adorned skies promise
ribbon marked renascent chords
of song caught in souls
For immediate release, April 13, 2011, Los Angeles
Summum Bonum: mapping line and making holes
new work by Leora Lutz
The impetus for Leora Lutz’ new body of work is based upon Plato’s Timaeus [360 BCE] which outlines theories about the creation of the universe. The title of the show, “Summum Bonum”, is Latin for “the greater good”, or the compelling need a person has within them to do something of great importance. This “something” or the greater good is classified into two symbiotic, yet conflicting paths; the moral vs. the physical, and happiness vs. virtue. The modern philosopher Immanuel Kant found Summum Bonum influential in his own practice and what he referred to as “the ultimate goal of human pursuit.”
Lutz seeks to make this pursuit tangible through mapping language and abstracting the landscape – specifically, man’s converse relationship with the Sky; looking up at it, and looking down upon it and his ability to travel through it, yet never really touch it. Her work creates a visual conversation between the furtive illuminations of man-made and natural occurrences, consequently revealing an acknowledgment and rejection of one’s self.
For the last two years her work has revolved around translating words into airplane flight paths that generate abstract line drawings which she sews on abstract expressionistic paintings. Poetry, Greek mythology and geometry play an important role in contextualizing the variety of new mixed media objects in the show, incorporating materials such as rope, chain, and metal cans riddled with bullets holes. Her interest in the intersection of art and the everyday create a cyclical response for the viewer through visual conversations that question what is known and what is seen.
Lutz offers a narrative exploration remiss of the obvious, and laden with the elusive. There are several pieces inspired by Kazimir Malevich’s “aerial landscapes” and his Suprematist concepts of minimalism as a vehicle for representing pure nature and emotion. She has re-appropriated over one dozen of her own landscape paintings circa 2006, and has painted them over – predominantly in black – leaving only small geometric portions or covering up the old work entirely. A significant 8 foot installation involves replicating the night sky over Greece in 360 BCE, wherein rope stars are “pulled down from the sky” and converge in a perforated fence. Other pieces outline Moirae (fate), Hypnos (sleep) and Thanos (death), to name a few.
Although history plays a part in my work, it doesn’t guide me in the beginning. Ideas start out of seemingly nowhere in particular that I can pinpoint, and as I go along making things, the history reveals itself. A poignant story surfaced while I was working on this show. I had this compelling need to represent “day”, but I didn’t want to make something – I wanted to reciprocate the intangibility that day offers. I decided it needed to be a song, so I invited my friend Chris Auck to collaborate on a piece.
During our collaboration, Chris’s father passed away. In sharing memories, Chris told me that his dad was a pilot. It was interesting to learn that my creative partner shared a personal history with aviation. Experiencing such a profound, life changing moment in the art-making process really solidifies the human pursuit that compels me (and Chris) to make art in the first place. - Lutz
"Didn't do the things you meant to do, Now there's no time to start anew…
Along with everything that was lost and won, When the day is done". – Nick Drake, Day is Done
..................................
Leora Lutz is a Toronto-born artist that grew up in the eastern parts of greater Los Angeles. Her work has shown at galleries, institutions and museums, including MOCA, Palm Springs Museum of Art, UCR Sweeney Gallery, Riverside Art Museum and the Henry Project Space in Seattle. Her bibliography includes numerous critiques and profiles from The Los Angeles Times, NBC news, White Hot Magazine and LA Weekly to name a few. In addition to a full-time studio practice, Lutz has supported other artists by curating over 40 exhibitions at private and civic institutions. She received a BFA with distinction in Materials and Craft with additional course study in Art History. Riverside Art Museum recently purchased one of her paintings for their Permanent Collection. This is her first solo show in what has been an eighteen-year career as an artist and curator.
Bleicher Galleries specializes in works by artists that cross traditionally contentious art ideologies. They exhibit artists from multiple genres and mediums but tend towards works with a strong technical grounding, a psychological element, and a process that is true to the materiality of the work. They have two locations; Downtown Santa Monica and North La Brea.
"...so dawn goes down today, nothing gold can stay." – Robert Frost
to return to Summum Bonum images page, click on this link.
Summum Bonum: mapping line and making holes
new work by Leora Lutz
The impetus for Leora Lutz’ new body of work is based upon Plato’s Timaeus [360 BCE] which outlines theories about the creation of the universe. The title of the show, “Summum Bonum”, is Latin for “the greater good”, or the compelling need a person has within them to do something of great importance. This “something” or the greater good is classified into two symbiotic, yet conflicting paths; the moral vs. the physical, and happiness vs. virtue. The modern philosopher Immanuel Kant found Summum Bonum influential in his own practice and what he referred to as “the ultimate goal of human pursuit.”
Lutz seeks to make this pursuit tangible through mapping language and abstracting the landscape – specifically, man’s converse relationship with the Sky; looking up at it, and looking down upon it and his ability to travel through it, yet never really touch it. Her work creates a visual conversation between the furtive illuminations of man-made and natural occurrences, consequently revealing an acknowledgment and rejection of one’s self.
For the last two years her work has revolved around translating words into airplane flight paths that generate abstract line drawings which she sews on abstract expressionistic paintings. Poetry, Greek mythology and geometry play an important role in contextualizing the variety of new mixed media objects in the show, incorporating materials such as rope, chain, and metal cans riddled with bullets holes. Her interest in the intersection of art and the everyday create a cyclical response for the viewer through visual conversations that question what is known and what is seen.
Lutz offers a narrative exploration remiss of the obvious, and laden with the elusive. There are several pieces inspired by Kazimir Malevich’s “aerial landscapes” and his Suprematist concepts of minimalism as a vehicle for representing pure nature and emotion. She has re-appropriated over one dozen of her own landscape paintings circa 2006, and has painted them over – predominantly in black – leaving only small geometric portions or covering up the old work entirely. A significant 8 foot installation involves replicating the night sky over Greece in 360 BCE, wherein rope stars are “pulled down from the sky” and converge in a perforated fence. Other pieces outline Moirae (fate), Hypnos (sleep) and Thanos (death), to name a few.
Although history plays a part in my work, it doesn’t guide me in the beginning. Ideas start out of seemingly nowhere in particular that I can pinpoint, and as I go along making things, the history reveals itself. A poignant story surfaced while I was working on this show. I had this compelling need to represent “day”, but I didn’t want to make something – I wanted to reciprocate the intangibility that day offers. I decided it needed to be a song, so I invited my friend Chris Auck to collaborate on a piece.
During our collaboration, Chris’s father passed away. In sharing memories, Chris told me that his dad was a pilot. It was interesting to learn that my creative partner shared a personal history with aviation. Experiencing such a profound, life changing moment in the art-making process really solidifies the human pursuit that compels me (and Chris) to make art in the first place. - Lutz
"Didn't do the things you meant to do, Now there's no time to start anew…
Along with everything that was lost and won, When the day is done". – Nick Drake, Day is Done
..................................
Leora Lutz is a Toronto-born artist that grew up in the eastern parts of greater Los Angeles. Her work has shown at galleries, institutions and museums, including MOCA, Palm Springs Museum of Art, UCR Sweeney Gallery, Riverside Art Museum and the Henry Project Space in Seattle. Her bibliography includes numerous critiques and profiles from The Los Angeles Times, NBC news, White Hot Magazine and LA Weekly to name a few. In addition to a full-time studio practice, Lutz has supported other artists by curating over 40 exhibitions at private and civic institutions. She received a BFA with distinction in Materials and Craft with additional course study in Art History. Riverside Art Museum recently purchased one of her paintings for their Permanent Collection. This is her first solo show in what has been an eighteen-year career as an artist and curator.
Bleicher Galleries specializes in works by artists that cross traditionally contentious art ideologies. They exhibit artists from multiple genres and mediums but tend towards works with a strong technical grounding, a psychological element, and a process that is true to the materiality of the work. They have two locations; Downtown Santa Monica and North La Brea.
"...so dawn goes down today, nothing gold can stay." – Robert Frost
to return to Summum Bonum images page, click on this link.