Aaron Sandnes

Artist’s Statement

It is important for me to use the platform of art making to address my political concerns. My artwork directs attention towards social themes of power, violence and anarchism by subverting minimalist tropes. As an artist, I make my work from the position of the Anti-Hero. For me the symbol of the Anti-Hero (commonly understood to lack conventional heroic attributes) represents the idea of overcoming alienation. This theme allows me to explore my political interests while simultaneously drawing from my life. I adopt certain languages from the Minimalist canon with a distinct political slant. Politically, I am focused on the spaces in which commitment to any ideology obstructs humanity from progressing. I reference anarchy as I see anarchistic acts as attempts to reconcile these obstructions. Though my artwork spans a range of disciplines I often employ red herrings as a conceptual framework to contradict the expectations of my gestures with political themes. Exploiting certain aesthetics allows me the opportunity to interject political attributes without being alienating or overtly didactic. By producing accessible art objects, I am able to permeate my position from the inside, rather than explicit display from the outside.

Website: aaronsandnes.com

Biography

Select Solo Exhibitions from 2011-2016

2015
THIS HOLLOWED GROUND, Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Los Angeles, CA

2012
DESIRE ARMED, curated by Cesar Garcia, LA><ART, Los Angeles, CA

Selected Group Exhibitions from 2011-2016

2015
MANIFEST JUSTICE, 3741 S. La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA
THE SILENCE OF ORDINARY THINGS, The Mistake Room, Los Angeles, CA
PLAINLY TO PROPOUND, Gavlak Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

2014
OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND, Machine Projects, Los Angeles, CA 

Select Fellowships and Awards

2016
California Community Foundation Fellowship Award for Visual Artists

EDUCATION

M.F.A., 2007
Cal Arts, Valencia, Calif.

B.A., 2003
University Irvine California, Irvine, Calif.