Ted Larsen's 'Meaning Comes After' at Conduit Gallery, Dallas: Salvaged Steel Sculptures and Reliefs

Key facts

• Ted Larsen's solo exhibition 'Meaning Comes After' is on view at Conduit Gallery in Dallas through October 17.
• The show includes five wall sculptures and several relief pieces, all featuring an inverted hook blade or half-pill shape.
• Larsen constructs his works from laminated marine-grade plywood, salvaged automotive steel, silicone, vulcanized rubber, and hardware.
• The relief works recall the hard edges and geometric compositions of Ellsworth Kelly and Frank Stella, but with seams, corrosion, and patinas.
• Larsen's work is compared to cosmatesque floors of medieval Italy for retaining material histories.
• The exhibition text quotes Larsen: 'To create art, he notes, is to create meaning. But creation must come first, or what is made is relegated to being a mere illustration of meaning.'
• Larsen sources steel from scrapyards, and the colors suggest past uses like school buses, semi-trucks, and F-150s.
• The works are described as caught between painting and sculpture, salvage and finish, toy and monument.