Verloren Hoop, Mixed Media Installation by Rick Baker
For Immediate Release September 16, 2011
MakeSpace ARTS Proudly Presents:
Verloren Hoop
A mixed media installation by Rick Baker
September 24- October 22, 2011
Opening reception for the artist Saturday, September 24th, 7:00-9:00 PM
Gallery hours are M-F 10AM- 5PM & by appointment on weekends
2797 E. Foothill Blvd. Ste. 100,
Pasadena, CA 91107
Contact: Sara (626) 888-5600
Free and open to the public
Street parking available
Verloren Hoop
Verloren Hoop is a mixed media installation by Rick Baker. Included are drawings, sculpture and found objects.
The works in this exhibition all draw inspiration from several themes and processes: innocence and the abuse of power; the products of obsessive behavior; and the cathartic value of humor.
Specific influences include Buddhist cosmology, horror movies, old photographs, children’s toys, plant morphology, disease and the slippery nature of language.
“Verloren Hoop” is an Old Dutch phrase meaning, literally, “lost heap.” It was a metaphor used to describe the first wave of soldiers sent into battle during a siege – a strategic “sacrifice” of the youngest soldiers.
In a peculiar instance of folk etymology, the phrase was translated into English as “Forlorn Hope”. Rarely used now, it came to mean any kind of hopeless undertaking or lost cause.
Conceived and produced instinctually, Baker’s work actually functions as a response to hopelessness. Meticulously constructed drawings become objects for meditation. The dissonant combination vibrant pastels and eerie, amorphic forms suggest a kind of spiritual reconciliation. Dark humor provides relief.
To see more work by the artist, go to
MakeSpace ARTS
2797 E. Foothill Blvd. Ste. 100
Pasadena, CA 91107
(626) 888-5600
