Randy Wallace’s conceptually driven performances and interactive sculptures utilize play to discomforting ends. Like carnival events gone awry, his installations involve viewers in games of give-and-take that cultivate the awkward. For Tosser (2005) the artist constructed a booth that instructed perplexed participants to “offer” the attendant a personal item, story, or secret. In exchange they could try their hand at a ring toss, throw darts at a balloon, or soak the artist. For Flat Mac (2005) Wallace painted a plywood casket with festive red and white stripes and printed on its lid: Carry Me Out Flat, Bury Me Standing. Heightening the sense of macabre spectacle, the contraption was theatrically lit and threatened to spill its contents while rolling down the incline upon which it was propped.
Randy Wallace received his MFA from The University of Texas at San Antonio, TX, in 2000. He has had solo projects at Blue Star Contemporary Art Center (2005); McNay Art Museum (2005); and Sala Diaz (2004), all in San Antonio, TX. His work has been included in exhibitions such as Southern Space Project, Southern Music Building (2005); New Stars/CAM 19 (2004); and CAM Billboard Project (2005), all in San Antonio, TX.