June 11th – July 23rd Tue–Sat, 11am–5pm
Praz Delavallade is pleased to present departed for the curve, a solo exhibition by Cole Sternberg and his first-ever at the Gallery. Featuring a selection of the artist’s new and never-before scene painterly works on linen, the exhibition considers the place of humankind against the environment’s scale and eminence, hinting at the ill-fated and self-inflicted demise of our species as the earth takes itself back—as seas rise and paradigms shift.
In alluding to oncoming change, the exhibition’s title also suggests a rather unexpected willingness to embrace the unknown. Ruminating on its signification, Sternberg asks “What is a curve? Is it a turn on a mountain pass that faces vast splendor and yet touches mortality? Is it the subtle curvature of the earth seen on a distant horizon? Is it east of Eden or maybe west? Is it individual or institutional? A peak becoming a valley? Are we destined to slip from the road, determined to face our reveries?”
The works on view continue this meditation and draw upon similar scenes, those of mountain ranges and mystical valleys, rocky outcroppings, idyllic pools, flora and fauna, but some of Sternberg’s canvases also possess a darker undertone that speaks to the relation between human actions and their impact on the natural environment. Vintage imagery of urban spaces, massive crowds, cars, oil rigs, and advertisements are overlaid with subtle washes of watercolor, blurring and abstracting otherwise recognizable compositions. The resulting effect thus foregrounds scenes of life that only vaguely come into view within Sternberg’s foggy, washed out universe—as the canvases vacillate between realistic imagery and deconstructed environmentally-affected abstraction.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Cole Sternberg is a conceptual artist who lives and works in Los Angeles. His practice contemplates humanity’s existential quandary: that of being hopelessly destructive, yet forever and inevitably linked with nature. Through varied media–including painting, sculpture, installation, performance, photography, film and writing–Sternberg positions the aspirations of humankind against the dominant and regenerative forces of the environment and the arbitration of time. For the artist, the conclusion is unavoidable. human enterprises–art, language, history, law, and government–are ephemeral and illusory endeavors that attempt to reflect, parallel, and challenge the ascendency of nature, but to no avail. His works are held by major museums and collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL; the El Segundo Museum of Art, El Segundo, CA; the American University Museum, Washington, D.C.; and Deutsche Telekom, Germany.
Photo Caption:
Cole Sternberg, a boisterous stream in a boulder-choked channel, 2019. Courtesy of Praz Delavallade LA.
