In Backdrop & Blocker, a solo exhibition at the Lawndale Art Center, Sterling Allen creates a sculpture-based installation that activates sight lines, architectural relationships, hanging conventions, and spatial connections; all while celebrating pop, the handmade, function, failure and the cheap illusion. Backdrop & Blocker was on view from Sept. 22 - Oct. 22, 2017.
Betsy Huete wrote the catalogue essay and describes Allen's work:
He exacts this frustration by letting the viewer swim in a steady state of dislocation between sculpture and installation, and by asking important questions regarding what a sculpture is actually supposed to do. What is the purpose of a sculpture? Where does a sculpture ultimately reside? And what happens when we mash previous and current ecosystems of a sculpture together?
Although Allen may be fundamentally asking questions about sculpture, this is really a photography exhibition. That’s because Backdrop & Blocker exists not as a singularly experiential installation, nor does it rely on a series of sculptures designed necessarily for individual consideration. Rather, each object in the room functions mostly in relation to the other, constantly framing and reframing the shot, enveloping the viewer in a kind of infinite and ever-shifting tableaux.