Aaron Young is an aesthetician; he turns acts of masculine aggression into objects of fragile sophistication. Through paintings, sculpture, video, photography, and installations, he documents extreme behavior, records residue, and re-contextualizes urban culture. His quasi-Minimalist work explores social issues of marginalization and class, via spectacle, destruction, and a focus on materiality. The artist collaborates with performers (motorcycle riders) and craftspeople (glass blowers) to create seductive artifacts, which appear gritty at moments, then refined at others. By the use of certain media, such as burned rubber and cigarette ash combined with Murano glass or 24K gold, Young's work moves to aestheticize dereliction and gentrify waste.

BIOGRAPHY