Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5

Nicholas Crombach
Xenolith V Mixed Media Sculpture, Contemporary, 2010+, Unframed, 44x21

2023

$6,500
£4,914.39
€5,734.76
CA$9,249.18
A$9,382.96
CHF 5,357.17
MX$113,613.01
NOK 63,067.01
SEK 62,857.70
DKK 42,882.84

About the Item

A collision. A landslide. A tectonic shift and a tumbling of boulders reveal geological strata that have been hidden for centuries. Nicholas Crombach’s Landslip is a slow unfurling of a glorious disaster, an asynchronous set of catastrophes that collide into a single moment. Both gorgeous and tragic, the exhibition revels in the tension between Crombach’s sumptuous, almost Baroque aesthetic and the feeling that we are witnessing carnage in the aftermath of an accident. Time slips and folds in on itself: a moment of temporal compression where dissociated tragi-comic disasters suddenly coincide, creating an ambiguous theatrical tableau that defies categorization. What are we looking at? An archaeological dig? A construction zone? A traffic accident? Landslip is a study in parallels between the tectonic shifts that expose previously hidden geological forms and human acts of archaeological excavation. In both cases, it is only through an act of destruction that something new is discovered. Focusing on a world in which natural and human materials are irrevocably fused, Crombach considers the twinned studies of archaeology and geology through an Anthropogenic lens: slow excavations of long obscured stories, unearthed through human intervention or the slow erosion that occurs over millennia. Chariot Burial, based on an iron age practice in which the deceased were entombed with their horses, chariots, shields, and other accoutrements, is reimagined and re-presented as a car crash of colours, materials, and textures. Crombach employs multiple techniques to create handcrafted bones, chariot wheels, and a velvet flocked armature to conflate ancient burial practices, archeological methodologies, and systems of museological storage and display. The embedding of one material into another is repeated in Crombach’s study of xenoliths, a geological phenomenon whereby rocks become encapsulated in magma as it cools. Crombach’s Xenolith series capitalizes on the visual correlation to inlay work in which shell or other decorative materials are carefully inserted into wood or stone and polished to a smooth cohesive surface. Quasi-recognizable objects are here captured in once molten aluminum and, like stones caught in cooling magma, some retain a familiar structure while others are rendered indistinguishable. In geology, erratics are boulders that have been lifted, transported, and deposited elsewhere through the movement of glacial fields, resulting in anomalous objects that bear no geological relationship to the landscape in which they have come to rest. To create Erratic Boulders, Crombach utilizes the semiotic potential of his materials, combining automotive headlights with high-density foam used in museum display. The materials function as indices, pointing not only to the implication of tragedy but also to the mimetic quality of a theatre set or museum diorama. Landslip is a meditation on tectonic shifts and displacement, metamorphosis and transmutation, reality and simulacrum, and the increasingly blurred boundaries between nature and culture that characterize the current geological era. What beauty will we unearth along the way as we hurtle towards the inevitable, ineffable catastrophe that is the future?
  • Creator:
    Nicholas Crombach (1989, Canadian)
  • Creation Year:
    2023
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 44 in (111.76 cm)Width: 21 in (53.34 cm)Depth: 6 in (15.24 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Montreal, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU47612245592

More From This Seller

View All
Xenolith I Mixed Media Sculpture, Contemporary, Unframed, 2010+

Xenolith I Mixed Media Sculpture, Contemporary, Unframed, 2010+

Located in Montreal, Quebec

A collision. A landslide. A tectonic shift and a tumbling of boulders reveal geological strata that have been hidden for centuries. Nicholas Crombach’s Landslip is a slow unfurling o...

Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Mixed Media

Xenolith VIII Mixed Media Sculpture, Contemporary, 2010s, Unframed

Xenolith VIII Mixed Media Sculpture, Contemporary, 2010s, Unframed

Located in Montreal, Quebec

A collision. A landslide. A tectonic shift and a tumbling of boulders reveal geological strata that have been hidden for centuries. Nicholas Crombach’s Landslip is a slow unfurling o...

Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Mixed Media

Xenolith VII Mixed Media Sculpture, Contemporary, 2010+, Unframed

Xenolith VII Mixed Media Sculpture, Contemporary, 2010+, Unframed

Located in Montreal, Quebec

A collision. A landslide. A tectonic shift and a tumbling of boulders reveal geological strata that have been hidden for centuries. Nicholas Crombach’s Landslip is a slow unfurling o...

Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Mixed Media

Xenolith II Mixed Media Sculpture, Contemporary, Unframed, 40x21\"

Xenolith II Mixed Media Sculpture, Contemporary, Unframed, 40x21\"

Located in Montreal, Quebec

A collision. A landslide. A tectonic shift and a tumbling of boulders reveal geological strata that have been hidden for centuries. Nicholas Crombach’s Landslip is a slow unfurling o...

Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Mixed Media

Xenolith IV Mixed Media Sculpture, Contemporary, 2010s, Unframed

Xenolith IV Mixed Media Sculpture, Contemporary, 2010s, Unframed

Located in Montreal, Quebec

A collision. A landslide. A tectonic shift and a tumbling of boulders reveal geological strata that have been hidden for centuries. Nicholas Crombach’s Landslip is a slow unfurling o...

Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Mixed Media

Xenolith VI Mixed Media Sculpture, Contemporary, Unframed, 24x21\"

Xenolith VI Mixed Media Sculpture, Contemporary, Unframed, 24x21\"

Located in Montreal, Quebec

A collision. A landslide. A tectonic shift and a tumbling of boulders reveal geological strata that have been hidden for centuries. Nicholas Crombach’s Landslip is a slow unfurling o...

Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Mixed Media

You May Also Like

Ascent, 39"high mixed media, unique sculpture

Ascent, 39"high mixed media, unique sculpture

By Ron Chapel

Located in Loveland, CO

"Ascent" by Chapel 39x12x6" one-of-a-kind sculpture Mixed Media: Dyed Concrete, Stainless Steel, Marble, Steel, Slate This particular piece is available from the estate of the artist. It is in excellent, like-new, condition. Shipping price includes the custom packing necessary for safe transport of fine art. Chapel, 1948-2021, Artist's Statement: “I was raised on the Western Slope of Colorado, with almost unfettered access to the American wilderness. I currently reside on a sailboat in Oakland, CA with my studio in nearby San Leandro. I work with permanent materials including bronze, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, glass and stone. It is my contention that a work of art must include a complete environment, not just a single object. In my opinion, it is very difficult to convey meaning with either pure abstraction, or pure representation. Describing an abstract concept with another abstraction does not define the subject. There is nothing in a completely non-objective artwork from the viewers experience upon which to base some meaning. One the other hand, a completely realistic presentation doesn't define an abstraction any better than a dictionary. This is why my sculpture is a blend - the symbolic joining of modern man with primitive experience. They are in-depth studies of the archetypes and symbols used to communicate their relevance to our everyday lives. Mythology, poetry and art are humanity's attempt to describe the mysteries of life which are beyond our ability to consciously comprehend. This is the appeal of the visual arts, poetry, literature and music; they excite an emotional response, or memory that transcends mere words.” - Ron Chapel...

Category

2010s Contemporary Sculptures

Materials

Concrete, Marble, Slate, Steel, Stainless Steel

October Sculpture by Carri

October Sculpture by Carri

Located in Geneve, CH

October Sculpture by Carri Dimensions: W 73 x D 5 x H 90 cm Materials: Onyx. B 1995 Fernanda Carri ́s intimate practice spans painting, sculpture, ceramics, and textile, while her ...

Category

2010s Mexican Post-Modern Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Onyx

Butterfly, 30"high mixed media, unique sculpture

Butterfly, 30"high mixed media, unique sculpture

By Ron Chapel

Located in Loveland, CO

"Butterfly" by Chapel 30x12x10" one-of-a-kind sculpture Mixed Media: Dyed Concrete, Steel, and Marble This particular piece is available from the estate of the artist. It is in excellent, like-new, condition. Shipping price includes the custom packing necessary for safe transport of fine art. Chapel, 1948-2021, Artist's Statement: “I was raised on the Western Slope of Colorado, with almost unfettered access to the American wilderness. I currently reside on a sailboat in Oakland, CA with my studio in nearby San Leandro. I work with permanent materials including bronze, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, glass and stone. It is my contention that a work of art must include a complete environment, not just a single object. In my opinion, it is very difficult to convey meaning with either pure abstraction, or pure representation. Describing an abstract concept with another abstraction does not define the subject. There is nothing in a completely non-objective artwork from the viewers experience upon which to base some meaning. One the other hand, a completely realistic presentation doesn't define an abstraction any better than a dictionary. This is why my sculpture is a blend - the symbolic joining of modern man with primitive experience. They are in-depth studies of the archetypes and symbols used to communicate their relevance to our everyday lives. Mythology, poetry and art are humanity's attempt to describe the mysteries of life which are beyond our ability to consciously comprehend. This is the appeal of the visual arts, poetry, literature and music; they excite an emotional response, or memory that transcends mere words.” - Ron Chapel...

Category

2010s Contemporary Sculptures

Materials

Concrete, Marble, Steel, Stainless Steel

Linda Stein, Protection 469 - Contemporary Mixed Media Metal Wall Sculpture

Linda Stein, Protection 469 - Contemporary Mixed Media Metal Wall Sculpture

By Linda Stein

Located in New York, NY

Linda Stein, Protection 469 - Contemporary Mixed Media Metal Wall Sculpture Protection 469 is from Linda Stein’s Knights of Protection series, which she started after being forced ...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal