Evan Holloway exhibition at david Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles

Evan Holloway’s (b. 1967 in Whittier, California) inaugural, solo exhibition at David Kordansky creates a visceral experience. The trompe l’oeil effects, textural range, and olfactory elements stimulate visitors’ sensory mechanisms making one hyper-aware of the nuisances throughout this collection of singular sculptures.

Having earned his MFA at UCLA in the late 1990s, Holloway forge his practice around “do-it-yourself production…that is both psychologically complex and intuitively accessible to a general audience.” All of the works in the show glean the tapestry of Hollywood and mid-century design and architecture which define the city scape and domestic spheres of Los Angeles.

Lamp is a bronze totem comprised of the initially cast head at the top descending through subsequent heads fashioned via expandafoam molds. Playing between positives and negatives within the casting process, Holloway also oscillates between art historical and popular cultural references from the Modernist Brâncuși to Marvel Comic’s Thing as the heads morph from top to base. Blending esoteric and exoteric perceptions within these sculptures, Holloway forges associations between universal histories and Hollywood iconography. Benzoin culls the sensuality of Henry Moore’s reclining female forms and the physical continuity of the Möbius strip to create a giant incense holder. This work recalls the mysticism and counter cultures engaged in consciousness expansion prevalent within the social fabric of 20th century California. Plants and Lamps was sculpted utilizing materials and techniques developed by the film industry to craft lightweight and easily transferable sets. Its components reference the ceramics and lamps adorning Neutra and Schindler homes prolific to the architectural-scape of Los Angeles, the hydroponic horticulture of Southern California is seen within the composition of the potted foliage and looming lamps, and the painterly application of highlights and shadows mimic how the light would cast over the leaves linking Holloway’s practice to Chiaroscuro used by 17th century Renaissance artists like da Vinci and Caravaggio.

Holloway is a quintessential Los Angeles artist who’s work encapsulates the West Coast art historical tradition as well as the aura of popular culture that shaped his native California. The collection of works presented, reveal Holloway’s approach to conceptual art piecing together a range of contemporary cultural references which, combined, prompt viewers into a particular experience.

On view until March 26th, 2016, at David Kordansky, 5130 W Edgewood Pl, Los Angeles.

Text and photo Cecelia Stucker

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