The Hammer biennial's breakout star? A 78-year-old retired gardener from Compton who once worked for
Kenzi Shiokava's studio rendered the Hammer Museum's Made in L.A. curators speechless
Artist Kenzi Shiokava tells the Los Angeles Times that while love of his practice has always been the driving force behind his work, Made in L.A. 2016 ensures its legacy.
"When artist Kenzi Shiokava received a telephone call from a pair of curators organizing this year’s “Made in L.A.” biennial at the Hammer Museum, he says he had little clue of the meteoric effect it would have on his life.
“I’d never seen ‘Made in L.A.,’” says the 78-year-old sculptor. “I’ve always been off the art establishment.”
But as he does with anyone who is interested in seeing his work, he invited the curators — Hamza Walker and Aram Moshayedi — to his studio so that they could have a look at his totemic wood sculptures, junk-art assemblages and curiosity boxes featuring orderly, patterned displays of old toys, plastic fruit and discarded religious ephemera."— Carolina Miranda, July 19, 2016
Read the full article at the Los Angeles Times website.