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Group exhibition “Alabaster x Artists Curated Projects” shows a side of the diverse California art scene

MMM DD YYYYWORDS BY CHARLIE NG

‘Unbelievable Osu’ by Johnny Le. Image courtesy of the artist and Alabaster x Artist Curated Projects.

“Alabaster,” installation view at 1634 West Temple Street, Los Angeles. Image courtesy of the artist and Artist Curated Projects.

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‘Unbelievable Osu’ by Johnny Le. Image courtesy of the artist and Alabaster x Artist Curated Projects.

“Alabaster,” installation view at 1634 West Temple Street, Los Angeles. Image courtesy of the artist and Artist Curated Projects.

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A new group exhibition in L.A. showcases a facet of the California art scene where artists introduce their distinct poetic vernacular, and collective and personal histories, memory, and identity.

Titled “Alabaster” and curated by R. Parmar, the exhibition is held in collaboration with pro-artist-freedom and community-oriented endeavor, Artist Curated Projects, founded by photographer Eve Fowler and multimedia artist Lucas Michael in 2008.

“Alabaster,” installation view at 1634 West Temple Street, Los Angeles. Image courtesy of the artist and Artist Curated Projects.

‘Nation or Family Ties’ by Muna Malik. Image courtesy of the artist and Alabaster x Artist Curated Projects.

“Alabaster,” installation view at 1634 West Temple Street, Los Angeles. Image courtesy of the artist and Artist Curated Projects.

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“Alabaster,” installation view at 1634 West Temple Street, Los Angeles. Image courtesy of the artist and Artist Curated Projects.

‘Nation or Family Ties’ by Muna Malik. Image courtesy of the artist and Alabaster x Artist Curated Projects.

“Alabaster,” installation view at 1634 West Temple Street, Los Angeles. Image courtesy of the artist and Artist Curated Projects.

1 of 3

The exhibition features eight US-based artists — Rashid Johnson, Ajay Kurian, Gabriela Forgo, Johnny Le, Sagarika Sundaram, Muna Malik, Michele Lorusso, and Drew Escriva — and their range of works from textiles and photography to ceramics and installations.

Serving as the inspiration of the show that connects each artists’ works, the exhibition is titled after a poem by 19th-century Indian poet Sarojini Naidu, telling of the author’s alabaster-box-like heart that contains art as frail as a cassia-flower and filled with delicate dreams and thoughts —

Alabaster

LIKE this alabaster box whose art 
Is frail as a cassia-flower, is my heart,
Carven with delicate dreams and wrought
With many a subtle and exquisite thought.

Therein I treasure the spice and scent 
Of rich and passionate memories blent
Like odours of cinnamon, sandal and clove,
Of song and sorrow and life and love.

Through their works, the eight artists in Alabaster invite visitors to see new perspectives through embodied considerations of material and form coming from their cultural and autobiographical signifiers or everyday objects.

Alabaster is open by appointment only (via email) from now until August 31.

“Alabaster”

Now – August 31

Open by appointment only

1634 West Temple Street,

Los Angeles, CA 90026,

USA

Art and Culture