Alex Case: Must Be Gone By Midnight

Opens August 28, 2015, 6-9pm

Three30Forty
330 40th Street
Oakland, CA 94609

Alex Case has a Craigslist obsession, particularly for the free list, and It’s the amateur photographs that appeal to him the most. Some people stage the photo to make the item look more attractive, while others just take quick and dirty snapshots of the pile of junk that they want to get rid of. These quick snapshots invariably feature glares and hot spots that distract from and conceal the subject matter, and it is that aesthetic that inspires Case’s new work.

Case sources weathered old panels- metal, wood, MDF- from various free piles, and sometimes treats them further to add even more texture and patina of age. Inspired by the glare from the flash in an amateur photo, he attaches fluorescent tube lights and LEDs to the panel, the light obscuring certain parts of the work from view. The glowing lights lend an aura and ethereal presence to the battered and discarded old panels, redeeming them. By bringing a junk store aesthetic into the fold, Case flips the clean, sleek work of contemporary neon artists on its head.