Ruben Ochoa: Watching, Waiting, Commiserating

Ruben Ochoa makes use of common construction materials to create imposing sculptural installations that intervene into the existing built environment. His sculptures—in addition to his drawings, photography, and public projects—move beyond the materials’ direct references to construction and labor in order to generate new associations between aesthetics, architecture, and class.

Part of a generation of Mexican-American artists who are engaging in new approaches to identity and cultural politics, Ochoa lays claim to conceptual and minimal art practices from the 1960s and ‘70s. As playful as it is dynamic, his large-scale installation watching, waiting, commiserating was commissioned by MCASD in 2010 as a response to the expansive Farrell Gallery. Consisting of numerous individual sculptures made of rebar and elevated shipping pallets, the work repurposes the infrastructure of the built environment, creating a space where labor is both literally enacted and abstractly referenced.

Ruben Ochoa: watching, waiting, commiserating is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, with generous lead underwriting support from Paul and Geneviève Jacobs. Additional support has been provided by proceeds from the 2016 Biennial Art Auction. Institutional support of MCASD is provided by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and the County of San Diego Community Enhancement Fund.