THE SAME LARRY
Nathan Lynch
March 16 – April 6, 2019
About the Exhibition
The Same Larry is an exhibition of a hand-built ceramic soaking tub. Undeniably private but awkwardly public, the bathtub provides just enough volume for two friends, neighbors, colleagues or strangers to sit entwined. Its compression of space cultivates unexpected closeness, vulnerability, and intimate conversations that amplify the nuances of our conventional (non-tub) relationships.
The April 6 closing reception of The Same Larry featured writers and artists performing readings from within the tub. These readings consisted of short stories, plays, poetry and other creative writing about interpersonal relationships and fluctuating water levels. A tub-staged musician, Charlie Hewson, played banjo songs alluding to these topics for the opening reception on March 16.
About the Artist
Nathan Lynch was raised in Pasco, WA, an agricultural community in the shadow of Hanford Nuclear Power Plant. The futility of this environmental contradiction gave Lynch an acute sense of location and deep appreciation for irony. In the five formative years after graduation Lynch worked as the prop master for a local community theatre, the effects of which are still being realized in his current body of work. His concerns for political conflict and environmental upheaval are filtered through notions of absurdity, hand fabrication and the dramatic devices of storytelling.
As a sculptor and performance artist Lynch has made collaboration and experimentation major components of his practice. Lynch’s recent projects include Dead Reckoning for BAN7 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Doubledrink for Headlands Center for the Arts, and habitat design for Cassin's Auklets on Año Nuevo Island. Lynch studied with Ken Price at the University of Southern California, and earned an MFA at Mills College with Ron Nagle. Lynch is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Ceramics and Glass Programs at California College of the Arts. He is represented by Rena Bransten Gallery.