Skip to content

Video Tour

Lauren Halsey, may we bang you?, 2021

Lauren Halsey

may we bang you?, 2021

white cement, wood, and mixed media

87 x 83 x 50 inches

(221 x 210.8 x 127 cm)

Alma Thomas, #2 (Red), 1966

Alma Thomas

#2 (Red), 1966

watercolor on Arches paper

30 x 21 7/8 inches

(76.2 x 55.6 cm)

framed:

38 3/4 x 30 1/4 x 1 1/2 inches

(98.4 x 76.8 x 3.8 cm)

Raul Guerrero, Chinle, 2021

Raul Guerrero

Chinle, 2021

oil on linen

56 1/4 x 80 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches

(142.9 x 204.5 x 3.8 cm)

Agnes Martin, Untitled, 1989

Agnes Martin

Untitled, 1989

acrylic and graphite on canvas

12 x 12 inches

(30.5 x 30.5 cm)

framed:

12 3/4 x 12 3/4 x 1 1/4 inches

(32.4 x 32.4 x 3.2 cm)

Tom of Finland, Untitled (from "Camping"), 1976

Tom of Finland

Untitled (from "Camping"), 1976

gouache and graphite on paper

15 5/8 x 20 7/8 inches

(39.7 x 53 cm)

framed:

19 1/4 x 24 5/8 x 1 1/2 inches

(48.9 x 62.5 x 3.8 cm)

Shara Hughes, New Systems, 2020

Shara Hughes

New Systems, 2020

oil and acrylic on canvas

68 x 60 x 1 1/2 inches

(172.7 x 152.4 x 3.8 cm)

Mary Weatherford, Dolphin Charter, 2021

Mary Weatherford

Dolphin Charter, 2021

Flashe and neon on linen

90 1/2 x 50 x 3 1/2 inches

(229.9 x 127 x 8.9 cm)

Torbjørn Rødland, SoCal Muspelheim, 2020

Torbjørn Rødland

SoCal Muspelheim, 2020

chromogenic print

60 1/4 x 47 1/2 inches

(153 x 120 cm)

framed:

61 1/4 x 48 1/4 x 2 inches

(155.6 x 122.6 x 5.1 cm)

Edition of 3, with 1 AP

Raul Guerrero, Two Combos and a Hot Dog, 2005

Raul Guerrero

Two Combos and a Hot Dog, 2005

oil on linen

16 x 46 1/8 x 3/4 inches

(40.6 x 117.2 x 1.9 cm)

Scott Kahn, New Moon, 2021

Scott Kahn

New Moon, 2021

oil on panel

18 x 22 x 1 1/4 inches

(45.7 x 55.9 x 3.2 cm)

Lois Dodd, Cow Parsnip in Early Stage of Bloom, 2003

Lois Dodd

Cow Parsnip in Early Stage of Bloom, 2003

oil on Masonite

16 x 14 inches

(40.6 x 35.6 cm)

framed:

20 x 18 x 1 1/4 inches

(50.8 x 45.7 x 3.2 cm)

Lucy Bull, Livid Facture, 2020

Lucy Bull

Livid Facture, 2020

oil on linen

50 x 30 x 1 inches

(127 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm)

Jane Wilson, Waiting Moon, 2010

Jane Wilson

Waiting Moon, 2010

oil on canvas

30 x 30 x 1 3/4 inches

(76.2 x 76.2 x 4.4 cm)

framed:

31 1/4 x 31 1/4 x 2 inches

(79.4 x 79.4 x 5.1 cm)

Charles Burchfield, Old Stumps (Blackened by a Swamp Fire), 1918

Charles Burchfield

Old Stumps (Blackened by a Swamp Fire), 1918

watercolor, gouache, and pencil on joined paper

17 3/4 x 26 inches

(45.1 x 66 cm)

framed:

27 1/8 x 35 1/2 x 2 inches

(68.9 x 90.2 x 5.1 cm)

Nell Blaine, Indian Summer, Gloucester, 1983

Nell Blaine

Indian Summer, Gloucester, 1983

oil on canvas

25 x 36 1/8 inches

(63.5 x 91.8 cm)

framed:

31 1/2 x 42 3/8 x 1 1/2 inches

(80 x 107.6 x 3.8 cm)

Huma Bhabha, Untitled, 2021

Huma Bhabha

Untitled, 2021

ink, acrylic, pastel, and collage on paper

35 3/8 x 23 3/4 inches

(89.9 x 60.3 cm)

framed:

40 x 28 1/4 x 2 inches

(101.6 x 71.8 x 5.1 cm)

Sky Hopinka, I think of my home tonight. I don't have any resolutions, but I've felt so much through these streets, these neighborhoods. This land and this Land hold so much, and this pain and this Pain call for salves we already have, still needing to be wrapped and poulticed., 2020

Sky Hopinka

I think of my home tonight. I don't have any resolutions, but I've felt so much through these streets, these neighborhoods. This land and this Land hold so much, and this pain and this Pain call for salves we already have, still needing to be wrapped and poulticed., 2020

inkjet print and etching

17 x 17 inches

(43.18 x 43.18 cm)

framed:

19 x 18 5/8 x 2 inches

(48.3 x 47.3 x 5.1 cm)

Edition 2 of 3, with 2 AP

Louis Eilshemius, Palms, Samoa, c. 1901

Louis Eilshemius

Palms, Samoa, c. 1901

watercolor on paper

14 x 10 inches

(35.6 x 25.4 cm)

framed:

18 3/4 x 14 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches

(47.6 x 37.5 x 3.8 cm)

Etel Adnan, Untitled, 2012

Etel Adnan

Untitled, 2012

oil on canvas

8 x 10 x 1 inches

(20.3 x 25.4 x 2.5 cm)

framed:

9 1/8 x 11 1/8 x 1 1/2 inches

(23.2 x 28.3 x 3.8 cm)

Rackstraw Downes, Sand, Gravel and Mulch: NYC Parks Dept. Facility at 155th Street, 2011

Rackstraw Downes

Sand, Gravel and Mulch: NYC Parks Dept. Facility at 155th Street, 2011

oil on canvas

16 1/4 x 61 x 1 inches

(41.3 x 154.9 x 2.5 cm)

Jane Freilicher, Landscape with Ploughed Potato Field, 1966

Jane Freilicher

Landscape with Ploughed Potato Field, 1966

oil on linen

60 x 40 inches

(152.4 x 101.6 cm)

framed:

61 5/8 x 41 3/4 x 2 inches

(156.5 x 106 x 5.1 cm)

David Hockney, "Untitled No.16" from "The Yosemite Suite", 2010

David Hockney

"Untitled No.16" from "The Yosemite Suite", 2010

iPad drawing printed on paper

32 x 24 inches

(81.3 x 61 cm)

framed:

40 1/2 x 32 x 1 1/2 inches

(102.9 x 81.3 x 3.8 cm)

Edition 15 of 25

Millard Sheets, California Redwoods, 1930

Millard Sheets

California Redwoods, 1930

oil on canvas

22 x 18 inches

(55.9 x 45.7 cm)

framed:

27 3/4 x 24 x 1 7/8 inches

(69.9 x 59.7 x 5.1 cm)

Miyoko Ito, Odyssey, 1980

Miyoko Ito

Odyssey, 1980

oil on canvas

27 1/4 x 35 x 1 inches

(69.2 x 88.9 x 2.5 cm)

framed:

29 1/4 x 37 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches

(74.3 x 95.3 x 3.8 cm)

Helen Lundeberg, Road in Shadow, 1960

Helen Lundeberg

Road in Shadow, 1960

oil on board

8 x 10 x 1 inches

(20.3 x 25.4 x 2.5 cm)

framed:

15 5/8 x 17 3/4 x 1 5/8 inches

(39.7 x 45.1 x 4.1 cm)

Michael Williams, Toll Evasion Drawing, 2020

Michael Williams

Toll Evasion Drawing, 2020

pen and colored pencil on paper

14 x 8 1/2 inches

(35.6 x 21.6 cm)

framed:

18 x 12 1/2 x 1 1/4 inches

(45.7 x 31.8 x 3.2 cm)

Michael Williams, Toll Evasion Drawing, 2020

Michael Williams

Toll Evasion Drawing, 2020

pen and colored pencil on paper

14 x 8 1/2 inches

(35.6 x 21.6 cm)

framed:

18 x 12 1/2 x 1 1/4 inches

(45.7 x 31.8 x 3.2 cm)

Sky Hopinka, They don't care about us and laugh when we turn on each other. I promised myself, no memories, no similes, still, I am deeply troubled at heart., 2020

Sky Hopinka

They don't care about us and laugh when we turn on each other. I promised myself, no memories, no similes, still, I am deeply troubled at heart., 2020

inkjet print and etching

17 x 17 inches

(43.18 x 43.18 cm)

framed:

19 x 18 5/8 x 2 inches

(48.3 x 47.3 x 5.1 cm)

Edition of 3, with 2 AP

Michael Williams, Toll Evasion Drawing, 2020

Michael Williams

Toll Evasion Drawing, 2020

pen and colored pencil on paper

14 x 8 1/2 inches

(35.6 x 21.6 cm)

framed:

18 x 12 1/2 x 1 1/4 inches

(45.7 x 31.8 x 3.2 cm)

JP Munro, In Colby Canyon, 2012 - 2021

JP Munro

In Colby Canyon, 2012 - 2021

oil on canvas

11 x 14 x 1 1/2 inches

(27.9 x 35.6 x 3.8 cm)

Catherine Murphy, Coming or Going, 2010

Catherine Murphy

Coming or Going, 2010

oil on canvas

78 x 33 x 1 1/2 inches

(198.1 x 83.8 x 3.8 cm)

Takako Yamaguchi, Available Light, 2008

Takako Yamaguchi

Available Light, 2008

oil and bronze leaf on canvas 

36 x 48 x 1 1/2 inches

(91.4 x 121.9 x 3.8 cm)

Karen Kilimnik, medieval landscape of the church, 2017

Karen Kilimnik

medieval landscape of the church, 2017

water soluble oil color on canvas

8 x 12 x 3/4 inches

(20.3 x 30.5 x 1.9 cm)

Jake Longstreth, Downtown Euc, 2021

Jake Longstreth

Downtown Euc, 2021

oil on muslin

84 x 56 inches

(213.4 x 142.2 cm)

framed:

85 x 57 x 2 3/8 inches

(215.9 x 144.8 x 6 cm)

Jennifer Guidi, Where the Sea and Sky Meet (Painted White Sand SF #2B, Blue and Light Blue Fill), 2021

Jennifer Guidi

Where the Sea and Sky Meet (Painted White Sand SF #2B, Blue and Light Blue Fill), 2021

sand, acrylic, and oil on linen

34 1/4 x 27 x 1 1/2 inches

(87 x 68.6 x 3.8 cm)

Milton Avery, Birches by the brook, 1961

Milton Avery

Birches by the brook, 1961

oil on canvas

30 x 40 inches

(76.2 x 101.6 cm)

framed:

35 5/8 x 45 5/8 x 3 inches

(90.5 x 115.9 x 7.6 cm)

Hilary Pecis, Gabrielino, 2021

Hilary Pecis

Gabrielino, 2021

acrylic on linen

64 x 74 x 1 5/8 inches

(162.6 x 188 x 4.1 cm)

Richard Mayhew, Untitled, 2013

Richard Mayhew

Untitled, 2013

oil on canvas

36 x 58 x 1 7/8 inches

(91.4 x 147.3 x 4.8 cm)

Sayre Gomez, Pruno, 2021

Sayre Gomez

Pruno, 2021

acrylic on canvas

80 x 36 x 1 5/8 inches

(203.2 x 91.4 x 4.1 cm)

Angel Otero Whispering Caves, 2021

Angel Otero
Whispering Caves, 2021
oil paint and fabric collaged on canvas
31 1/2 x 47 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches
(80 x 121.3 x 3.8 cm)
framed:
33 x 49 1/8 x 2 3/4 inches
(125.1 x 84.5 x 7 cm)

Charles Gaines, Numbers and Trees: Assorted Trees #5, Drawings 1-9, 2017

Charles Gaines

Numbers and Trees: Assorted Trees #5, Drawings 1-9, 2017

ink on paper

nine parts, each:

23 1/4 x 18 inches

(59.1 x 45.7 cm)

framed, each:

29 x 23 3/4 x 2 inches

(73.7 x 60.3 x 5.1 cm)

Jonas Wood, Rome, 2021

Jonas Wood

Rome, 2021

oil and acrylic on canvas

58 1/2 x 45 x 1 5/8 inches

(148.6 x 114.3 x 4.1 cm)

新闻稿

David Kordansky Gallery is pleased to present The Beatitudes of Malibu, an exhibition of works by more than 40 artists and poets that respond to, depict, question, or are inspired by landscapes of all kinds. The exhibition is on view May 15 through July 2, 2021.

The Beatitudes of Malibu borrows its title from a poem of the same name by Rowan Ricardo Phillips; in the poem’s eight parts, the poet engages in a series of encounters with natural, social, and aesthetic landscapes associated with Los Angeles, but also with the full spectrum of myths, narratives, and allusions these landscapes elicit. 

Among the highlights in this diverse, multi-generation-spanning exhibition are new and recent paintings by Sayre Gomez, Jennifer Guidi, Angel Otero, Hilary Pecis, Mary Weatherford, and Jonas Wood; historical paintings and drawings by Milton Avery, Charles Burchfield, Jane Freilicher, Miyoko Ito, Helen Lundeberg, Agnes Martin, and Alma Thomas; and works by Huma Bhabha, Lauren Halsey, and Sky Hopinka that transcend traditional genre distinctions. A selection of poems by Gabriela Jauregui, Bob Kaufman, Ann Lauterbach, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, and Cedar Sigo will be included in a complimentary booklet published as part of the exhibition.

The Beatitudes of Malibu employs a broad range of approaches to the landscape genre by bringing together artists whose paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, and poems are born of divergent—and often conflicting—legacies. Freely mixed, for example, are abstract and representational depictions of the natural and urban worlds. But on an even deeper level, the totality of the works on view juxtaposes a number of entirely distinct positions vis-à-vis the environments that make up a “landscape.”  

These distinctions can be geographical and generational. For instance, while a 1930 painting of California redwoods by Millard Sheets and a 1966 canvas of a Long Island potato field by Jane Freilicher both present relatively straightforward renderings of their respective scenes, they are imbued with attitudes toward life and time that are palpably different from one another. But in the context of this show, even the impressionistic realism that these two works share is an open quantity. Lauren Halsey’s wall-based “funk mound,” in another example, is a vivid representation of what South Central Los Angeles looks and feels like both in physical reality and in the heart and mind; its realism transcends the visual realm and suggests that landscapes have an internal dimension. 

Other works acknowledge and confront the construction of landscape as a social invention. In mixed-media photographs by Sky Hopinka, handwritten text is etched around the edges of each image, offering reflections on what it means to be in relation to the land on emotional, psychological, and political terms; landscapes are shown to be places where individual human experiences intersect with larger forces, and where time and physical space are relative quantities.  A painting by Raul Guerrero addresses the competing narrative strata that lie beneath the surface of any image of place, and pays particular attention to the ways in which Indigenous cultures, ongoing legacies of colonialism, and popular aesthetic forms populate the landscapes of the Southern California imaginary. “Toll Evasion” drawings by Michael Williams are made on paper supports that were originally citations for unpaid highway tolls; incorporating images of cars speeding through toll booths and their offending license plates, they are filled with vivid abstract patterning that flies in the face of the controlling acts of surveillance which gave rise to them. 

Other positions in The Beatitudes of Malibu, while no less specific or personal, evoke the archetypal makeup of the human relationship to the surrounding world and open up spaces for formal contemplation. These include a luminous painting by Takako Yamaguchi in which subtly modeled geometric forms come together to generate a surreal mountain scene; a canvas by Etel Adnan, whose boldly colored, interlocking shapes suggest that landscapes are processes of cohesion and dispersal rather than static conditions; and a fiery picture of a tree by Shara Hughes in which the act of painting itself is revealed to be a generative force akin to light or wind.  

For all the many linkages that can be traced among artists and artworks in this exhibition, it is perhaps best described as a series of openings, each of which provides a view onto a different landscape with its attendant subjectivities and contradictions, its cultural antecedents and proposals for future interpretive axes, its natural features, and its all too human perplexities. In “Nave,” a poem by Ann Lauterbach included in the show, the speaker observes “constellations / sieving the night,/ equations/ distorting the aperture/ —this does not/ equal this.” So too the works in The Beatitudes of Malibu, which offer distinctions rather than universalities, and which, for all their historical import, remind us that the most immediate—and often the most urgently provocative—landscapes are the ones we perceive wherever we are, in the here and now.

With respect to the various interpretations of landscape by the artists and poets featured in The Beatitudes of Malibu, we at David Kordansky Gallery would like to acknowledge that our spaces were built and physically reside on the traditional homelands once known as Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, Southern Channel Islands) and home to the Tongva people—later referred to as Gabrieleño and Fernandeño by Spanish colonizers. We understand that acknowledging the gallery’s occupation on Tovaangar homeland calls for us to commit to continuing to learn how to be better stewards of the land we inhabit. In all facets of our work, we remain committed to creating inclusive and equitable spaces by implementing policies and practices that promote diversity and sustain an environment of mutual accountability.

 

Charles Gaines image: © Charles Gaines, Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
David Hockney and Agnes Martin images: Courtesy PACE