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Dzine
Chicago-based Dzine (b. Carlos Rolon,1970) has an acknowledged penchant for embellishment.
From vividly colored paintings of organic, multi-layered patterns to gold-plated, crystal-encrusted, elaborately detailed custom sculptures, Dzine produces objects that command attention while toying with elements of irony, beauty, and sincere tribute simultaneously.
The Tipping Point
His sculptural works employ tropes of Chicano “kustom kulture,” a form of vernacular art developed in the ’70s by Mexican Americans that Dzine has appropriated to develop into his own extreme take on lowrider bikes, cars, plaques and even boats, the results of which are some of the most definitive masterworks of the genre.
Custom lowrider bicycle (24kt gold plating, 23kt gold leaf, custom engraving, chrome, nickel plating, enamel paint, automotive paint, suede, Swarovski crystals, neon, rubber, iPod/audio speakers, and mirror), 117cm x 183cm x 66cm. Image courtesy of the artist and Deitch Projects. Photography by Andreas Larsson. © Dzine.
He continues to introduce a fresh new language that is finding its place in our contemporary art discourse. For STAGES, Dzine has created a playful response to Lance Armstrong’s well-known comment “it’s not about the bike” by producing a custom two-wheeler so baroque that it may stand as the ultimate tribute to the bike in general.
The ubiquitous gold plating that embellishes nearly every surface is an overt homage to LIVESTRONG yellow.
Dzine is represented by: Deitch Projects, New York, SCAI the Bathhouse, Tokyo and Leeahn Gallery, South Korea.
