Sean Townley
at Kristina Kite Gallery
–Travis Diehl
Carrie Cook
at Tyler Park Presents
–Lauren Maya Ford
(L.A. in S.F.)
Candice Lin
at Friends Indeed
–stephanie mei huang
Carla en Español
Issue 22 November 2020
Maija Peeples-Bright's Anti-Hierarchical Utopias and the Art of World-Building
–Catherine Wagley
The Lighthouse
Drinking the Fuel/On the Rocks
–Travis Diehl
The Glitch Strikes Back
Legacy Russell's Feminist Manifesto
–Allison Noelle Conner
Linda Stark's Covert Emotion
–Lindsay Preston Zappas
Interview with Patty Chang
–stephanie mei huang
Reviews
WE LIVE!
Memories of Resistance
at Oxy Arts
–Joseph Daniel Valencia
Colleen Hargaden
at Hunter Shaw Fine Art
–Hannah Sage Kay
Duke Riley
at Charlie James Gallery
–Matt Stromberg
Amir H. Fallah
at Shulamit Nazarian
–Aaron Horst
Cody Critcheloe
at The Gallery @
–Gracie Hadland
Carla en Español
Issue 21 August 2020
Days of Take
–Travis Diehl
A Chinese Cure
–stephanie mei huang
Where is Our Reckoning?
–Catherine Wagley
Forged by Fire
How a Ceramic Studio is Creating a Radical Community
–Eva Recinos
Ground Control
Picturing Land Use in the Uninhabitable Desert of Los Angeles
–Paloma Dooley
Reviews
Films for Escapism
at Women's Center for Creative Work
–Allison Noelle Conner
Guadalupe Rosales
at Los Angeles Nomadic Division
–Matt Stromberg
Paul Mpagi Sepuya
at Vielmetter Los Angeles
–Erin F. O'Leary
Simone Leigh
at David Kordansky Gallery
–Jessica Simmons
(L.A. in S.F.)
Stimulus
at Guerrero Gallery
–Ariel Zaccheo
Carla en Español
Issue 20 May 2020
Spiritual Coroner:
Gala Porras-Kim
–Travis Diehl
New New Images of Man
–Catherine Wagley
Catastrophe
–Jessica Simmons
Walking in L.A.
–Aaron Horst
Carla,
a Timeline in 5 Years
Art in Isolation Interviews
Diedrick Brackens, Amy Bessone, Julia Haft-Candell, Ry Rocklen, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, and Lita Albuquerque
–Lindsay Preston Zappas
Reviews
Michael Ray
at Philip Martin Gallery
–Keith J. Varadi
Alex Anderson
at GAVLAK
–Julie Weitz
All of Them Witches
at Jeffrey Deitch
–Michael Wright
Ree Morton
at ICA LA
–Molly Larkey
Rodrigo Valenzuela
at Klowden Mann
–Matt Stromberg
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
at the Huntington
–Jennifer Remenchik
Gallery Viewing Room
Angels Gate Cultural Center,
Big Pictures Los Angeles,
Blum & Poe, Bridge Projects, Charlie James Gallery, Feuilleton, Five Car Garage, Klowden Mann, Moskowitz Bayse, Nicodim Gallery, Parrasch Heijnen, Philip Martin Gallery, Regen Projects, Telluride Gallery of Fine Art, The Pit, Wilding Cran Gallery
Issue 19 February 2020
Letter from the Editor–Lindsay Preston Zappas
Parasites in Love–Travis Diehl
To Crush AbsoluteOn Patrick Staff and
Destroying the Institution
–Jonathan Griffin
Victoria Fu:
Camera Obscured–Cat Kron
Resurgence of ResistanceHow Pattern & Decoration's Popularity
Can Help Reshape the Canon
–Catherine Wagley
Exquisite L.A.: Featuring: Friedrich Kunath,
Tristan Unrau, and Nevine Mahmoud–Claressinka Anderson & Joe Pugliese
ReviewsApril Street
at Vielmetter Los Angeles
–Aaron Horst
Chiraag Bhakta
at Human Resources
–Julie Weitz
Don’t Think: Tom, Joe
and Rick Potts
at POTTS
–Matt Stromberg
Sarah McMenimen
at Garden
–Michael Wright
The Medea Insurrection
at the Wende Museum
–Jennifer Remenchik
(L.A. in N.Y.)
Mike Kelley
at Hauser & Wirth
–Angella d’Avignon
Buy the IssueIn our Online Shop
Issue 18 November 2019
Letter from the Editor–Lindsay Preston Zappas
The Briar and the TarNayland Blake at the ICA LA
and Matthew Marks Gallery
–Travis Diehl
Putting Aesthetics
to HopeTracking Photography’s Role
in Feminist Communities
– Catherine Wagley
Instagram STARtists
and Bad Painting– Anna Elise Johnson
Interview with Jamillah James– Lindsay Preston Zappas
Working ArtistsFeaturing Catherine Fairbanks,
Paul Pescador, and Rachel Mason
Text: Lindsay Preston Zappas
Photos: Jeff McLane
ReviewsChildren of the Sun
at LADIES’ ROOM
– Jessica Simmons
Derek Paul Jack Boyle
at SMART OBJECTS
–Aaron Horst
Karl Holmqvist
at House of Gaga, Los Angeles
–Lee Purvey
Katja Seib
at Château Shatto
–Ashton Cooper
Jeanette Mundt
at Overduin & Co.
–Matt Stromberg
Buy the Issue In Our Online Shop
Issue 17 August 2019
Letter From the EditorLindsay Preston Zappas
Green ChipDavid Hammons
at Hauser & Wirth
–Travis Diehl
Whatever Gets You
Through the NightThe Artists of Dilexi
and Wartime Trauma
–Jonathan Griffin
Generous CollectorsHow the Grinsteins
Supported Artists
–Catherine Wagley
Interview with
Donna Huanca–Lindsy Preston Zappas
Working ArtistFeaturing Ragen Moss, Justen LeRoy,
and Bari Ziperstein
Text: Lindsay Preston Zappas
Photos: Jeff McLane
ReviewsSarah Lucas
at the Hammer Museum
–Yxta Maya Murray
George Herms and Terence Koh
at Morán Morán
–Matt Stromberg
Hannah Hur
at Bel Ami
–Michael Wright
Sebastian Hernandez
at NAVEL
–Julie Weitz
(L.A. in N.Y.)
Alex Israel
at Greene Naftali
–Rosa Tyhurst
Buy the IssueIn Our Online Shop
Issue 16 May 2019
Trulee Hall's Untamed MagicCatherine Wagley
Ingredients for a Braver Art SceneCeci Moss
I Shit on Your GravesTravis Diehl
Interview with Ruby NeriJonathan Griffin
Carolee Schneemann and the Art of Saying Yes!Chelsea Beck
Exquisite L.A. Claressinka Anderson
Joe Pugliese
ReviewsRy Rocklen
at Honor Fraser
–Cat Kron
Rob Thom
at M+B
–Lindsay Preston Zappas
Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age
of Black Power, 1963-1983
at The Broad
–Matt Stromberg
Anna Sew Hoy & Diedrick Brackens
at Various Small Fires
–Aaron Horst
Julia Haft-Candell & Suzan Frecon
at Parrasch Heijnen
–Jessica Simmons
(L.A. in N.Y.)
Shahryar Nashat
at Swiss Institute
–Christie Hayden
Buy the IssueIn Our Online Shop
Issue 15 February 2019
Letter From the EditorLindsay Preston Zappas
Letter to the Editor
Men on WomenGeena Brown
Eyes Without a Voice
Julian Rosefeldt's ManifestoChristina Catherine Martinez
Seven Minute Dream Machine
Jordan Wolfson's (Female figure)Travis Diehl
Laughing in Private
Vanessa Place's Rape JokesCatherine Wagley
Interview with
Rosha YaghmaiLaura Brown
Exquisite L.A.
Featuring: Patrick Martinez,
Ramiro Gomez, and John ValadezClaressinka Anderson
Joe Pugliese
ReviewsOutliers and American
Vanguard Art at LACMA
–Jonathan Griffin
Sperm Cult
at LAXART
–Matt Stromberg
Kahlil Joseph
at MOCA PDC
–Jessica Simmons
Ingrid Luche
at Ghebaly Gallery
–Lindsay Preston Zappas
Matt Paweski
at Park View / Paul Soto
–John Zane Zappas
Trenton Doyle Hancock
at Shulamit Nazarian
–Colony Little
(L.A. in N.Y.)
Catherine Opie
at Lehmann Maupin
–Angella d'Avignon
Buy the IssueIn our Online Shop
Issue 14 November 2018
Letter From the EditorLindsay Preston Zappas
Celeste Dupuy-Spencer and Figurative ReligionCatherine Wagley
Lynch in TrafficTravis Diehl
The Remixed Symbology of Nina Chanel AbneyLindsay Preston Zappas
Interview with Kulapat YantrasastChristie Hayden
Exquisite L.A.
Featuring: Sandra de la Loza, Gloria Galvez, and Steve WongClaressinka Anderson
Photos: Joe Pugliese
ReviewsRaúl de Nieves
at Freedman Fitzpatrick
-Aaron Horst
Gertrud Parker
at Parker Gallery
-Ashton Cooper
Robert Yarber
at Nicodim Gallery
-Jonathan Griffin
Nikita Gale
at Commonwealth & Council
-Simone Krug
Lari Pittman
at Regen Projects
-Matt Stromberg
(L.A. in N.Y.)
Eckhaus Latta
at the Whitney Museum
of American Art
-Angella d'Avignon
Buy the IssueIn Our Online Shop
Issue 13 August 2018
Letter From the EditorLindsay Preston Zappas
Letter to the EditorJulie Weitz with Angella d'Avignon
Don't Make
Everything BoringCatherine Wagley
The Collaborative Art
World of Norm LaichMatt Stromberg
Oddly Satisfying ArtTravis Diehl
Made in L.A. 2018 ReviewsClaire de Dobay Rifelj
Jennifer Remenchik
Aaron Horst
Exquisite L.A.
Featuring: Anna Sew Hoy, Guadalupe Rosales, and Shizu SaldamandoClaressinka Anderson
Photos: Joe Pugliese
ReviewsIt's Snowing in LA
at AA|LA
–Matthew Lax
Fiona Conner
at the MAK Center
–Thomas Duncan
Show 2
at The Gallery @ Michael's
–Simone Krug
Deborah Roberts
at Luis De Jesus Los Angeles
–Ikechukwu Casmir Onyewuenyi
Mimi Lauter
at Blum & Poe
–Jessica Simmons
(L.A. in N.Y.)
Math Bass
at Mary Boone
–Ashton Cooper
(L.A. in N.Y.)
Condo New York
–Laura Brown
Buy the IssueIn Our Online Shop
Issue 12 May 2018
Poetic Energies and
Radical Celebrations:
Senga Nengudi and Maren HassingerSimone Krug
Interior States of the ArtTravis Diehl
Perennial Bloom:
Florals in Feminism
and Across L.A. Angella d'Avignon
The Mess We're InCatherine Wagley
Interview with Christina QuarlesAshton Cooper
Object Project
Featuring Suné Woods, Michelle Dizon,
and Yong Soon MinLindsay Preston Zappas
Photos: Jeff McLane
ReviewsMeleko Mokgosi
at The Fowler Museum at UCLA
-Jessica Simmons
Chris Kraus
at Chateau Shatto
- Aaron Horst
Ben Sanders
at Ochi Projects
- Matt Stromberg
iris yirei hsu
at the Women's Center
for Creative Work
- Hana Cohn
Harald Szeemann
at the Getty Research Institute
- Olivian Cha
Ali Prosch
at Bed and Breakfast
- Jennifer Remenchik
Reena Spaulings
at Matthew Marks
- Thomas Duncan
Buy the IssueIn Our Online Shop
Issue 11 February 2018
Letter from the EditorLindsay Preston Zappas
Museum as Selfie StationMatt Stromberg
Accessible as Humanly as PossibleCatherine Wagley
On Laura Owens on Laura OwensTravis Diehl
Interview with Puppies PuppiesJonathan Griffin
Object ProjectLindsay Preston Zappas, Jeff McLane
ReviewsDulce Dientes
at Rainbow in Spanish
- Aaron Horst
Adrián Villas Rojas
at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA
- Lindsay Preston Zappas
Nevine Mahmoud
at M+B
- Angella D'Avignon
Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960- 1985
at the Hammer Museum
- Thomas Duncan
Hannah Greely and William T. Wiley
at Parker Gallery
- Keith J. Varadi
David Hockney
at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (L.A. in N.Y.)
- Ashton Cooper
Edgar Arceneaux
at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (L.A. in S.F.)
- Hana Cohn
Buy the IssueIn Our Online Shop
Issue 10 November 2017
Letter from the EditorLindsay Preston Zappas
Barely Living with Art:
The Labor of Domestic
Spaces in Los AngelesEli Diner
She Wanted Adventure:
Dwan, Butler, Mizuno, CopleyCatherine Wagley
The Languages of
All-Women ExhibitionsLindsay Preston Zappas
L.A. PoveraTravis Diehl
On Eclipses:
When Language
and Photography FailJessica Simmons
Interview with
Hamza WalkerJulie Wietz
Object Project
Featuring: Rosha Yaghmai,
Dianna Molzan, and Patrick JacksonLindsay Preston Zappas
Photos by Jeff McLane
Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA
ReviewsRegen Projects
Ibid Gallery
One National Gay & Lesbian Archives and MOCA PDC
The Mistake Room
Luis De Jesus Gallery
the University Art Gallery at CSULB
the Autry Museum
ReviewsCheyenne Julien
at Smart Objects
Paul Mpagi Sepuya
at team bungalow
Ravi Jackson
at Richard Telles
Tactility of Line
at Elevator Mondays
Trigger: Gender as a Tool as a Weapon
at the New Museum
(L.A. in N.Y.)
Buy the IssueIn Our Online Shop
Issue 9 August 2017
Letter from the EditorLindsay Preston Zappas
Women on the PlinthCatherine Wagley
Us & Them, Now & Then:
Reconstituting Group MaterialTravis Diehl
The Offerings of EJ Hill Ikechukwu Casmir Onyewuenyi
Interview with Jenni SorkinCarmen Winant
Object Project
Featuring: Rebecca Morris,
Linda Stark, Alex OlsonLindsay Preston Zappas
Photos by Jeff McClane
ReviewsMark Bradford
at the Venice Biennale
Broken Language
at Shulamit Nazarian
Artists of Color
at the Underground Museum
Anthony Lepore & Michael Henry Hayden
at Del Vaz Projects
Home
at LACMA
Analia Saban at
Sprueth Magers
Letter to the EditorLady Parts, Lady Arts
Buy the IssueIn Our Online Shop
Issue 8 May 2017
Letter from the EditorLindsay Preston Zappas
Kanye WestworldTravis Diehl
@richardhawkins01Thomas Duncan
Support Structures:
Alice Könitz and LAMOACatherine Wagley
Interview with
Penny SlingerEliza Swann
Exquisite L.A.
Featuring:
taisha paggett
Ashley Hunt
Young Chung Intro by Claressinka Anderson
Portraits by Joe Pugliese
ReviewsAlessandro Pessoli
at Marc Foxx
Jennie Jieun Lee
at The Pit
Trisha Baga
at 356 Mission
Jimmie Durham
at The Hammer
Parallel City
at Ms. Barbers
Jason Rhodes
at Hauser & Wirth
Letter to the Editor
Buy the IssueIn Our Online Shop
Issue 7 February 2017
Letter from the EditorLindsay Preston Zappas
Generous
StructuresCatherine Wagley
Put on a Happy Face:
On Dynasty HandbagTravis Diehl
The Limits of Animality:
Simone Forti at ISCP
(L.A. in N.Y.) Ikechukwu Casmir Onyewuenyi
More Wound Than Ruin:
Evaluating the
"Human Condition" Jessica Simmons
Exquisite L.A.
Featuring:
Brenna Youngblood
Todd Gray
Rafa Esparza Intro by Claressinka Anderson
Portraits by Joe Pugliese
ReviewsCreature
at The Broad
Sam Pulitzer & Peter Wachtler
at House of Gaga // Reena Spaulings Fine Art
Karl Haendel
at Susanne Vielmetter
Wolfgang Tillmans
at Regen Projects
Ma
at Chateau Shatto
The Rat Bastard Protective Association
at the Landing
Buy the IssueIn Our Online Shop
Issue 6 November 2016
Letter from the Editor Lindsay Preston Zappas
Kenneth Tam
's BasementTravis Diehl
The Female
Cool SchoolCatherine Wagley
The Rise
of the L.A.
Art WitchAmanda Yates Garcia
Interview with
Mernet LarsenJulie Weitz
Agnes Martin
at LACMAJessica Simmons
Exquisite L.A.
Featuring:
Analia Saban
Ry Rocklen
Sarah CainIntro by Claressinka Anderson
Portraits by Joe Pugliese
Reviews Made in L.A. 2016
at The Hammer Museum
Doug Aitken
at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA
Mertzbau
at Tif Sigfrids
Jean-Pascal Flavian and Mika Tajima
at Kayne Griffin Corcoran
Mark A. Rodruigez
at Park View
The Weeping Line
Organized by Alter Space
at Four Six One Nine
(S.F. in L.A.)
Buy the IssueIn Our Online Shop
Issue 5 August 2016
Letter form the EditorLindsay Preston Zappas
Non-Fiction
at The Underground MuseumCatherine Wagley
The Art of BirthCarmen Winant
Escape from Bunker Hill
John Knight
at REDCATTravis Diehl
Ed Boreal SpeaksBenjamin Lord
Art Advice (from Men)Sarah Weber
Routine Pleasures
at the MAK CenterJonathan Griffin
Exquisite L.A.
Featuring:
Fay Ray
John Baldessari
Claire KennedyIntro by Claressinka Anderson
Portraits by Joe Pugliese
ReviewsRevolution in the Making
at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel
Carl Cheng
at Cherry and Martin
Joan Snyder
at Parrasch Heijnen Gallery
Elanor Antin
at Diane Rosenstein
Performing the Grid
at Ben Maltz Gallery
at Otis College of Art & Design
Laura Owens
at The Wattis Institute
(L.A. in S.F.)
Buy the IssueIn Our Online Shop
Issue 4 May 2016
Letter from the EditorLindsay Preston Zappas
Moon, laub, and LoveCatherine Wagley
Walk ArtisanalJonathan Griffin
Reconsidering
Marva Marrow's
Inside the L.A. ArtistAnthony Pearson
Mystery Science Thater:
Diana Thater
at LACMAAaron Horst
Informal FeminismsFederica Bueti and Jan Verwoert
Marva Marrow Photographs
Lita Albuquerque
Interiors and Interiority:
Njideka Akunyili CrosbyChar Jansen
ReviewsL.A. Art Fairs
Material Art Fair, Mexico City
Rain Room
at LACMA
Evan Holloway
at David Kordansky Gallery
Histories of a Vanishing Present: A Prologue
at The Mistake Room
Carter Mull
at fused space
(L.A. in S.F.)
Awol Erizku
at FLAG Art Foundation
(L.A. in N.Y.)
Buy the IssueIn Our Online Shop
Issue 3 February 2016
Letter from the EditorLindsay Preston Zappas
Le Louvre, Las VegasEvan Moffitt
iPhones, Flesh,
and the Word:
F.B.I.
at Arturo BandiniLindsay Preston Zappas
Women Talking About BarneyCatherine Wagley
Lingua Ignota:
Faith Wilding
at The Armory Center
for the Arts
and LOUDHAILERBenjamin Lord
A Conversation
with Amalia UlmanChar Jansen
How We PracticeCarmen Winant
Share Your Piece
of the PuzzleFederica Bueti
Amanda Ross-Ho Photographs
Erik Frydenborg
ReviewsHoneydew
at Michael Thibault
Fred Tomaselli
at California State University, Fullerton
Trisha Donnelly
at Matthew Marks Gallery
Bradford Kessler
at ASHES/ASHES
Buy the IssueIn Our Online Shop
Issue 2 November 2015
Letter from the EditorLindsay Preston Zappas
Hot TearsCarmen Winant
Slow View:
Molly LarkeyAnna Breininger and Kate Whitlock
Americanicity's Paintings:
Orion Martin
at Favorite GoodsTracy Jeanne Rosenthal
Layers of Leimert ParkCatherine Wagley
Junkspace Junk Food:
Parker Ito
at Kaldi, Smart Objects,
White Cube, and
Château ShattoEvan Moffitt
Melrose HustleKeith Vaughn
Max Maslansky Photographs
Monica Majoliat the Tom of Finland Foundation
White Lee, Black Lee:
William Pope.L’s "Reenactor"Travis Diehl
Dora Budor InterviewChar Jensen
ReviewsMary Ried Kelley
at The Hammer Museum
Tongues Untied
at MOCA Pacific Design Center
No Joke
at Tanya Leighton
(L.A. in Berlin)
Snap ReviewsMartin Basher at Anat Ebgi
Body Parts I-V at ASHES ASHES
Eve Fowler at Mier Gallery
Matt Siegle at Park View
Buy the Issue In Our Online Shop
Issue 1 August 2015
Letter from the EditorLindsay Preston Zappas
MEAT PHYSICS/
Metaphysical L.A.Travis Diehl
Art for Art’s Sake:
L.A. in the 1990sAnthony Pearson
A Dialogue in Two
Synchronous AtmospheresErik Morse
with Alexandra Grant
SOGTFO
at François GhebalyJonathan Griffin
#studio #visit
with #devin #kenny@barnettcohen
Mateo Tannatt
Photographs
Jibade-Khalil Huffman
Slow View:
Discussion on One WorkAnna Breininger
with Julian Rogers
ReviewsPierre Huyghe
at LACMA
Mernet Larsen
at Various Small Fires
John Currin
at Gagosian, Beverly Hills
Pat O'Niell
at Cherry and Martin
A New Rhythm
at Park View
Unwatchable Scenes and
Other Unreliable Images...
at Public Fiction
Charles Gaines
at The Hammer Museum
Henry Taylor
at Blum & Poe/ Untitled
(L.A. in N.Y.)
Baltimore Museum of Art (Baltimore, MD)
Bard College, CCS Library (Annandale-on-Hudson, NY)
Charlotte Street Foundation (Kansas City, MO)
Cranbrook Academy of Art (Bloomfield Hills, MI)
Getty Research Institute (Los Angeles, CA)
Los Angeles Contemporary Archive (Los Angeles, CA)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles, CA)
Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore, MD)
Midway Contemporary Art (Minneapolis, MN)
Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, CA)
NYS College of Ceramics at Alfred University (Alfred, NY)
Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA)
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (San Francisco, CA)
School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY)
University of California Irvine, Langston IMCA (Irvine, CA)
University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
University of Washington (Seattle, WA)
Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, MN)
Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY)
Yale University Library (New Haven, CT)
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When I initially discovered Aram Saroyan’s minimalist poems more than a decade ago, I was immediately bowled over by how easy he makes such tough work look. William Carlos Williams was an obvious antecedent—Saroyan shares an analogous interest in being present in any mundane moment, but with a little more improvisatory, introspective looseness. Sometimes his observations read as incomplete, until you look back at your own days and discover how many are filled with similar fragmented experiences.
For years, Saroyan has produced visual art in addition to his writing practice. His current solo exhibition at as-is.la, curated by Michael Ned Holte, is replete with stark line drawings, all of which were made last year and most of which consist of only a few colors on white paper in white frames. These drawings, like his poems, are also a bit like fragments. Some have the appearance of abstracted shattered glass, while others resemble a bird’s-eye view of landscapes piled on top of each other. Some are more playful, looking like a Coogi sweater or one of those roller coaster toys in the waiting room of a pediatrician’s office. Others are more puzzling—literally, like puzzle pieces amounting to nothing clearly legible. While some of Saroyan’s marker-drawn lines are confidently crisp, others come off slightly nervous or neurotic, making it difficult to discern whether or when marks are deliberate or intuitive. Likewise, many readers have found his poems confounding over the years—Ronald Reagan notoriously cited Saroyan’s one-word poem, in which he purposely misspelled the word light (“lighght”) and for which he received a cash award from the National Endowment for the Arts, as a reason to shut down the federal agency.
In one untitled work on view at the gallery, Saroyan used some white liquid to edit a line that had apparently gone astray. I wondered why this drawing deserved this sort of revisionist treatment, while most others did not. What was wrong with this drawawing? Maybe it’s not about assigning wrongness to something and fixing it, but simply about pinpointing something that’s fine as is, yet could still be different? Do we always need to have a “good” reason or excuse to change our hairstyle or residence? Saroyan seems to accept the premise that things in life evolve, as do the ways we describe them.
Aram Saroyan: New Drawings, runs from January 5–February 22, 2020 at as-is.la (1133 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90015).
Keith J. Varadi is an artist, poet, critic, curator, and researcher, living in Los Angeles. During the week, he works for the long-running television game show, Jeopardy!. On the weekends, he roams the city.