This Frist Art Museum’s newest installment “Light, Space, Surface” is composed of some paintings, yes, but it is a compilation of art and sculptures that play with the mind in unexpected ways.
This collection features works from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and is composed of Southern California artists from the 1960s to the present day. Though many of the pieces seem to be quite simple at first glance, the process to create them or the idea behind them was very complex. Take the first piece in the exhibit for example. Norman Zammit’s untitled piece (featured above) seems to be a blend of four colors, creating the landscape of a sunrise or set. However, the art that spans three canvases is actually composed of individual lines to create such a calming image. Similar to this thoughtful approach, Larry Bell created “Magic Boxes”, where mirrors are strategically placed on canvas to create interesting shapes and dimensions.
The artists showcased in this exhibit were ahead of their time with the mediums they used and the education they acquired to have those skills. Take Judy Chicago, she attended auto-body school in the 1960s and was the only female in a class of 250 men. With the knowledge and techniques she learned in her classes, she was able to go on to make art with unconventional materials such as acrylic lacquer and car parts. De Wain Valentine is another featured artist who used cars as inspiration for his work. “Double Top” is a hollow mold form that was inspired by the custom cars Valentine admired in his youth. This piece was actually so large that it could not use his preferred medium, liquid polyester resin, so he created his own that could sustain sculptures of this size.
“Light, Space, Surface” will be on display until September 4, 2022. Get your tickets now and be sure to tell us about it by tagging @urbaanite and @fristartmuseum.
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