Skidmore Contemporary Art is proud to present new exhibitions…”Poolside,” by Doug Shoemaker, “Vanishing America,” featuring the art of Emile Dillon.

Doug Shoemaker was once told by the East Coast watercolor painter Howard Etter to “draw what [he saw].” And over his decades-long career as a watercolorist and architect, Shoemaker has done just that, creating indelible, precise images of urban and suburban scenes, often with a focus on the elegance of simple city and residential architecture.

While Shoemaker chooses not to depict people in his paintings, he is far from unconcerned with the idea of the human element, representing the people of San Francisco and other locales with their traces in his series Pools and Lounges: ripples in a pool’s surface, the just-arranged folds of a towel, the elasticity of a shadow. Says Shoemaker: “By eliminating any figurative element, I am attempting to express a kind of stillness, a quietude, a Zen sense of alone-ness that may offer a respite from the over-hyped, over-expressed, over-shared society we now live in.”

Emile Dillon’s work transports viewers to a distinct and particular setting. His work varies from movie theater signs to restaurants or hotels, each defined by an exact moment, like a photograph. Dillon’s 2016 acrylic painting Rae’s depicts a specific yet accessible scene, Rae’s Restaurant on Pico Boulevard and 29th Street in Santa Monica. The piece portrays a common Los Angeles image–a sunny day in fall, indicated by the brown leaves of the tree behind the sign, perhaps mid-afternoon. Dillon transforms an ordinary, possibly mundane moment into art. Recognizable signs and logos become revolutionized. Dillon’s bright, eccentric and playful use of color is not only pleasing to the eye, but is also an identifiable trait for Dillon’s body of work. Vibrant sky blues emphasize bright red or yellow signs across United States cities.

On view: July 28 – September 2, 2017

Where: Skidmore Contemporary Art, Bergamot Station 2525 Michigan Avenue, B-4 Santa Monica, 90404
Phone: 310-828-5070
Website: http://www.skidmorecontemporaryart.com/