Review: Daniel Ruanova at Couturier Gallery

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On first glance, the four paintings, four sculptures and two drawings in Daniel Ruanova’s second solo show in L.A., “Fear Is God,” are about as ambiguous as razor-wire fences: Each screams its often foulmouthed message so loudly and clearly that listening closely seems to be beside the point.

But there’s more than that to the self-taught, Tijuana-born and -based artist’s exhibition at the Couturier Gallery. Regardless of whether the claim made by the title is true, the devil is in the details and well worth your undivided attention.

Ruanova’s abstract sculptures are more resonant than his paintings, which fail to get out from under the long shadows cast by Bruce Nauman’s similarly aggressive pictures of words, Andy Warhol’s camouflage patterns and Barbara Kruger’s point-blank statements.

Made from the same galvanized steel bars and stainless-steel rivets of the security fences being erected around homes and businesses all over Tijuana, Ruanova’s sculptures resemble industrial-strength tumbleweeds or the unlikely offspring of a Sol LeWitt sculpture and a security blockade. They also recall some of Richard Deacon’s quirky works, but without the organic sensuality or whimsical improvisation.

The angry angularity of the Italian Futurists and the whiplash frenzy of the English Vorticists lie behind Ruanova’s loaded pieces. Even so, the young artist’s indestructible sculptures still manage to stand on their own and be of the moment.

-- David Pagel

Couturier Gallery, 166 N. La Brea Ave., L.A., (323) 933-5557, through Aug. 1. Closed Sundays and Mondays.

Above: ‘Defense.’ Credit: Couturier Gallery