, repetitive patterns such as radials, moires or geometric arrangements.

The work is also highly dependent upon the German concept of the “gestalt,” which is founded on the relationship of parts to a whole, and the notion that something made from many similar parts is more than, or different from, its individual units.

“The artist is concerned with the use of construction supplies,” curator Jeanne Brasile said. “He favors mundane, prefabricated items over traditional, time-honored media such as bronze, steel or marble. Using prescribed formulas — often based on ratios or offsets — he stacks, incises, bends, layers, folds or stretches matter to create sculptures that can be understood as the residue of the artist’s physical gestures as form.”

For more information, visit www.shu.edu/walshgallery. Seton Hall University is located at 400 S. Orange Avenue, South Orange. The Walsh Gallery is open 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

  Seton Hall University, Walsh Gallery