Stung By a Lie I Believe
February 28 – April 13, 2024
Rusha & Co. is pleased to present Aaron Spangler | Stung by a Lie I Believe, the artist's debut solo presentation with the gallery. The exhibition will be on view from February 28 – April 13, 2024.
Aaron Spangler (b. 1971, Minneapolis), a sculptor and printmaker, is known for his monumental, monochromatic carved wooden sculptures and his thoughtful reinterpretation of traditional bas-relief art. Spangler's artistic career is deeply influenced by his upbringing in the verdant expanse of northern Minnesota.
Emerging from this heavily forested landscape, Spangler's artistic themes resonate with the intricate tapestry of rural life. Steeped in darkly calamitous undertones, his intricately carved wood bas-relief pieces are painted black with gesso and rubbed with graphite, the surrealistic scenes of contorted tree roots, limbs, and antiquated hand tools serving as emblematic allegories of the numerous breakdowns within rural society.
Since his return from New York to his home and studio in the Two Inlets Forest of Minnesota in 2009, Spangler's work has continued to evolve into a seamlessly abstracted, heavily patterned, and introspective direction.
Spangler's craftsmanship explores the ineffable truths and mythologies of the rural ethos and the enigmatic complexities of bucolic life. He works across various mediums, including bas-relief, freestanding sculpture, and printmaking. His most recent exploration has been in hand-woven tapestry, a collaboration with Bruce Engebretson, a fellow Minnesotian and skilled artisan engaged in continuing traditional weaving, spinning and dyeing techniques.
Spangler's work has been the subject of many national and international exhibitions, including solo shows in New York and Berlin galleries. In recent years he's been included in group shows such as "Working Thought" at The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Takashi Murakami'sMurakami's "Superflat Collection," Yokohama, Japan; the two-person "American Gothic" at Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (with Alison Elizabeth Taylor), Winston-Salem, N.C.; "Spectacular of Vernacular" (2011–12), Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; "Heartland" (2008–10), Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, the Netherlands; and the Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago. His work belongs to many public and private collections, including The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Hammer Museum, and the Rubell Family Collection. He has received grants from the Joan Mitchell Foundation (2014), McKnight Foundation (2009), Minnesota State Arts Board (1998), and Jerome Foundation (1997). In 2017, Spangler's first large-scale bronze sculpture, Bog Walker, was commissioned by the Walker Art Center for the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Spangler was the recipient of the 2022 Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation Minnesota Art Prize.
Spangler lives with his wife, writer Amy Thielen, and their son just outside their hometown of Park Rapids, Minnesota. In a volunteer capacity, Spangler advises and curates exhibitions for the Nemeth Art Center, a contemporary art center housed in the historic Hubbard County courthouse.
Aaron Spangler
The Band Played the Night of the Johnstown Flood, 2022
carved basswood, black gesso, and graphite
72 x 124 x 5 in.
182.88 x 314.96 x 12.70 cm
