Justin Amrhein: Cicada Engine

Justin Amrhein is from Sacramento, California and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He received his MFA from San Jose State University in 2006. He has shown his work at several New York galleries including Pierogi, Ronald Feldman gallery, Leslie Heller and Field projects. Other notable exhibitions have been with Michael Rosenthal gallery in San Francisco, Fire Cat in Chicago and Kopiekin gallery in Los Angeles.

Figuring out how things work and how things are built intrigues me. After studying how a particular object is made and the major components crucial to its function I have the basic knowledge needed to develop versions of those objects or invent an entirely new object all together. In the form of schematic drawings, I can define function and purpose of elements that border between real objects and imaginary creations. By using different labeling systems to illustrate and organize an object, I am able to provide a commentary on a multitude of subjects while creating complicated, purpose-driven machines.