On Saturday, Oct. 19, Alicia Piller (Art MFA 19) unveils her first solo show Spirit of the Times at Lowell Ryan Projects. The exhibition runs until Saturday, Dec. 21.
Fashioned from raw materials and labyrinthine cords of vinyl and latex, Spirit of the Times presents an image of the current state of America. The exhibition also offers an optimistic glimpse at a better tomorrow, signified by bright colors and sprouting forms sprawled throughout the gallery.
One of the exhibition’s central pieces is Across the wasteland, a twisted melody. Matter and spirit., a large-scale piece resembling a whale skeleton. Viewers are invited to ponder various society ills, such as the interior newspaper clippings documenting instances of white supremacy and gun violence, as they walk through the whale’s carcass.
A painted image of an anguished woman squints at viewers in Anticipates her future. Pearls and fruits, bows and arrows. Embodying the uncertainty of the present era, the word “permutations” painted on the piece’s base questions how our society has arrived at this particular point.
Piller is a Los Angeles-based artist whose practice investigates concepts such as “nature, family, capitalism, colonialism and industrial production,” and how they materialize in intricate works ranging from the personal to the political. Her microscopal exploration of past atrocities, suffering and accomplishments manifest in biological forms “broken down to a cellular level.”
She is the recipient of a 2015 Art Castle International artist residency in Kerala, India, and the subject of a December 2018 VoyageLA profile.
Event Details
Alicia Piller: Spirit of the Times
Opening Reception
Saturday, Oct. 19, 7-9 pm
Lowell Ryan Projects
4851 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles
Exhibition
Saturday, Oct. 19 – Saturday, Dec. 21
Lowell Ryan Projects
4851 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles