Mount Wilson Observatory’s 2025 season of Arts@the Observatory opens with a one-of-a-kind exhibition that’s as much a meditation on time and origin as it is an art show. Small Paintings of Infinity by Los Angeles-based artist James Griffith transforms the interior of the Observatory’s legendary 100-inch Telescope dome into a contemplative space where tar becomes a vessel for cosmic reflection.
Griffith’s medium of choice, raw tar collected with permission from the La Brea Tar Pits, is steeped in geological memory. In his hands, this viscous material becomes both substance and subject. Thinned and splashed over panels primed in titanium white, it takes on organic, chaotic forms—celestial bursts, dissolving clusters, fading galaxies—gesturing toward the shared histories of evolution and deep space. Rather than depicting known stars or constellations, Griffith’s works (represented by Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica) evoke an imaginary topography of light and memory, shaped by a process that allows the medium to speak first. “There is virtually nothing that we see that isn’t a glimpse into what was,” writes curator Stephen Nowlin, who points to the parallels between ancient light beaming from distant galaxies and prehistoric matter slowly surfacing from Earth’s crust.
A free public opening reception will be held Saturday, July 13, 2025, from 2:00–5:00pm. The exhibition continues every Saturday from July 19 through October 25, 1:00–5:00pm, with $5 admission. It’s a rare chance to experience art in a setting designed for cosmic contemplation—and to consider how far back, and how far out, we’re always looking. Learn more about the artist at jamesgriffithpainting.com.
Image Courtesy of Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica.