LOS ANGELES, CA.- Friedman Benda will present, Wedding Anniversary, the gallery’s first solo exhibition with ceramicist Candice Romanelli and multidisciplinary creative director Darren Romanelli. The show examines the Los Angeles-based husband and wife’s individual practices as well as their collaboration as artistic partners. In celebration of their creative dialogue, the exhibition opens on the duo’s 15 year wedding anniversary on August 11th to mark the couple’s fourth and most personal collaboration.
The exhibition reflects on the effect of the couple converting their Los Feliz home into a shared studio space during the pandemic examining how working closely side-by-side has impacted their own approaches to creative expression. The show allows the viewer to examine how both push each other to delve deeper into their practices. Candice will debut her largest scaled works to date and her first investigations in lighting. Informed by his background in the fashion world, this marks Darren’s major foray into design further expanding on the visual language of his signature quilted and upcycled seating.
Wedding Anniversary combines key elements of their domestic lives reconstructed in a site-specific installation within the gallery space. Focusing on the small connections in the fabric of daily life, the result is a body of work that weaves together their two distinct voices. “The exhibition is a natural extension of our world. It feels really organic and authentic to our daily life,” says Darren. Wedding Anniversary draws on what Romanelli describes as the “moment of impact” by stimulating all senses through sights, tastes, smells and sounds to replicate the feeling of being home.
Highlighting Darren’s career-long passion for blending multiple universes to create or replicate an emotional response, the show brings together friends and inspiring creative forces such as Psychic Outlaw, Benny Blanco, Jessica Damuck, and Maya Yogev.
Candice and Darren Romanelli
Self-taught in the ceramics discipline, Candice Romanelli (b. 1980) majored Fine Art at the University of Michigan School of Art and worked as an award winning graphic designer for movie posters upon graduation.
Darren Romanelli (b. 1976), who is also goes by the monikers of Dr. Romanelli or DRx, has over 20 years of experience in curation and creative direction. Inspired by his dedication to sustainability and upcycling, Romanelli numerous collaborations with Converse, Los Angeles Rams, Coca Cola and Disney have straddled the sports, design, music, art, food and fashion disciplines.
The exhibition builds on their previous collaborations at the inaugural opening of Stanley Gallery in Pasadena, “Dog Days” at the Pit Palm Springs and most recently “Built In” at the Neutra VDL in Silver Lake.
