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    Lauren Halsey’s ’emajendat’ Is an Energetic Celebration of South Central Los Angeles

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    Installation view of ’emajendat’ at Serpentine South. Installation photos by Hugo Glendinning, © Lauren Halsey, courtesy of Serpentine, shared with permission

    Lauren Halsey’s ’emajendat’ Is an Energetic Celebration of South Central Los Angeles

    January 14, 2025

    ArtSocial Issues

    Kate Mothes

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    Inspired by the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles, where Lauren Halsey’s family has lived for generations, vibrant sculptures and site-specific installations vividly reflect the artist’s community.

    At Serpentine South, a large-scale, maximalist exhibition titled emajendat highlights Halsey’s self-described obsession with material culture, her interest in remixing messages and symbols, and the need to confront issues that affect people of color, the queer community, and the working class.

    Installation view

    Halsey gathers photographs, posters, flyers, commercial signs, and found objects that relate to her communities’ activism, highlighting “a sense of civic urgency and free-flowing imagination,” says David Kordansky Gallery, which co-represents the artist with Gagosian. “Inspired by Afrofuturism and funk, as well as the signs and symbols that populate her local environments, Halsey creates a visionary form of culture that is at once radical and collaborative.”

    Past, present, and future merge in the artists exploration of how idols, architecture, history, and communication fuel how we perceive identities and society. She draws on the imagery of ancient Egypt, the African diaspora, Black and queer icons, and the visionary design associated with funk to construct a kind of ever-evolving archive.

    In a monumental rooftop installation titled “the eastside of south central los angeles hieroglyph prototype architecture (I),” Halsey nods to palatial, ancient Egyptian architecture, placing the faces of notable Black figures on the columns’ capitals, such as activist Susan Burton and ethnomusicologist Dr. Rachel Eubanks.

    Halsey’s eclectic “funkmound” sculptures also encompass numerous found items, harboring miniature dioramas and objects that appear as though they are emerging from heaps of cotton candy. Throughout emajendat, seemingly endless collages, sculptures, reflections, prismatic color, patterns, messages, and textures welcome the viewer into an enthusiastically immersive experience.

    Installation view of ‘The Roof Garden Commission: Lauren Halsey,’ “the eastside of south central los angeles hieroglyph prototype architecture (I)” (2022). Photo by Hyla Skopitz, © Lauren Halsey, courtesy of the artist; David Kordansky Gallery and The Metropolitan Museum of Art

    The social element of Halsey’s work is amplified by a community center she founded in 2019 called Summaeverythang, located adjacent to her studio in South Central. The nonprofit initiative is “dedicated to the empowerment and transcendence of Black and Brown folks socio-politically, economically, intellectually, and artistically.”

    emajendat continues through February 23 in Kensington Gardens, London. Plan your visit on the gallery’s website.

    Foreground: “keepers of the krown (susan burton)” (2024), glass fiber, reinforced concrete, and mixed media, 261 3/4 x 48 1/8 x 48 1/8 inches. Background: “keepers of the krown (dr. rachel eubanks)” (2024), glass fiber, reinforced concrete, and mixed media 261 3/4 x 48 1/8 x 48 1/8 inches. Photo by Andrea Avezzù, © Lauren Halsey, courtesy of the artist, David Kordansky Gallery, and Gagosian

    Installation view

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    Installation view

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      A Changing Community and Lived Experiences Converge in Leroy Johnson’s Mixed-Media Houses

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      All images courtesy of Margot Samel, shared with permission

      A Changing Community and Lived Experiences Converge in Leroy Johnson’s Mixed-Media Houses

      December 23, 2024

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      From collaged and painted found materials merged with elements of photography and ceramics, Leroy Johnson (1937-2022) created an eclectic vision of life in his hometown of Philadelphia. Through layered, multi-dimensional portraits of houses, the artist represents loci of family life and community in conceptual assemblages that also confront racism, poverty, and gentrification.

      In the first exhibition of his work in New York City, Margot Samel presents Leroy Johnson, a collection of the artist’s house sculptures made “with a documentarian’s eye but a poet’s gaze,” says a gallery statement. His pieces capture a city in transition, peering into its past to underscore the myriad experiences of its present.

      “Spirit House” (c. 2005–2010) mixed media, found object, and collage, 19 1/4 x 20 x 13 1/2 inches

      Through his occupations as a social worker, teacher of disabled youth, rehab counselor, and school administrator, Johnson “surveyed the pleasures, hardships, and contradictions within the Philadelphia neighborhoods where he spent his life,” Margot Samel says, and he “pierced the fabric of collective human experience more deeply than most.”

      Johnson’s abstract, mixed-media houses often feature photographs of people and gatherings, graffiti and text, and swishes of paint or residual imagery from found objects. The gallery adds, “As an African American artist who witnessed the civil rights movement and the impact of racist policies on communities he loved, Johnson took particular pleasure in depicting the richness of Black life.”

      Leroy Johnson runs from January 10 to February 9 in New York. Learn more and plan your visit on the gallery’s website.

      “You Been Had” (c. 2000–2005), mixed media, found object, and collage, 17 x 16 1/2 x 8 inches

      “Heart of Darkness” (c. 1995–2000), mixed media, found object, and collage, 13 x 11 x 6 inches

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      In Striking Assemblages, Portia Munson Elucidates Societal Constraints on Women

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      “Serving Tray #6” (2022), found figurines, string, rope, and serving tray, 29 x 17 1/2 x 18 inches. Photo by JSP Art Photography. All images © Portia Munson, courtesy of the artist and P·P·O·W, New York, shared with permission

      In Striking Assemblages, Portia Munson Elucidates Societal Constraints on Women

      November 27, 2024

      ArtSocial Issues

      Kate Mothes

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      From a vast accumulation of found and readymade consumer products, Portia Munson has created elaborate sculptures and installations for more than three decades that explore the thinly veiled messages and codes embedded in mass-produced objects.

      Based in Catskill, New York, the artist first began working with found consumer items like plastic figures and kitsch in 1989 when she presented an early version of a bright pink assemblage titled “Pink Project: Table” for her MFA thesis exhibition at Rutgers University.

      “Pink Project: Bedroom” (2011-ongoing), found pink plastic and synthetic objects along with salvaged pink bedroom furnishings, 96 x 216 x 120 inches. Photo by JSP Art Photography

      Munson had been collecting pink plastic objects to use as references for paintings, but over time, they began to overtake her studio. “I realized it was a piece unto itself,” she says. “If you have an idea and something you want to express, then you find the medium that’s best going to express those ideas.”

      Pink emerged as a central interest for Munson as she began to interrogate why the color is associated with women, especially babies and young girls. For years, she collected anything that was pink, plastic, and manufactured on a mass scale, often rummaging through knick-knacks at garage sales, thrift stores, and flea markets.

      Over time, Munson’s pieces expanded to include immersive environments constructed entirely from a single color, such as the fabric-draped interior of “Garden” or the Pink Project series that continues through works like “Pink Project: Bedroom.”

      “Bound Angel” (2021), found figurines, lamps, candles, string and rope, wedding gowns as tablecloth, extension cords, and oval table, 192 x 68 x 66 inches. Photo by Lance Brewer

      Tables and serving trays provide platforms for Munson’s seemingly jumbled compositions, bundling numerous figurines together with string and rope, like in her Serving Tray series or the large-scale “Bound Angel.”

      “Serving Tray #6,” for example, presents a mix of ceramic and glass representations of women, tethered with string and perched on a silver platter. Munson describes the group of blindfolded, fettered figures as “sacrificial martyrs, inviting the contemplation of what we are being fed as a culture and who ultimately pays for it.”

      Displayed across the entirety of a cloth-covered oval dining table, “Bound Angel” brings together dozens of found white statuettes and lamps, many of which depict angels. Munson has wrapped rope and string around their bodies and faces, emphasizing the constraints society places on women, illuminating struggles that may be hidden in plain sight.

      Detail of “Bound Angel.” Photo by Lance Brewer

      “This piece is one in a series of works that explore how femininity and the female body are portrayed in our culture,” Munson says in a statement. She adds:

      “Bound Angel” reviles the insatiable, consumerist, sexist, and repressive value systems which degrade society. By bringing these objects together, this piece harnesses their collective power, transforming their original function to pacify, sexualize, and infantilize women into one of retaliation, confrontation, and strength.

      “Bound Angel” will be on view at Art Basel Miami Beach in the Meridians area, a sector of the fair dedicated to large-scale installations, sculptures, and performances. The show runs from December 6 to 8, where Munson’s work will be presented by P·P·O·W. Find more on the artist’s website.

      “Pink Project: Bedroom” (2011-ongoing), found pink plastic and synthetic objects along with salvaged pink bedroom furnishings, 96 x 216 x 120 inches. Photo by Daniel Salemi

      Detail of “Pink Project: Bedroom.” Photo by JSP Art Photography

      “Crescent Moon” (2024), found figurines, string, and thread, 26 x 30 x 8 inches. Photo by JSP Art Photography

      “The Garden” (1996), found/recycled manufactured synthetic and plastic floral and garden-related objects with salvaged floral bedroom furnishings, dimensions variable

      Detail of “The Garden”

      “Nightstand” (2021), found figurines, lamps, string and rope, and bedside table, 51 1/2 x 34 x 27 inches. Photo by JSP Art Photography

      “Pink Moon” (2024), found figurines, string, and thread, 18 x 18 x 7 inches. Photo by JSP Art Photography

      Installation view of “Bound Angel” at P·P·O·W. Photo by Lance Brewer

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    • 150 Shares129 Views

      in Art

      Loss, Grief, and Renewal Spring Forth in Ebony G. Patterson’s Paper Assemblages

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      Detail of “Studies for a vocabulary of loss XXV” (2024), digital print on archival watercolor paper and construction paper with feather butterflies, plastic flies, roaches, spiders, and memorial rosette reading “affliction,” 47 1/2 x 30 1/2 x 12 inches (framed). Photos by Mikhail Mishin. All images © Ebony G. Patterson, courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, shared with permission

      Loss, Grief, and Renewal Spring Forth in Ebony G. Patterson’s Paper Assemblages

      September 5, 2024

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      For more than a decade, the history, lore, science, and symbolism of the garden has been central to the work of Ebony G. Patterson (previously). In the summer of 2023, Patterson’s installation …things come to thrive…in the shedding…in the molting… at New York Botanical Garden marked an introduction to her series Studies for a vocabulary of loss.

      At this weekend’s Armory Show, the artist shares 24 new pieces from the series in a solo presentation exploring the symbolism of gardens and grief.

      “Studies for a vocabulary of loss XXV” (2024), digital print on archival watercolor paper and construction paper with feather butterflies, plastic flies, roaches, spiders, and memorial rosette reading “affliction,” 47 1/2 x 30 1/2 x 12 inches (framed)

      For Patterson, the garden is a rich metaphor for the body. She often interrogates themes of visibility and invisibility, navigating the intersections of gender, class, and race within the context of postcolonial space. In her paper assemblages, Patterson combines cutouts of foliage, butterflies, and blossoms with plastic insects and mourning rosettes.

      “Each piece evokes the imagery of memorial wreaths but with text that diverges from traditional funeral associations,” says a statement from moniquemeloche. “Patterson asks us to grapple with the impossibility of loss, reflecting on an extensive vocabulary centered on words like calamity, forgetting, perdition, misery, wound, lack, failure, blot out, debt, hurt, undoing, and havoc.”

      In the context of the garden, the loss and renewal of life are inherent in its natural cycle, and through vibrant and detailed reliefs, Patterson considers the cycle of grief and the potential for life.

      If you’re in New York, you can find Patterson’s solo booth on view from September 6 to 8 at the Javits Center. Find more on the artist’s website.

      “Studies for a vocabulary of loss XXIV” (2024), digital print on archival watercolor paper and construction paper with feather butterflies, plastic flies, spiders, and memorial rosette reading “blot out,” 47 1/2 x 30 1/2 x 12 inches (framed)

      “Studies for a vocabulary of loss XXII” (2024), digital print on archival watercolor paper and construction paper with feather butterflies, plastic flies, spiders, and memorial rosette reading “forgetting,” 47 1/2 x 30 1/2 x 12 inches (framed)

      “Studies for a vocabulary of loss XXVIII” (2024), digital print on archival watercolor paper and construction paper with feather butterflies, plastic flies, roaches, and memorial rosette reading “perdition,” 47 1/2 x 30 1/2 x 12 inches (framed)

      Detail of “Studies for a vocabulary of loss XXVIII” (2024)

      “Studies for a vocabulary of loss XXII” (2024), digital print on archival watercolor paper and construction paper with feather butterflies, plastic flies, spiders, and memorial rosette reading “forgetting,” 47 1/2 x 30 1/2 x 12 inches (framed)

      Detail of “Studies for a vocabulary of loss XXII” (2024)

      “Studies for a vocabulary of loss XXIX” (2024), digital print on archival watercolor paper and construction paper with feather butterflies, plastic flies, roaches, spiders, and memorial rosette reading “lack,” 47 1/2 x 30 1/2 x 12 inches (framed)

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