Show Dates: April 1 – May 22
Opening Night: Friday, April 1^st, 6-9pm
Artist Talk TBA

Ogden Contemporary Arts is honored to welcome Kansas City artist Rashawn Griffin for a solo exhibition and digital experience at OCA Center. Born in Los Angeles, California, Griffin is known for architectural installations that manipulate space and create new environments through the use of unexpected materials. For The Little Way, Rashawn Griffin transforms OCA Arts Garage with screens, projection and sound for an atmospheric experience, incorporating three separate works that have been specifically adapted for our space.

The Little Way documents the actions of a lumbering garbage bag man/sculpture, navigating various landscapes and its own cumbersome form. Perhaps evoking the feel of Frankenstein’s monster, the figurative object attempts specific tasks, succeeding or failing depending on the viewer’s perspective. The figure staggers across open fields, explores wooded landscapes and exists in suburban backyards. Intentionally ill-defined at times, the footage can feel like an elusive sighting of Bigfoot or Sasquatch. Viewers follow the creature throughout the installation, sharing its successes and struggles as it travels from a series of grided screens on the west wall, to a free-standing video in the center of the space, to a looming large-scale projection.

Poetically, the title of the project, The Little Way, relates to the subject’s actions; how a seemingly small task – such as picking a flower or moving a latch – can be “monumental in some circumstances.” Griffin’s work is often a reflection of the artist’s life, resonating with viewers as they attach their own meaning and emotion to the work.

Rashawn Griffin received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and his MFA from Yale University. His work has been featured in institutions and exhibitions across the country including the 2008 Whitney Biennial, the Studio Museum in Harlem (where he was a 2006 Artist in Resident), The Momentary in Bentonville, Arkansas (a satellite of the Crystal Bridges Museum), the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas, the Kemper Museum in Kansas City and the Contemporary Arts Center of Cincinnati, Ohio. His work has also been featured internationally at the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin, Germany, EK Projects in Beijeng, China, and Rønnebæksholm in Næstved, Denmark.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Rashawn Griffin was born in 1980 in Los Angeles, California and currently lives and works in Kansas City, Missouri. He received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and his MFA from Yale University. His work has been featured in institutions and exhibitions across the country including the 2008 Whitney Biennial, the Studio Museum in Harlem (where he was a 2006 Artist in Resident), The Momentary in Bentonville, Arkansas, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas, the Kemper Museum in Kansas City and the Contemporary Arts Center of Cincinnati, Ohio. His work has also been featured internationally at the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin, Germany, EK Projects in Beijeng, China, and Rønnebæksholm in Næstved, Denmark.

This exhibition was made possible by:

Weber County RAMP

ABOUT OGDEN CONTEMPORARY ARTS AND OCA CENTER

Ogden Contemporary Arts is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that creates and shares globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advanced arts programing in Ogden, Utah. OCA’s vision is toinspire local and regional artists through active involvement with the international contemporary art community. OCA strives to be viewed as a credible and internationally respected arts organization while empowering artists with the facilities, environment and experience to excel in their medium and enrich their lives.

OCA Center is Ogden Contemporary Arts’ flagship exhibition space located in the historic Monarch building at 455 25^th Street in Ogden. The multi-use space opened in November 2020 after a significant gift from the Dr. Ezekiel R. & Edna Wattis Dumke Foundation. The Center’s main gallery is titled the “Arts Garage,” named for the building’s historic origin as a 1920s industrial parking garage for the neighboring Bigelow Hotel. OCA Center also includes a digital art room, second floor gallery space, and two artist lofts that can be utilized as additional exhibition space or studios for visiting artists.