(g)litter
May 4 – June 15, 2019
Gallery Two

Exhibition Text

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ANDREW RAFACZ is pleased to announce (g)litter, an exhibition of new wall works by Sam Keller in Gallery Two.

Chicago, IL, May 4, 2019 – ANDREW RAFACZ continues 2019 with (g)litter, a solo exhibition of works by Sam Keller. The exhibition continues through Saturday, June 15, 2019.

Sam Keller’s alluring works are a study of the fetishized object in everyday life within consumer culture. For (g)litter, Keller presents ten new cans encrusted with Swarovski-Crystals. Transforming used soda and beer cans into striking and glimmering treasures, the artist prompts the viewer to reexamine discarded consumer objects. Each found flattened can is laboriously bedazzled with crystals to reproduce the original surface image.

While bringing attention to the politics of consumption, Keller’s stunning works challenge cultural and financial value. The material juxtaposition between cheap aluminum and extravagant crystals emphasize an irony often present throughout his practice. Keller frequently works with aggregated found materials to subvert their cultural meanings and transform their objecthood. He is drawn to precarious urban lives and decay. (g)litter presents a body of work that is a staple to Keller’s practice – transforming already used materials into beautifully fabricated, careful objects.

SAM KELLER (American, b.1986) lives and works in Hazel Park, MI. He received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI) in 2009 and will receive an MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art (Bloomfield Hills, MI) in 2020. Recent exhibitions include 123 Astronaut Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), Gallery 102 at Corcoran (Washington, D.C.), Martha’s Contemporary (Austin, TX), This Friday or Next Friday (Brooklyn, NY), and Ed. Varie (New York, NY). This is his first exhibition with the gallery.