The economy is crashing; coronavirus and panic are spreading like wildfires; and political lines are being drawn in shifting sands. What better time to enjoy the near-apocalyptic visions of Lisa Adams and Kelly McLane? “Unreality,” their first joint show, arrives at an ideal moment; but in fact, the two painters have been friends for years, and curator Kirk Pedersen conceived of this exhibition in 2018. Disorder reigns disarmingly in each artist’s fanciful paintings centered on conflicts among people and nature. The work here was culled from Adams’ and McLane’s previous solo shows, making the juxtaposition most satisfying for educing their remarkable commonalities. Eco-conscious undercurrents swirl through both painters’ dystopic dreamlike realms punctuated by touches of humor and hope. Animals, vegetation and mundane structures are common motifs; the sparsely populated vistas typically contain spots of action contrasted with expanses of nothingness. Adams’ Borderland (2015, detail above) features a figure with binoculars gazing above a floating phony swan; across the gallery, McLane’s Budfish (2017) portrays decoy-esque loons observing a flock of parakeets bursting from a bloody smokestack. Whereas McLane’s paintings and drawings are loose and ethereal, Adams’ mode of representation is self-consciously artificial, with abstract shapes and synthetic hues merging with naturalistically painted elements. The events transpiring in each artist’s quizzical scenes are ambiguous, yet clearly inauspicious. Even as public tongues lie wagging unbridled, their surreal paintings question how much we really know in an era that has long since moved beyond post-truth.

Pete & Susan Barrett Art Gallery
Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center
1310 11th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Show runs through Mar. 28