In Culver City…GBGLA debuts two new exhibitions – “Christopher Stott: New Paintings,” and Connie Connally: UnderStories.” There gallery held an opening reception on Saturday, February 26, 2022. Both exhibitions continue through March 26, 2022.
Books & Colored Pencils 122021, 2021, oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches
“Christopher Stott: New Paintings,” is the gallery’s sixth solo exhibition of paintings by the British Columbia based painter. The exhibition features the artist’s recent object portraits. Stott is part of a new generation of representational painters pushing the genre forward in fantastic ways. At first glance, Stott’s paintings are elegantly refined compositions of objects on a monochromatic background. But digging a little deeper, the viewer falls down a rabbit hole of symbolism very much in keeping with the tradition of the early Dutch Masters of still-life painting.
The objects Stott paints, things like vintage books, typewriters, telephones, fans, clocks, and cameras, are chosen for their beautiful designs but also for what they represent: books and typewriters are about story telling; clocks are about the passage of time; cameras are about capturing a moment; telephones are about communication. Even the time on the clocks and the angle of light in the paintings is intentional. Stott is constructing his own stories in the paintings but he is also tapping into our memories, and in so doing creates a richly layered viewing experience.
“UnderStories” is the gallery’s second solo exhibition of paintings by California-based artist, Connie Connally. This new body of work further expands Connally’s abstracted explorations of the natural world. Connally’s botanical abstractions reference the wild, sensuous forms and colors she is surrounded by in the natural coastal landscapes of Southern California where she lives and works. In this new series, Connally focuses on the natural history of perennial woodland and prairie wildflowers; showing their ephemeral loveliness each spring before the woodland trees cast shade. Though modest in nature, the wildflowers are persistent and tenacious – sprouting their colorful blooms in patches across meadows and in the bosque forest habitats. Connally celebrates this persistence to thrive and captures their simple beauty.
On view: February 26 – April 2, 2022
What: New Exhibitions, Christopher Stott, Connie Connally
Where: George Billis Gallery LA, 2716 S La Cienega Blvd., LA, 90034
Phone: 310-838-3685
Website: http://www.georgebillis.com/
