“FOREST FOR THE TREES,” COMPRISING MULTIPLE EXHIBITIONS ADDRESSING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THE LIVING AND BUILT ENVIRONMENTS THEY INHABIT, IS ON VIEW AT MOAH IN LANCASTER THROUGH JULY 15
FEATURED ARTISTS ARE GREG ROSE, SANT KHALSA, CONSTANCE MALLINSON, TIMOTHY R. SMITH, OSCEOLA REFETOFF, AND CHRISTOPHER LANGLEY
SANT KHALSA BOOK SIGNING AND ARTIST TALK FOR “PRANA: LIFE WITH TREES” SET FOR JULY 15, 1PM
The Lancaster Museum of Art and History (MOAH) is currently presenting the museum-wide exhibition “Forest for the Trees,” which runs through Sunday, July 15 (https://www.lancastermoah.org/the-forest-for-the-trees).
“Forest for the Trees” comprises multiple shows that each address the complex relationships between people and the living and built environments that they inhabit. In much of the work, there is a specific focus on humans’ symbiotic connection to trees. In diverse ways, the artists explore the environment and the impacts, both positive and negative, that humans have upon the world around us.
On closing day, July 15, there will be a talk and book signing with Joshua Tree-based artist Sant Khalsa, presenting her new book Prana: Life with Trees (Griffith Moon, Santa Monica, July 2018). Her solo exhibition of the same name culls pieces spanning more than 40 years, each examining humanity’s existence within nature, specifically its connection to trees. Khalsa’s projects organically develop from her impassioned inquiry into the nature of place and complex environmental and societal issues. Her artworks create a contemplative space where viewers can sense the subtle and profound relationships between themselves and the natural world. Khalsa’s unique perspective is expressed through a style that encompasses the documentary, subjective and conceptual, evoking a meditative calm in contrast to what we often experience as a chaotic and conflicted world.
Exhibitions included in “Forest for the Trees” are:
“Tree Fiction,” a survey of work by Los Angeles-based artist Greg Rose featured in the main gallery. Created over the course of eight years, the pieces document his hiking excursions into the Santa Gabriel Mountains as he catalogued, analyzed, and painted trees throughout the forest – many of which he noticed were made rugged from enduring extreme weather conditions. “Tree Fiction” presents detailed gouache renderings of trees which Rose has isolated in a plane of vibrant gradients. His work takes on the quality of a narrative, mirroring both the tension and sense of connection one may find in their own life, such as those which exist within families and other relationships. Rose will lead a walk-through of the exhibition on Sunday, June 24 at 1PM.
“ME, ME, ME,” a solo exhibition by Los Angeles-based artist Constance Mallinson, depicts monumental assortments of post-consumer items that are reminiscent of trash dumps, ocean gyres, and urban alleyways. Her art unveils the complexities and moral dilemmas of living in a technological, consumerist, disposable world, as humans’ imprudent behaviors contribute to the earth’s demise. Post-apocalyptic, darkly humorous, critical, and celebratory at once, Mallinson’s images of degraded commodities – composed from natural and manufactured waste that she finds on daily walks – situate the viewer in a provocative endgame. In their scale and execution, her pieces have been appreciated for their ability to simultaneously seduce and deliver a critique, and to share a continuing relevance for painting in an era of ubiquitous mass media.
Los Angeles-based oil painter and muralist Timothy Robert Smith’s “Revised Maps of the Present” is a multi-room, interactive installation that combines painted walls, sculpted figures, lights, sound and video projections. The installation aims to simulate a present moment as if one were to view it from all perspectives at once. It begins with the scene of a train station in a city. As the observer moves through, layers of reality disconnect and unfold into a labyrinth of warped angles, hidden spatial dimensions, and alternative versions. It reflects Smith’s interest in multi-dimensionalism, which he describes as an attempt to understand how one’s personal experience in the world fits into the greater picture of the universe. His work does not replicate reality as we perceive it, but rather asks the viewer to consider realities they do not see, and question the truth of their perspectives both visually and metaphysically.
“High & Dry: Land Artifacts,” a cross-platform collaboration between Los Angeles-based photographer Osceola Refetoff and Lone Pine-based writer/historian Christopher Langley, builds on their long-term exploration of the California desert and it inhabitants (“High & Dry” dispatches have been a regular feature on KCET’s Artbound since 2013). Balancing Refetoff’s infrared images and Langley’s text, the exhibition focuses on the remnants and future of human activity across these vast open spaces – territory that’s been traditionally used for resource extraction, toxic dumping, and military exercises, and which currently is dominated by immense wind and solar arrays. With the intent of being part of a positive dialogue about the future of desert environments, the show examines the things we leave behind, and what they reveal about ourselves – and the legacy we will leave to the next generations. It is the first art show at MOAH to incorporate historical objects from the museum’s permanent collection. Visitors are invited to bring a small personal item to contribute to a time capsule being created in association with the show.
“Treasured Again” features the assemblage art dollhouses of Santa Monica-based artist Gilena Simons, who has always been taken with collecting other people’s things – items that were once treasured and then discarded. Each of her one of a kind mixed-media pieces presents a statement on the notion of house, home, and family. She introduces disparate components that fit together purposefully in a newly invented built environment.
The Lancaster Museum of Art and History is dedicated to strengthening awareness, enhancing accessibility, and igniting the appreciation of art, history, and culture in the Antelope Valley through dynamic exhibitions, innovative educational programs, creative community engagement, and a vibrant collection that celebrates the richness of the region. MOAH is open Tuesday – Sunday, from 11AM to 6 PM with extended hours on Thursday until 8PM. For more information, visit www.lancastermoah.org or call (661) 723-6250.
image: Installation from “Prana: Life with Trees” by Sant Khalsa
