CALIFORNIA DREAMIN – MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF LOS ANGELES CURATED BY HEDI SLIMANE at almine rech, paris

Conceived and curated by Hedi Slimane, California Dreamin – Myths and Legends of Los Angeles presents cross-generational visions of Americana by master figures of California art such as the late Dennis Hopper and Bruce Conner. Works by Hedi Slimane, Aaron Curry, Mark Hagen and emerging talents Aaron Young and Sterling Ruby, converse alongside photographs by John Baldessari, an L.L.A.P.D. police uniform by Chris Burden hanging beside. Facets of California’s spirit – personal memories and stories, play against its public mythology and propaganda spectacle. One thinks of the solitary wanderers from Jack Kerouac’s On The Road in Ed Ruscha’s Sunset (1999) depicting a mundane road view of Los Angeles. The expression is stripped, reduced to a monochrome palette across the works. An intimate homage to the mythic city of Angels, its youth and countercultures speaking an alternative. California Dreamin: Myths and Legends of Los Angeles curated by Hedi Slimane runs through 26 March at the Almine Rech Gallery, 19 Rue Saintonge, Paris and Fragments of Americana by Hedi Slimane is the concurrent exhibition at the Almine Rech Gallery Brussels. Photo and text Sophie Pinchetti