By Sam Skopp
Gallery Luisotti recently hosted a reception for John Divola, the artist behind their current featured exhibit, Physical Evidence, which will remain at the gallery until Sept. 9.
Much of Divola’s work is concerned with abandonment and ruin in Southern California landscapes. Divola is a longtime Southern California resident, taking inspiration from his surroundings.
Physical Evidence features two bodies of works, from 1987 and 1990 respectively. The pieces that make up Five Prints Portfolio are all photographs of original constructions created by Divola to match the landscapes in which they’re photographed, and feature bright, neon colors. Untitled 1990 includes a number of black and white photographs that appear similar to abstract paintings, created by throwing flour onto a painted backdrop.
“Clouds, the cosmos, and atmosphere, make up a vocabulary of the sublime, the universal. The means involved here (throwing flour at shamelessly expressionistic backdrops) are pathetic and obvious. The vehicle (the photograph) is industrial, mute, and dead,” said Divola in a statement from 1990.
These two bodies of works are being exhibited side by side in order to “show Divola’s long held commitment to exploring the contradictions of a medium caught between document and artifice,” as stated by the gallery.
For more information on this exhibit and Gallery Luisotti, located in unit A1, Bergamot Station Arts Complex, visit galleryluisotti.com.
