Maccarone Los Angeles proudly presents an exhibition of two architectural interventions by conceptual artist David Lamelas. This exhibition is concurrent with Pacific Standard Time: Los Angeles/Latin America and marks the artist’s third solo presentation with the gallery, and his first at the Los Angeles space. Born in Argentina in 1946, Lamelas has been an iconic international figure in conceptual art for over fifty years. He immigrated to London at twenty-one, and in the early 1970s began living and working part-time in Los Angeles. During this period he broadened his focus on conceptual film, while expanding his practice of sculptural works and performance.

For this exhibition Lamelas presents a reconceptualization of (Untitled) Falling Wall, initially conceived of in 1993, and a brand new sculpture, Walls Are Meant for Jumping (2017), derived from a sketch created by the artist in 1967. These site-specific installations simultaneously address the nomadic nature of Lamelas’ life, enabled by adaptability to varying place and context, and recurring themes of time and duration.

(Untitled) Falling Wall (1993/2017), a gargantuan wall tilted on an upward incline, interposes itself between the gallery’s front room and central barrier. This precarious structure is supported by three layers of timber, varying in size and organized on a downward angle to prevent the wall from collapsing into the space. This spatial intervention emphasizes the temporality of an artwork and the definition of an object as such, depending on the context in which it is displayed.

Situated in the back half of the gallery, Walls Are Meant for Jumping (2017) is a contained area comprised of four adjacent walls, extending only partially from the floor, allowing onlookers to peer into this confined enclosure while prohibiting entry. Circling the exterior of the sculpture, one is constantly aware of an inability to cross this arbitrary border. Although this piece was originally conceived of in the late 1960’s, it has been newly constructed here for the first time, accentuating the viewer’s physical and historical positioning.

David Lamelas lives and works in Los Angeles, CA, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Nice, France. A member of early conceptual circles, both in the Americas and Europe, his work has been represented in significant group exhibitions; Documenta 5 and 14, Kassel, Germany (1972, 2017), Prospect 68, 69 and 71, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Germany (1968, 1969, 1971), 1968 Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (1968), and IX Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo Brazil (1967). Important one-person exhibitions include, Kunsternes Hus, Oslo, Norway (2013) Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland (2008), Secession, Vienna, Austria (2006), Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico (2005), ICA Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA (2004), Kunstverein München, Munich, Germany (1997) and Witte de With, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (1997).

David Lamelas’ first US retrospective, A Life of Their Own, co-curated by Kristina Newhouse and Maria Jose Herrera, will be on view at the University Art Museum, Cal. State University Long Beach from September 17 – December 10, 2017. This exhibition will travel to MALBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina, from March 16 – June 11, 2018. This exhibition is concurrent with Pacific Standard Time: Los Angeles/Latin America and will be accompanied by a monograph incorporating critical essays by leading scholars and previously unpublished snapshots, texts, notes and drawings.