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Debra Broz Merges Humor and Kitsch in a Nod to Our ‘Strange World’ — Colossal

September 10, 2024 - Art

Vintage, mass-produced porcelain knick-knacks take on new life in Debra Broz’s intricate and uncanny hybrids (previously). Collies and St. Bernards with the bodies of pheasants meet rabbits with curiously long appendages and woodland creatures with human arms.

In her solo exhibition Strange World at Track 16, Broz continues to explore the subversive and absurd through the leitmotif of midcentury kitsch. Whether merging two small sculptures or creating elaborate amalgamations, the artist finds the humor—and just a tinge of unease—in busyness, cuteness, and perplexity.

a sculpture of small ceramic objects and animals assembled together into a cone shape
“Weight of the World” (2024), mixed media on secondhand ceramics, 34 x 18 x 18 inches

Strange World, which incorporates dozens of sculptures and glazed platters, revolves around three maximalist assemblages made of hundreds of individual figurines Broz collected during the past decade. Clusters of adorable animals like big-eyed bunnies, ducks, and cows emerge from bases as if blossoming with energy.

In a statement for the show, Track 16 describes the pieces as “darkly optimistic, synthesizing the confusion of limitless information.” Chaotic and idiosyncratically beautiful, Broz’s pieces tap into our contemporary social reality, balancing tension and overwhelm with moments of levity and clarity.

Strange World continues through October 12 in Los Angeles. Find more on Broz’s website and Instagram.

small ceramic objects and animals assembled together into a cone shape
Detail of “Weight of the World”
a reimagined secondhand ceramic kitsch piece of a cat and skunk with both animals given human arms
“Slightly Human: Cat & Skunk” (2024), mixed media on secondhand ceramics, 4 x 5 x 3 inches
a reimagined secondhand ceramic kitsch piece of two squirrels on a log with both animals given human arms
“Slightly Human: Squirrels” (2024), mixed media on secondhand ceramics, 5.25 x 7.5 x 4 inches
a sculpture made of small ceramic objects and animals assembled together into a white-and-gold grouping
“Galaxy Brain” (2024), mixed media on secondhand ceramics, 25 x 22 x 18 inches
a detail of a sculpture made of small ceramic objects and animals assembled together into a white-and-gold grouping
Detail of “Galaxy Brain”
a reimagined secondhand ceramic kitsch piece of a horse with human arms
“Slightly Human: Horse (The Champion)” (2024), mixed media on secondhand ceramics, 8.5 x 7 x 4 inches
a reimagined secondhand ceramic kitsch piece of a white rabbit with one extra long ear
“White Rabbit No. 33” (2024), mixed media on secondhand ceramics, 6 x 4 x 2 inches




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