On View: Brian Rochefort's 'Staring at the Moon' Descends Upon L.A.
The more you travel, the more it rings true that pictures don’t do most places justice. Pixels cannot adequately capture the feeling of isolation that the infinite white landscape of the Arctic evokes; the iPhone 73 would not be powerful enough to imitate the verdant beauty of the Amazon rainforest to someone who’s never stood beneath its canopies. Ceramic artist Brian Rochefort’s work, on the other hand—just might do the trick.
Staring at the Moon, Rochefort’s inaugural exhibition at the Sean Kelly Gallery in Los Angeles, uses his travels to remote locales around the world as fodder for sixteen stunning new sculptures. The Rhode Island native’s creations do what cameras cannot, translating the sublime beauty of secluded regions of the world—including the mystifying cloud forests of Bolivia, the rolling grasses of Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater, and the rugged volcanoes of the Galápagos Islands—into chunky, dripping forms that spark the same wonder and awe as their muses.
“When I started traveling in 2016 to South America, I had no idea it would impact my studio,” he shares with Highsnobiety. Not only the destinations, but the journeys to reach them, enthralled the ceramic virtuoso. “I liked the isolation and difficulty of getting to certain places, notably the Bolivian Amazon. I loved the fog and wetness, the textures and colors. I like to think of the works as abstract representations of things I have seen.”
Anticipation for the exhibit, which runs from September 14 to November 2 of this year, extends well beyond the art world. With cosigns from the likes of designer Dries Van Noten—who presented a Rochefort exhibit at his Los Angeles gallery "The Little House" last fall—and a highly praised collaboration with Berluti for FW21, Rochefort is rightly revered among fashion’s “in-crowd.”
His latest works are some of his most ambitious yet, taking on the daunting task of channeling nature through rigid, artificial materials. In pieces like “Wet Season” and “Spray Ash,” globs and crackles of pink jump out from hunks of black and green ceramic to create a lava-like effect. Eponymous sculpture “Staring at the Moon,” a favorite of Rochefort’s, absorbs the viewer in a hue of absolute darkness. Another favorite is “Rapture,” a large-scale piece which he describes as “psychotic yet beautifully composed.” ‘Alien’ is a frequent descriptor, deployed even by the artist himself to capture the extra-universal quality which radiates from each of his elaborate constructions.
With their drips, jagged edges and improbable contours, the multi-textural works imply the irregular structures of the natural world—a testament to the advantages of the artist’s unique process. At his Los Angeles studio (frequented by beloved pet dachshund Terri), Rochefort puts his initial vessels through multiple rounds of firing and glazing to develop compelling layered designs. The improvisational technique lets him experiment and, often, surprise himself with the possibilities of the form.
“I begin a piece without having a notion of how it will finish,” he explains. “I decide on an initial texture and color and intuitively mix color and glazes, then fire, then react to the results.”
It’s been 25 years since the LA-based creative first fell in love with ceramics. An eye-opening freshman-year art elective inspired him to train in the medium at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. Inspired by abstract artists like Franz West, Joan Mitchell, and photographer Aaron Siskind, Rochefort has pushed the boundaries of the form with his dynamic, tactile sculptures—often colorful, and always begging to be examined from every angle.
The Sean Kelly installation facilitates such examination, transforming the very architecture of the gallery to best showcase his new collection. “The idea and execution is extraordinary and is absolutely stunning,” he teases of the display. “I have never done anything like it. The show becomes almost one work that engages the entire space.”
If it wasn’t clear already, you’ll want to catch Staring at the Moon in person if you can. Pictures are nice, but some things you just have to see for yourself.
Staring at the Moon is on view at Sean Kelly Gallery in Los Angeles now through November 2.
