Tom Fruin: Beacon
Lowell Ryan Projects is pleased to present Beacon, a monumental new sculpture by acclaimed artist Tom Fruin, marking his first solo exhibition at the gallery. Towering at 13 feet tall and 5 feet in diameter, this radiant water tower is composed of plexiglass and laser-cut steel. Continuing Fruin’s long-standing exploration of light and color and utilizing his signature kaleidoscopic grid-like patterns to reflect the diverse expanse of the Los Angeles urban landscape, through shape and iconography Beacon serves as a message of hope and resilience. During the day, Beacon shimmers with the sun’s shifting hues; by night, it glows from within, casting a luminous mosaic throughout the gallery, visible through the storefront windows.
Constructed from salvaged plexiglass, steel, and other reclaimed objects, the work mirrors the pulse of Los Angeles. As Fruin elaborates, “The sculpture’s organization calls to mind many aspects of life and is especially reminiscent of a city grid. I designed this Beacon for LA with a loose organic structure of both large and small compact sections with smaller squares. These represent business districts in which a burrito shop is next to a dry cleaner, an auto body shop, and a Chinese restaurant—reflecting the variety of all of Los Angeles.” Laser-cut iconography—hearts, Hershey Kisses, palm trees—are embedded within the work, subtle yet deliberate nods to both his broader practice and the spirit of Southern California. While the vibrant plexiglass panels, glowing like stained glass, celebrate the city’s diversity and offer a poetic rendering of its people and neighborhoods.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tom Fruin’s practice has arisen both through the viewpoints of life in Los Angeles and New York City, where he now resides. However, his works, of which he has created public sculptures all over the world, reflect a shared vision of life in an urban sprawl and a common feeling of awe. Within the white walls of the gallery, Beacon transcends its physical form, immersing viewers in an interplay of color, shadow, and shifting light. The room itself becomes an experiential part of the sculpture. A meditation on community, transformation, and the beauty found in what is often overlooked, Beacon is more than a sculpture—it is an experience and a reminder of the brilliance embedded in the everyday.
Tom Fruin (b. 1974, Los Angeles, CA) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, and received his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1996. Known for his large-scale public sculptures which interact with their urban environments and utilize reclaimed industrial materials to create vibrant, gridded structures, Fruin endeavors to tell authentic stories surrounding specific communities through engagement and by exploring the concepts of urban regeneration and development. His ICON series of public works, including houses, water towers, windmills, artistic signage, and other common and iconic structures, are monumental, public, artworks that have become symbolic of the communities in which they inhabit.
Fruin has exhibited his works internationally at galleries and museums such as the Museum of the City of New York, New York, NY; Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA; Galerie Heike Curtze, Vienna, Austria; The Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany; Mike Weiss Gallery, New York, NY; Paul Loya Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Galerie Bertrand, Geneva, Switzerland; and Palm Springs Art Museum; Palm Springs, CA. His works are included in significant public collections worldwide including The Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany; The City of Copenhagen, Denmark; and The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; as well as numerous private collections. Fruin’s exhibitions and works have been reviewed and discussed in Sculpture Magazine, Interview, Architectural Digest, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, FlashArt, Designboom, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Wallpaper, HYPEBEAST, and The Art Newspaper, as well as many others.
Public sculptures that are currently on view include: Crown of Foshan, 2023, Shanghai, China; Watertower 10: Beppu City, 2023, Beppu City, Japan; Sign Pop, 2023, New York, NY; Streetcar, 2023, Chevy Chase, MD; Watertower, 2012, Brooklyn, NY; Hotel, 2012, Brooklyn, NY; The Coakley Brothers Watertower, 2017, Milwaukee, WI; Windmill, 2017, Fort Worth, TX; Gates, 2018, The Belt Alley, Detroit, MI; and Watertower 8, 2019, Oakland, CA; amongst others. Recently in Southern California Tom Fruin’s works were included in Enchanted Forest of Light at The Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge, Los Angeles.
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