Ryan Gander I is… (IX), 2014 A marble sculpture representing a den / simple shelter made by the artist's 4 year old daughter using umbrellas, a double bed sheet. Marble resin 165 x 85 x 130 cm Unique piece I Is... is a series of sculptures. Creating marble sculptures – a durable and noble material – taking after ephemeral huts built by his young daughter, Ryan Gander (born in 1976, lives and works in London) draws attention to the idea of protection: from the fragile child’s cabin whose symbolic protection is immense, to the marble cabin – solid yet impenetrable, with draped effects characteristic of classical sculpture. The works of Ryan Gander are like so many threads that create an enmeshment of forms and meanings (films, performances, photographs, installations...) – a mental puzzle carrying within it the legacy of conceptual art, whose meanings the artist unravels with humor. From a fake advertisement extolling the imaginary to a draft felt in a closed room, his multi-faceted work is never where one would expect it, and it plays off the complex relationship between reality and fiction.
