Composed of erratically intricate abstract forms, each of Sara Parent-Ramos’ brightly hued sculptures seems to twist, writhe and contort with a personality of its own.  Yet the myriad pieces in her show, “Jumble, Bunch, Grow,” are presented as a single 2018 work by the same title as the exhibition. Lining lengthwise walls inside an AMOCA gallery, small shelves of differing heights bear one or two sculptures, encouraging the viewer to intimately peruse each piece or pair. The absence of individual titles forces one to read the collection as a gestalt of different sculptures to be contemplated separately but interpreted as a unit.

Sara Parent-Ramos, “Jumble, Bunch, Grow.” Installation view, detail. Courtesy of the artist and AMOCA.

Parent-Ramos’ unorthodox decision to combine all of these artworks into one apparently relates to microbiota’s diverse coalitions of abstract forms. The notion of gut bacteria serves as Parent-Ramos’ point of departure for exploring properties of clay and mixed media on a diminutive scale. Each sculpture might represent a fanciful representation of a microbe, or a whimsical abstraction of agglomerated microscopic material.

Sara Parent-Ramos, “Jumble, Bunch, Grow.” Installation view, detail. Courtesy of the artist and AMOCA.

In presenting only one side of each sculpture, the wall display encourages one to read them like paintings. Sometimes, the white shelf is painted with swirly brushstrokes meeting the base of the sculpture. Other sculptures are surrounded by little piles of vibrant sand.

Imbued with sinusoidal movement, each work bears a singularly variegated palette and multifarious composition. Ceramic morsels embody various forms: petals, stones, tiny spheres, amorphous lumps, and ropy extrusions. Tiny colorful bits of clay, string, glossy glaze, carved wood, winding wire and tangled ropes coalesce as would brushwork.

Each individual sculpture encompasses a plethora of shapes, textures and colors; while together, the installation appears as a menagerie of mysterious biomorphic toys whose cryptic morphologies reflect our lack of knowledge regarding the microscopic worlds around and inside us.

Sara Parent-Ramos, “Jumble, Bunch, Grow,” September 8 – November 11, 2018, at AMOCA, 399 N. Garey Avenue, Pomona, CA  91767. www.amoca.org