Royale Projects is pleased to announce Double Take: Ewerdt Hilgemann x Rubén Ortiz Torres opening May 7 and running through June 18, 2022.
Double Take explores the aesthetic and conceptual intersections within a pair of artists from the gallery’s program. This series of exhibitions will continue to closely examine various dyads, comparing and contrasting practices through specific bodies of work.
Elementary research characterizes Ewerdt Hilgemann’s conceptual practice. Trained under Oskar Holweck (1924–2007), Hilgemann was deeply influenced by the artist group ZERO and its focus on movement and light. In the 1960s, the artist experimented with delicate wood works that captured light, later using stone and steel in an exploration of positive versus negative space. As he worked to disrupt the tropes of minimalism, studying the magnificent forces of nature, he became fascinated with the power and brute force of air, an element that is congruently soft, ephemeral and vital to human existence. The artist meticulously crafts stainless steel geometric forms, vacuuming the air from their interiors and causing the structures to bend and collapse morphing into new shapes.
Hilgemann has public installations around the world including Chicago, IL; Kansas City, KS; the City of West Hollywood, CA; Berlin, Germany; Busan, Korea and New York City, NY. His works are held in public collections worldwide including Museum Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany; Museum Mondriaanhuis, Amersfoot, Netherlands; Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA; Art Field, Moscow, Russia; Vasareli Museum, Budapest, Hungary and Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands.
Rubén Ortiz Torres’ conceptual work explores historical narratives and cultural intersections influenced by anarchy, punk, Chicanx culture, and minimalism. Currently the artist utilizes various lowrider techniques, converting aluminum panels, shopping carts, and border patrol vehicles into provocative artworks that are powerful critiques of contemporary society.
Widely recognized as a pacesetter of postmodernism, Ortiz Torres’ work is in significant collections internationally including Los Angeles County Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Mexico; La Colección Jumex, Mexico City, Mexico; Mexican Museum of Fine Arts, Chicago, IL; Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; The Metropolitan Museum New York, NY; The Tate Modern, London, UK; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain; The Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ; The Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, CA; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA and The Smithsonian Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C.