ART CITIES:Los Angeles-Artists for Climate Action

Climate change is often seen through a policy or scientific lens, and solutions are discussed only in political offices, boardrooms and negotiating halls, but climate is everyone’s business. A study by American Psychological Association of activist art about climate change during ARTCOP21 in Paris (2015) suggests that art can be an effective form of activism, if artists create compelling works that call attention to the problem and offer hope for a solution.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: David Kordansky Gallery Archive

Today, interesting artistic work about climate change is popping up all over the world, in all kinds of venues. It shows up in opera houses and hip hop poetry slams, in established galleries and on-the-fly exhibitions, in off-Broadway houses and regional theatres. People deeply believe that what artists have to say about climate change will shape values and behavior for years to come. “Artists for Climate Action” launches the new Online Viewing Room of David Kordansky Gallery, a benefit exhibition with proceeds donated to nonprofit organizations fighting the causes of climate change on both the local and national levels. As a communal effort to support attempts to grapple with the climate crisis, the exhibition underscores the important role played by art and artists in the shifting of consciousness required to effect change on a large scale. Among the highlights of the exhibition are an “Anxious Man” drawing by Rashid Johnson; a ceramic sculpture by Ruby Neri; a painting on paper by Sam Gilliam; a photograph by Torbjørn Rødland; and a watercolor by Lesley Vance. The exhibition includes an exemplary array of works from artists represented by the gallery, many of which were produced especially for the exhibition. The artists featured include: Kathryn Andrews, Huma Bhabha, Will Boone, Aaron Curry, Sam Gilliam, Lauren Halsey, Zach Harris, Rashid Johnson, William E. Jones, Tala Madani, Calvin Marcus, Chris Martin, Ivan Morley, Shahryar Nashat, Ruby Neri, Anthony Pearson, Torbjørn Rødland, Ricky Swallow, Tom of Finland, Lesley Vance, Michael Williams, and Jonas Wood.

Info: David Kordansky Gallery, 5130 W. Edgewood Place., Los Angeles, Duration: 18/11-20/12/19, www.davidkordanskygallery.com