Permission to Fail in Chinatown

Hey, I saw a good sculpture show at Sam Lee Gallery on Hill street last Saturday. It was the opening of Macha Suzuki's Permission to Fail. I've known about Macha's work for awhile now as he was renting a work space in the same building I still rent in downtown. I love his work, it's easy on the eyes.

This new show is similar in style to the pieces I had seen previously. Macha continues with the use of the figure, an almost digital use of materials, clean and precise execution and a mostly inner narrative conceptual approach. Hey, I'm being to sound like I know what I'm talking about!



One of his works explores the idea of what if god designed life the same way people design consumer items. There's always a series of simple failed prototypes that don't quite make the mark and get thrown away. So, Macha's prototype for a sheep features an extruded octagon with cottonball fur and no head, an early iteration to be sure. On top of the sheep is a figure adapted from a childhood memory of himself and his friends incompetently trying to imitate cartoon characters . Hope I got that right.



Another large standing piece explores the idea of the birth of generosity. The intent is present but the actual form of the giving is undefined represented by a wireframe polygon waiting to be skinned with the gift once it is realized. Anyway, this is good stuff. I hope you catch the show down at Sam Lee before May 15th when the show closes.



Sam Lee Gallery
990 N. Hill Street #190
Los Angeles, CA 90012
http://www.samleegallery.com