D O W N S H I F T is a solo exhibition of new sculptural objects and works on paper that unfold from a deconstructed crossover truck bed toolbox. Through the process of subtraction, this altered material object becomes a focal point as a frame and a scaffolded image of its previous self. The utility container that once kept its contents locked and secure is also no longer mobile and mounted on the bed of a pickup truck, but still signifies the potential for expansion, construction, labor, and value. This toolbox also acts as a footnote to the full-sized, heavy-duty pickup truck as a romanticized and rugged American symbol of class, gender identity, and perceived power and freedom foiled by excess and hazardous warming emissions; among other forces. The extracted and off-casted materials and sheets of diamond-plated aluminum are recycled, shifted, and reformulated into new works and forms that offset these social and material constructs and questions the systems, relationships, and rituals within them.

Gary LaPointe Jr. ( 1991 USA ) graduated in 2016 from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago with an MFA in Sculpture and was also awarded the 2016 Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award from the International Sculpture Center. He had received his BFA from Lesley University College of Art and Design and was also a participant at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2013. LaPointe has exhibited nationally and internationally with select projects and exhibitions at EVERYBODY Gallery (Chicago) Randy Alexander Gallery (Chicago) Lunder Arts Center (Cambridge)  Kunsthal Charlottenborg  (Copenhagen) and the Royal Academy of the Arts (London). LaPointe is also featured in 100 Sculptors of Tomorrow published in 2019 by Thames and Hudson and BEERS Gallery (London). He attended the Wassaic Projects Residency in 2019 and had also received a Purchase Award from the Working Artist Organization in 2020. LaPointe currently lives and works in Chicago, IL. For more information, please visit garylapointejr.com.

Roman Susan Art Foundation is a nonprofit art space and platform for exhibitions and events in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Roman Susan develops and supports new opportunities to create, display, and experience art. For more info, please visit romansusan.org.

For further info: romansusan.org/DOWNSHIFT or contact art@romansusan.org

Image: D O W N S H I F T preview (2022) courtesy of Gary LaPointe Jr.

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Tags: Chicago, D O W N S H I F T, Gary LaPointe Jr: D O W N S H I F T, Gary LaPointe Jr., Rogers Park, Roman Susan