Newark, New Jersey
Solo(s) Project House
Robert Lach is a mid-career sculptor whose studio (since 2013) is just down the hall from the exhibition space at Solo(s), a gallery that during the winter dedicates its expanse to in-house artists working on special projects and new works. Lach uses Arte Povera mainstays such as found wood, cardboard, tape, and spackle to build organic sculptures through repetitions of form—hence “Cellular,” the title of the show. One of his most interesting materials is white packing foam, which is highly flexible. Many artists today are working with throw-away materials in an attempt to realign sculpture with a physical reality not so distant from actual life. Lach’s use of packing materials indicates his decision to use whatever is at hand, even stuff from his job at Mana, the art complex in Jersey City, where he works in the crating shop. The centerpiece of “Cellular” was Wrapped II (2016), a semi-sphere consisting of holes established with foam, surrounded and supported by packing tape…see the entire review in the print version of October’s Sculpture magazine.
