Until April 6th 2019, Jeffrey Deitch’s new Los Angeles gallery presents more than fifty standing, sitting and hanging figurative sculptures. The artists in the exhibition span several generations from the 1980s to the present, with an emphasis on emerging talent.

Deitch Los Angeles, February 16, 2019.

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Here’s what the exhibition text says about the show:

“All of the works in the exhibition reflect a contemporary approach to sculpture inspired by the innovations of Dada, Surrealism, Assemblage and by the influence of non- or meta-art sources like department store mannequins. Only one work in the show is carved or modeled in the traditional way. Some are made from body casts, others are constructed with found objects and only a few use conventional sculptural materials like bronze.
The works in the exhibition reflect the diversity of the artists who created them and the diversity of the people who the sculptures represent. The styles range from hyperrealism to allegory. The subjects range from ordinary individuals to creatures of fantasy. The works explore the uncanny confrontation of the artificial and the real while simultaneously responding to the multiple approaches to human identity in the contemporary world.
Many of the works in the show have a performative quality and one of the featured works, Narcissister’s Totem, will be activated with live performance during the opening week. In keeping with the aesthetic direction of the show, it is unclear which of the figures in her Totem are live and which are not.
People is an expansion of an exhibition presented in Jeffrey Deitch’s New York gallery in May 2018. The show also extends the theme of the Metropolitan Museum’s 2018 Like Life exhibition to encompass a younger generation of artists. People is especially inspired by Mike Kelley’s influential exhibition and book project, The Uncanny from 1993. The show also builds on Deitch’s 1992 book and exhibition, Post Human.
Artists included in People are: John Ahearn, Pawel Althamer, David Altmejd, Vanessa Beecroft, Frank Benson, Ashley Bickerton, Nick Cave, Monster Chetwynd, Liz Craft, Karon Davis, Raúl De Nieves, Rachel Feinstein, Urs Fischer, Luis Flores, Isa Genzken, Vanessa German, Katie Grinnan, Duane Hanson, Evan Holloway, Christian Holstad, Thomas Houseago, Alex Israel, Elizabeth Jaeger, Renaud Jerez, Josh Kline, Jeff Koons, Austin Lee, Tau Lewis, Sarah Lucas, Tony Matelli, Paul McCarthy, Barry McGee, Matthew Monahan, Narcissister, Ruby Neri, Simphiwe Nzube, Rob Pruitt, Alison Saar, Kiki Smith, Hajime Sorayama, Katie Stout, Rigoberto Torres, Anna Uddenberg, Stewart Uoo, and Fred Wilson.”