Various Small Fires is pleased to present an exhibition of new works by Ashley Bickerton (b. Barbados, 1959, lives in Bali, Indonesia) and the artist’s first solo show with the gallery.
Bickerton, while known as an American artist, has lived and worked on the south coast of the island of Bali for the past 27 years. He grew up moving between a series of islands in several oceans, and across four continents. Deeply influenced by the legacy of his father’s nomadic career as an internationally acclaimed scholar in anthropological linguistics, Bickerton’s peripatetic childhood was critical in shaping the conceptually based and autobiographical practice that he has become known for today. After graduating CalArts in 1982, Bickerton wasted little time moving to New York City and establishing himself as one of the seminal figures in a group of artists coming out the the then explosive East Village scene, a group variously referred to as Neo-Geo or Commodity Art, and that included the likes of Peter Halley, Haim Steinback, Allan McCollum, and Jeff Koons. The works that ensued from this hotbed, while borrowing liberally from the language of earlier modernist developments in 20th century art, including minimalism, conceptualism, and pop art, shifted those dialogues dramatically to create a critical practice that raised questions about the commercialization of contemporary cultural consumption and the commodification of the art object itself.
An avid lifelong surfer and fervent anti-conformist, Bickerton followed his instincts and left New York permanently after 12 years, taking with him his singular approach and vision to the antipodean reaches of the Indian Ocean. His most recent body of work on view at Various Small Fires includes three new series that collectively take us back full circle to a much earlier phase of the artist’s career.
