Michael Decker's work, Old Growth, is a site-specific sculpture that will spontaneously take its form when it is installed at VOLTA NY. It consists of forty-four found metal ironing boards that were designed in the 1950s and have been collected by the artist over the past year. The ironing boards, while purely utilitarian in origin, conjure up references to California's artistic and cultural heritage. They can be seen as painted panels, minimalist monoliths or surfboards. They also have a mysterious array of hole-patterns, remnants of their original function, which when seen together, suggests a secret language contained within.

The installation at VOLTA NY will be the second time that OLD GROWTH will be presented, and true to its character, it will be vastly different at VOLTA than it was previously. It was first created for inclusion at Steve Turner Contemporary in November 2010 when it consisted of forty-two boards and was presented in a small room of its own. It spiraled upward like a pine cone with the boards entwined tightly in various states of expansion. Its presentation at VOLTA NY will be in the lobby of 7 West 34th Street, New York, and its form will be determined by the specific constraints of its site–the lobby of a busy office-building skyscraper.

Later this year at NEXT in Chicago, Decker will again respond to the constraints of a vastly different site, one that is large and open and which will also house works by other artists. The large open space and the positioning of other works nearby will most certainly affect the outcome of OLD GROWTH, which is then expected to consist of more than sixty boards.

Decker is a sculptor and installation artist who works primarily with found everyday materials. Previous works were comprised of Beanie Babies, pine cones, pillows, blankets and animal bones. To reflect the urgency of our times, Decker chooses materials that are accessible, adjustable and portable, enabling him to configure his sculptures under a broad range of circumstances. Born in Spokane in 1982, Decker received a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts (2005). He has had solo exhibitions at Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles (2010); Dan Graham Gallery, Los Angeles (2010) and Circus Gallery, Los Angeles (2009). He lives and works in Los Angeles.

Back to Artists