California | Timothy Taylor
I’ve never been to California. One day! But I can travel in my mind I suppose, helped on my way by this group show. For the exhibition, Timothy Taylor has brought together a set of artists who were born in California, or work there. Including June Edmonds, whose canvases bring together tightly-packed finger waves of solid acrylic paint (pictured below).
They reminded me both of mandalas and cocktail umbrellas. Spirituality and sunshine: a shot of pure colour, hard and flat. According to the show notes, Edmonds bases her works on a quatrefoil symbol used by ancient (and pre-colonial) African kingdoms. The artist might be reflecting the sunshine of her adopted homeland in her work, but really, she’s thinking of her ancestors.
June Edmonds Brother’s Bouquet (2024)
Hilary Pecis, whose paintings were the show’s other standout, is another artist marked out by her treatment of colour and light. Both she and Edmonds use acrylic paint. But Pecis’ acrylics are murky and ambiguous, compared to Edmonds’ bold flatness.
Car Service (below) shows a nondescript street corner in Los Angeles. The perspective is a bit wonky. The buildings, road and kerbs all look a bit beaten up. The craning palm trees that frame the pavement - sidewalk? - are unhealthily skinny, sporting underbrushes of brown dead leaves.
Hilary Pecis Car Service (2021)
The colour of Pecis’ cloudless sky caught my eye first of all. It’s a slightly sick off-blue, almost turquoise. It’s dusty, or maybe dirty looking. Remembering recent scenes from the news, I thought, perhaps it’s smoke.
There was a message stencilled on the gallery wall as I walked in: “This exhibition was conceived and finalised in 2024, before the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. The gallery’s thoughts are with Angelenos impacted by the fires, including artists in this exhibition.”
California is at Timothy Taylor (London). 23 January - 08 March 2025