Night Gallery is thrilled to present Family Tree, an exhibition of new work by Josh Callaghan. This is the artist’s second solo show at the gallery.
Josh Callaghan, Family Tree, installation view, 2022
Josh Callaghan’s sculptures uncover the relations between commodity and culture, creating humanistic forms out of consumer products. For Callaghan, quotidian objects are a kind of societal gauge; their forms are reflections of our common values and therefore, ourselves. This exhibition brings these interests to a markedly more monumental scale. Through the stylized landscape of Family Tree, Callaghan conducts a micro-survey of his shared life, and in turn suggests something essential about human behavior, social structures, and the passage of time.
Josh Callaghan, Family Tree, installation view, 2022
The titular sculpture, Family Tree, is a towering aluminum tree with bare and brittle branches, composed of photography tripods sourced and repurposed by the artist. Callaghan was initially drawn to the interlocking tubes as a sleek engineering system, particularly in Italian-made Manfrotto tripods. Bent by Callaghan, the manufactured tubing takes on a spontaneous quality, its curvatures echoing the artist’s touch. Here, the image making tool is made into the image, deconstructed and bolted together into an organic, telescopic form.
Josh Callaghan, Family Tree, 2022
Josh Callaghan, Family Tree, detail, 2022
