Brock DeBoer’s artistic process as a ceramic sculptor utilises porcelain, historical motifs and surface treatments to re-contextualise detritus, outdated objects. For DeBoer the source of the objects he recreates come from childhood and popular culture such as sneakers and Nintendo. Many are highly nostalgic to his generation and beyond as there are also historical references such as a bust of Michelangelo’s David found in past and current works. DeBoer sees these collections and still lifes as self portraits and tangible memories of another time and place. DeBoer draws influence from his midwestern upbringing combined with the ever- changing and vastly diverse landscape of Los Angeles.
Using his extensive knowledge of ceramic materials and processes DeBoer brings his sculptures a new life becoming heirlooms of the 21st century. By using classical blue and white motifs of cobalt patterns and luscious gold accents DeBoer’s casts become suspended somewhere in the past and present. He allows the viewer to become lost in memory as well as at the same time the extreme craft and finishes of his precise reproductions.
Brock DeBoer was born in South Dakota in 1985 and currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. Recent exhibitions include “what we’ve got here is a failure to communicate”, 2018, Torrance Art Museum in Torrance, CA and “Sifting Through the Detritus”, Haw Contemporary, 2018, Kansas City, MO.
