One of a truly welcome number of outdoor or window art exhibitions opening this month is the mixed-media window-front showing of four artists, curated by Artillery writer Kate Caruso.

Located at the Lady White Co. store in Los Feliz, Construction Manual; Part 1 presents repeatable works by David Horvitz, Hamish Pearch and Theo Chin. Two artists are based in London; Horvitz in LA.

The exhibition and its website function together as a blueprint or ‘construction manual’ for itself. Like such a manual, the text, hypnotic video, and sculptural work all figuratively and literally offer guidelines, to an unfettered potential for replication, diversification, and an understanding of the concept of both art and exhibit spaces. It is both mysterious and succinctly factual.

The exhibition is comprised of video and PDF print outs. As such, not only could IG theoretically be recreated an infinite number of times, it serves as a response to widespread closures and looks toward new models of art making and viewing.

Caruso says she became involved with the project after taking virtual studio visits and speaking with curators globally. She was “inspired by their work and words, and I decided to put together an exhibition incited by the limitations caused by COVID19.” She worked with the presently closed Lady White Co. along with the artists involved to shape a deceptively simple and inherently rich exhibition.

She describes the show as different than other exhibitions she has worked on, in that it is set in an alternative space not typically used for presenting artworks. “But I think we are all needing to think out of the box here,” she notes.

The main intent of the show is to express the salient truth that “even when galleries are closed, or studios are not available to visit, art exists and speaks in volumes greater than words can,” Caruso stresses.

The exhibition also offers a strong message that “art cannot be sequestered or privatized. That the internet has the potential to be democratic. And that sometimes commercial spaces are less affiliated with commerce than spaces designated for viewing an exhibition.”

Perhaps more than anything, Caruso and the artists want to point out that “art is for everyone, and you can print this exhibition and hang it in your bedroom!”

Kids, maybe you should try this at home.

Construction Manual; Part 1
Lady White Co. store, ‪2431 Hyperion Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027
M-F 10-5
A follow-up exhibition, Construction Manual; Part 2 will take place on Now Instant’s digital Screen in mid-June for one week, featuring these artists and others.