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Shoebox Projects presents Upcycled Pantheon, a solo exhibition by Los Angeles artist Aleka Corwin, running December 13, 2026 through January 2, 2027. The opening reception is Sunday, December 13, from 3 to 5 PM at [gallery address].Corwin builds a cast of characters, gods, and tiny worlds entirely from discarded materials: paper maché, cardboard, egg cartons, plastic bottles, coffee trays, packing foam, toys, buttons, fabric, and magazines. She describes her process as one of rebirth, giving objects that were headed for the landfill a second life as ceremonial faces and imagined places.
The masks trace back to January 2020, when Corwin spent half the month in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and was struck by the colorful masks in the markets and galleries. Lockdown arrived two months later, and she began making her own. For this exhibition she turns the gallery into a market, with a decorated tree and smaller, more affordable pieces for holiday gift giving.
Corwin’s influences include Latin American masks, mid-century American folk art, children’s drawings, and the artists Red Grooms, Robert Rauschenberg, and Betye Saar. She says her goal is to capture the innocence of childhood, fantasies, folklore, and the wit of Dada.
“It is a treasure hunt for hidden gems with which I engage my imagination,” Corwin says of her materials.
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