Matthew Monahan

Los Angeles-based artist Matthew Monahan creates sculptures using contemporary materials such as polyurethane foam, epoxy resin, glass and bubble wrap. His works blur the distinction between art object and artefact, and they are often covered in dust and hardened wax. Their materials evade immediate recognition.

The Magpie Dirge (2009) consists of a sizeable bust supported by a base. Wedged between two ratchet-strapped sheets of glass, the bust is cloaked with silver bubble wrap, as if it were a half-unpacked reliquary, drifting between the sacred and the mundane. A face also looms forth in Bob (2006) – resembling both a carnival mask and a severed Buddha's head. Displayed on pedestals, Monahan's sculptures speak of forgotten heroes and gods, myths and legends.