January 27- March 11

Opening Reception: January 27th,  7-10pm

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Actual Size is pleased to present Arboreal, an exhibition of light-jet silver gelatin prints and a book of photographs by Virginia Wilcox. These images present a survey of trees inhabiting a mangled urban landscape that looks something like wilderness. Taken in Los Angeles parks, the photographs are formal studies, primarily concerned with texture, dimension, depth, and division of space. Light wraps itself around objects contained by carefully constructed frames. Within the frame, location, scale and time are brought into question. There is a tension between beautiful, formal landscape and frequent interruptions of everyday objects - sewer drains, concrete pathways, trash - reminders of the sprawling city below. This juxtaposition is mirrored in the construction of the images themselves: amidst the density of intersecting forms and vistas, a suggestion of infinity invites the viewer to look further while questioning what is beautiful in the contemporary landscape. The photographs were taken with a 4x5 view camera primarily in Elysian Park. Human presence remains subtly traceable in the details: man-made objects scattered amidst brush, alterations to the landscape, and a feeling of searching and belonging to hidden spaces.

 

Virginia Wilcox lives and makes work in Los Angeles. This is her first solo exhibition in LA. She received an MFA from University of Hartford’s Low-Residency Program in 2017 and a BFA in photography from Bard College in 2008. She has shown work in galleries and public art installations throughout the United States including Joseloff Gallery,Hartford; Glass Box Gallery, Seattle; Slideluck, LA;  the Hedreen Gallery, Seattle; and Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle.

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Open Sundays 1:00- 5:00 and by appointment.

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