Incredulous Zealots: 4 Painterly Interrogations from L.A. @ Josh Lilley Gallery Opening October 12th

Analia Saban, Annie Lapin, Asad Faulwell, Jeni Spota

Incredulous Zealots: 4 Painterly Interrogations from LA
Dates: 12th October – 19th November 2011
Private View: 11th October 2011, 6-8pm

Josh Lilley is delighted to announce the opening on Tuesday 11th October of Incredulous Zealots – a group exhibition featuring work by four LA-based artists - Analia Saban, Annie Lapin, Asad Faulwell, and Jeni Spota.

Lara Wisniewski, LA-based curator and writer, discusses their contribution to the Los Angeles art scene below;

Psychologically aggressive…zealously dedicated…relentlessly driven…exuding religious fervour; all apt phrases to describe the four young Los Angeles artists participating in this exhibition. Their work is driven by an obsession to paint and then maintain control of their medium – either through the way their ideas actuate themselves, or by controlling the material itself. It appears these four artists do not take any aspect of the painting process for granted, neither its history nor its physicality.

It might seem strange that an artist from Los Angeles would be so intense, so consumed by detail and control. How does so much tension manifest in endless stretches of sunny days? Then again, when we view these four young artists’ work, we have to remember their predecessors – Chris Burden, Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley and Ed Ruscha etc – whose most innovative and outstanding works are psychologically disturbed, subtle, and sometimes not so subtle negotiations between strictures of reality and fantasy. Alternative religion also has its long history in the city; fanaticism and organisation are the earmarks of the Dianetics movement or the celebrity studded Kabbalah Centre, while smaller episodes found a voice – such as Charles Manson’s homegrown cult and its tragic, outrageous ending. It is hard to put a finger on the pulse that makes Los Angeles a home to these strange niches, as the city has always been a safe haven where outsiders become insiders by bringing dreams to their fullest expression. The eternally good weather seals their desires under a hopeful veneer that eventually cracks in the dry climate. As Los Angeles culture has proven, too many sunny days can beat shadows into the mind. LA’s dark underbelly is indeed a well-cultivated and fertile ground.

Josh Lilley Gallery