In life (1922-1995), Cameron’s art was often overshadowed by her colorful bohemian persona as occultist and wife of Jack Parsons. But one need know nothing about her to appreciate her drawings and paintings, each of which exudes an intense bewitching presence. Some of her most bizarre scenes depict people metamorphosing into chimera; a head sprouting from an uprooted weed; and statues emerging from Rorschach-esque ink blotches. The linearity and angsty tenor of several untitled figure drawings is reminiscent of Egon Schiele; even a relatively straightforward pose is rendered ineffably creepy. Particularly shivery is Sebastian (Imaginary Portrait of Kenneth Anger) (1962), portraying a nude body dissolving into a field near a forest harboring a mysterious chapel. In Sphinx (n.d.), the protagonist’s face is delineated by hair-like flurries of crosshatches flowing outward to form a lion’s mane; while in the drawing’s left-hand corner, a prickly black sun glares intently with a knowing gaze. It’s sadly ironic that quarantine fell in the midst of this show. When a small facsimile of Peyote Vision (1955) was displayed at the Ferus Gallery in 1957, it was deemed lewd by LAPD censors, who temporarily shuttered the gallery and arrested its owner, Wallace Berman on obscenity charges. Afterward, Cameron refused to show her art in commercial galleries. Fortunately, her work is now widely exhibited; and while it’s certainly better in person, it does survive reproduction remarkably well.

Marc Selwyn Fine Art
9953 South Santa Monica Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Show runs through Apr. 11
Check website for updates on gallery hours