Ruben Ochoa, Cores and Cutouts, 2011. Concrete, dirt, and mixed media, installation views.

Ruben Ochoa

Miami

Locust Projects

Ruben Ochoa’s many talents include excavating and revealing hidden truths. His recent installation at Locust Projects was a fitting “last show” for a soon-to-be-demolished building. In conjunction with this exhibition, Ochoa also created the ironically and literally titled A Bit of Detritus for the James Cohan Gallery at Art Basel Miami. Ten slabs of aggregate with a terrazzo edge and Venetian finish were threaded onto a central metal rod to form a 5,000-pound column. The construction evoked a major “foundation” of Western civilization—Rome’s discovery of pozzolana, a volcanic ash that became the key ingredient in concrete. The slabs also suggested crumbling, present-day economies. Cores and Cutouts at Locust explored the space above and below the floor. …see the entire review in the print version of November’s Sculpture magazine.