
River King Sonwosret III, Egypt, 1857 B.C.
2015
Presenting a captivating assemblage of ceramic vessels, mirrored panel, brass, and glass, this 2015 work by Los Angeles-based artist Ry Rocklen anchors an ancient ruler within a quietly unsettling framework of found and fabricated objects. The title invokes Pharaoh Senusret III, a commanding figure of Egypt's Middle Kingdom, creating a wormhole between deep antiquity and the present tense of contemporary sculpture. Vessels drawn from everyday domestic life are transformed through Rocklen's signature process of collection, combination, and elevation, their humble origins recontextualized by the reflective mirrored backing that multiplies and destabilizes the viewer's relationship to the work. Rocklen's practice consistently investigates the emotional residue embedded in ordinary objects, and here that inquiry takes on a grander historical register. The inclusion of brass and glass introduces materials with their own ceremonial and functional histories, lending the piece a subtle gravitas that rhymes with the pharaonic subject without resorting to direct iconographic quotation. The mirrored surface serves as both compositional device and conceptual provocation, collapsing the distance between the ancient and the contemporary, the sacred and the surplus. Measuring approximately 82 by 82 by 24 centimeters, the work operates at a human scale that invites close contemplation rather than monumental awe. Signed by the artist and currently available through Feuer/Mesler, this piece represents a strong entry point into Rocklen's evolving investigation of time, material memory, and the uncanny persistence of things.
- Medium
- Ceramic vessels, mirror-mounted panel, brass, and glass
- Overall
- Signed
- Yes
- Spotted At
- Gallery · Feuer/Mesler
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