Abstract Never Is, an exhibition of both contemporary and historical abstract photography is a vibrant collaboration between The Venice Institute of Contemporary Art (ViCA) and MuzeuMM that expands on a smaller scale exhibition displayed at Photo LA in January.
Co-curated by ViCA’s Juri Koll and MuzeuMM’s Mishelle Moross, the works are visually rich and emotionally evocative. Above, Koll with some of his own haunting images, which shimmer with shadows and shapes.
“Abstract photography is harder to create than an abstract painting,” Koll attests. “You’re limited by the lens in front of your face. But you can’t deny the viability and the emotion of a photograph.”
Above, Osceola Refetoff’s abstract take on the lights of trucks on a highway conjure the highway, the allure of an almost ephemeral destination, and a jeweled blur of light. Below, Refetoff with journalist Christopher Langley, his partner on the project High & Dry, an ongoing representational project documenting California’s deserts and the people who live there.
Above right, co-curator Mishelle Moross.
Above, artist Diane Holland with her richly colored yet ghostly images. The artist says “I use electrotransfer, otherwise known as color Xerography, and Cibachrome photography to convey the relationship between human beings and the technological they create.”
Artists Lena Moross and Bibi Davidson enjoy opening night.
Above, ripples that could water struck by sunset in a stunning work by Sasha vom Dorp. The artist says of his works, above and below, “These are photographs of sound encountering light as seen through the medium of water.”
The immediacy of a photograph is somewhat of a myth, and never is that more fully the case than with abstract photography. To create photographic art requires not just a given moment, but preparation for that moment, the dance of both immediacy and planning.
The work of Edmund Teske, above, was an early inspiration to co-curator and exhibitor Koll. “He taught me to be an artist,” Koll explains.
Along with Teske, other artists on display include Fatemeh Burnes, Sasha vom Dorp, Kio Griffith, Diane Holland, Suda House, Juri Koll, KuBO, Maria Larsson, Lawrie Margrave, Stefanie Nafé, Kirk Pedersen, Osceola Refetoff, and Lisa Rosel, among others.
Above, Fatemeh Burres draws viewers into an explosive universe.
Above Kubo Hkla’s shimmering gestational pieces.
Above, Lisa Rosel takes on familiar and iconic LA scenes in a complex and fresh vision of lines and space.
Above, haunting, light-filled images culled from Union Station by Osceola Refetoff.
Above, ghostly and deep, caves and orifices – Fatemeh Burres.
An astonishing collection of fine photographic art that is as varied as it is representative of abstract technique, this is a “don’t miss” show that makes viewers think as well as enjoy. Discerning meaning is just a portion of the pleasure here: meaning is mutable, images are themselves profound.
Genie Davis with artist Sonja Schenk.
Above, Bibi Davidson
Above, Loren Philip, Diane Holland, Jodi Bonassi.
Above, artists Jodi Bonassi and Osceola Refetoff with Gary Brewer.
Above, artist Diane Holland (left), Brooke Mason, Peter Frank, Susanna Schulten
MuzeuMM is located at 4817 W. Adams Blvd. Los Angeles