Lars Roeder, Specimen
April 13th - May 10th
The Lars Roeder Gallery is proud to host Specimen, an exhibition of new etchings from Lars Roeder. The Specimen series is a clear and focused collection of creatures, extracted from their place and time, and given a new, open context for the viewer.
The etchings exhibit a unity of form and cohesive consistency suggests the broader context of the figures. The viewer is rapt to analyze where they may come from, how they came to be and what sort of existence they may lead. A lifespan is measured by decisions, and these creatures, striped of any contextual clues, leave those decisions undetermined, and simply undefined.
Roeder’s work exhibits a visual bluntness of graphic marks and color composition, yet there is an inexplicability of the subject which bridges to a deeper concept. The humorously enticing imagery spurs the viewer to seek the origins of these provocative illustrations and intrigue towards the twisted mind from which they have spawned.
Artist Statement
Lars Roeder was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. He received a Bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Wisconsin— La Crosse and is now in his final semester as a graduate student at Texas A&M University— Corpus Christi. While primarily dedicated to printmaking and photography, Roeder’s latest works expand upon these techniques, along with components of design, sculpture and digital media, into interactive installations and performances which critique the modern artistic practices, relational aesthetics and the agency of the viewer.
Consider these works in the vein of a specimen case, like a butterfly collector’s formaldehyde-injected prizes. Intended for scientific exploration, they offer curious detail of an exotic creature behind (plexi)glass. Yet they are out of place. Disconnected from their environment, they pose more questions than answers and are ultimately resigned to speculation of their true intent and context. All these lost and forgotten details are left to the viewer for answers.
