In this group exhibition of 15 artists, Rashid Johnson splendidly arranges ablaze and brooding drawings, paintings and sculptures into a pristine playlist. From Huma Bhabha’s uneasy cork, wood and cardboard ancient being and Bill Traylor’s acutely simple and lyrical drawings to Isa Genken’s trouble-free assemblage mannequins, the works span vastly different periods and mediums. My favorite thing about artist-curated exhibitions is seeing how artists make other artists, that is, a method of finding and becoming family. It’s a great pleasure to witness who is chosen to encircle an artist’s imagination, a most intimate space. At “Bruts,” it is the world according to Rashid Johnson and it discharges a callous and omniscient antiheroic disturbance that is simultaneously distinguished. In an almost old-fashioned and stubborn way, the constellation of these works is packaged together with pressure-fitted relevance—not a hair out of place, making complete sense—a rarity for a group exhibition. This quality of precision speaks to distinctive qualities in Johnson’s own work: an intense focus, nothing arbitrary, organized chaos, deep feelings that are both obvious and difficult to describe, a crisis and its effect.

David Kordansky Gallery
5130 W. Edgewood Place
Los Angeles, CA
On view through August 24, 2024