OCHI is pleased to present Silent Spines, a two-person exhibition of new work by Los Angeles-based artists Rives Granade & Vincent Pocsik. This is Granade’s fifth presentation with the gallery and Pocsik’s first. Silent Spines will be on view at OCHI, located at 119 Lewis Street in Ketchum, Idaho through July 6, 2024. We will host a reception on June 22nd, 2024 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM.

Silent Spines pairs Rives Granade’s abstract paintings and Vincent Pocsik’s anthropomorphic lamp sculptures to complement one another as they push conventional boundaries in their respective mediums – Granade in an exploration of consciousness and Pocsik via his innovative approach to form. Both artists take an imaginative approach to their work to present a corporeal language of unusual curves, shapes, and textures.

Rives Granade’s resolute expression of the interior world pushes back against modernist isolation; his paintings exist as repositories for thoughts, reminders, schedules, and snippets of biography and bibliography. Much like the ancient paintings in the Lascaux Caves and the graffiti etched into the Temple of Poseidon, Granade employs a variety of techniques to document time, layering, echoing, and affirming his own presence in the world. Embracing visions, thoughts, yearnings, recollections, and reveries—a lifelong commitment to both communication and mystification manifests in Granade’s fluid portrayals of myriad inner identities. His expressive canvases pay homage to the essence of drawing as they transform fragments from his daily experiences into images teeming with figures, forms, and symbols. Intricacies from his life and within the studio give rise to moments of simultaneous clarity and obscurity—found images and ideas become rhythmic reflections on existential themes.

Vincent Pocsik creates unconventional anthropomorphic sculptures that double as freestanding lamps. Each sculpture depicts a solitary figure featuring elongated legs, a twisted torso, and a lampshade as its head. Exquisitely crafted and intriguingly surreal, these illuminated sculptures embody contemplative beings. Simultaneously serene and introspective, Pocsik converges the natural and the fantastical to offer a poised exploration of the human form and evoke a sense of ease. Pocsik’s creative process gracefully balances machine work and hand carving – effectively intertwining new technology with analog methods. Trained as an architect, Pocsik initiates his process by sketching his envisioned piece from various angles using pencil and paper. He then translates these sketches into digital form using various animation software. The wooden elements of the sculpture are then roughly cut using a CNC router and assembled using glue. Finally, Pocsik meticulously hand carves and sands the sculpture to achieve its flawless form.