Trophy Furniture: Ry Rocklen Exhibit

The show, created by a Los Angeles artist, incorporates shiny prizes into couches and chairs.

Head over to a friend's house, a friend who has competed in dance shows or horse competitions or on the field of sport, and you're bound to see a few sparkly awards up on various shelves, awards that denote 2nd place or Best in Show or Honorable Mention.

You're far less likely to see, it can be said with some confidence, those same shiny, metallic statues embedded in the couch you're lounging upon as your friend goes to fetch you a drink. Unless you happen to be in a gallery in West Hollywood.

Los Angeles-based artist Ry Rocklen has taken an oft-seen around-the-house item and placed it, not on the shelf or in a cabinet, but inside and along the edges of the furniture. Trophy Modern: The Legacy Collection, the artist's recently opened exhibit, explores this unusual meetup between two items which are currently sitting nearly side-by-side in hundreds of thousands of dens and living rooms across the land.

The furniture pieces are currently on display at the Varola Gallery at the Pacific Design Center through March 4, 2016. As for Mr. Rocklen? He's a star on the scene, with appearances in "Made in LA 2011" at The Hammer Museum and a host of group exhibitions and biennials at lauded institutions here and in Austin, Greece, New York, and beyond.

"Ry Rocklen started collecting sports trophies he found in thrift shops and at flea markets in 2011," shares the gallery. "He soon began adapting their modular parts to make functional furniture that transforms the trophies' prize status into collectible home decor." 

While you'll see chairs, couches, and other pieces in the Varola Gallery show, Mr. Rocklen has expanded Trophy Modern for another commission, and pieces included bleachers, picnic tables, and more.

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It challenges the mind, of course, to think of what other striking combinations might be achieved by items already sitting distinctly apart, and notably separated, in our homes right now.

There's lots more to see on the Pacific Design Center art front, including a trio of fresh installations in the Blue Lobby. For the full rundown of what's on display at the West Hollywood design destination, click.

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