PRESS RELEASE

Primary is proud to present God Made Bob, Bob Made Rock., a solo installation by the Miami-based artist Robert Lorie. Opening November 30, 2024, this exhibition marks Lorie's first solo with the gallery, will respond to Primary's outdoor sculpture garden, and remain on view through the first quarter of 2025.

God Made Bob. Bob Made Rock., explores the intricate interplay between the natural and the manufactured. Using concrete, mortar, grout, and pigment, Lorie reconstructs the visual and tactile language of mineral formations, blurring the lines between geological phenomena and human intervention.

Through meticulously crafted surfaces that mimic natural stone, Lorie prompts us to consider our ongoing pursuit of the "natural" within the built environment. These slabs, bound by materials of modern construction, are both homage and artifice—a meditation on how we define beauty and authenticity in a world shaped by human hands.

Lorie's work offers a provocative reflection on the spaces we inhabit, asking: How does the human desire to replicate nature shape our understanding of the real?

Opens November 30, 2024 at 5 PM

Robert Lorie (b. 1982, Miami, FL) Graduated with a BFA from School of the Museum of Fine Art, Boston Massachusetts. Solo exhibitions include: What About Bob?, Swenson Gallery, Miami, FL, 2016, The Great Wide Open, Little River Yacht Club, Miami, FL, 2011. Group exhibitions include: Spring Fling, Casino Del Monte Carlo, Locust Projects, Miami FL, 2024, Collabo Show, Payless Shoe Store, Miami, FL, 2019, Maintain Right, White Box, NYC, NY, 2012, Maintain Right, De La Cruz Collection, Miami, FL, 2011, Containment, Visual Arts Institute - Salt Lake City, UT, 2010.

Lorie has been featured in films such as The Strongest Man, 2015 and Omni Boat, 2019. His work has been recognized and awarded as a Suncoast Regional Emmy Winner, Crossbow, 2012 & Sundance Film Festival, 2015.

Primary (Est. 2007) is a context and research-driven curatorial collective with an emphasis on public art. We thrive amongst the self-taught, working-class misfits, who explore the margins of a new Americana through pungent, human-focused narratives. Our program engages with the raw and uncanny, celebrating border voices, bootleg culture, and intergenerational commentary, connecting the new and unseen with broader audiences and evolving collections.

For further information, please contact info@thisisprimary.com