The concept of the Wunderkammer, aka The Cabinet Of Curiosities has been an artistic inspiration for some time, however a new show opening in November by @ryanmatthewcohn and @jeanlabourdette takes it up a notch with an exceptional show of sculptures and paintings based thematically on the subject. Wunderkammers arose originally in the 16th century amongst the intellectually curious elite, who built rooms devoted to collections of objects gleaned from other cultures and the ethno-botanically wondrous. These collections served as the precursor to the concept of the Natural History museum… treasure troves meant to install creative wonder as well as scientific learning and examination. Contemporary wunderkammers often include historical oddities and can lean towards the macabre with collections of bones, taxidermy, and religious artifacts. @ryanmatthewcohn is widely known in Antique, Collector, and Oddities circles around the globe. Acclaimed for not only for his stint as an expert on the @discovery channel TV show “Oddities”, his breathtaking personal collection, and the hugely popular and influential traveling “ @odditiesfleamarket ” he started with his with @reginamarierossi , he has a cult following for his sculptural work, in particular his articulated skull pieces. For this show, Ryan has stretched his oeuvre to create 5 haunting sculptures created with human skulls and very rare antique reliquary pieces.Montreal based artist @jeanlabourdette emerged from the graffiti (Known as Turf One) and tattoo worlds, but is mostly lauded for his hyper-realistically rendered works of poetically odd characters, meticulously painted skulls and birds, and loving and sympathetic portraits of dogs, often ensconced in reliquary inspired frames- adding a dimension of reverence and appreciation for things we often pass by in the mundane world.The opening of this show starts November 4th from 6-9pm at @roqlarue and runs until November 25th. Hope to see many of you there!
Inquiries : kirsten@roqlarue.com
