Majeure Force is a two-part exhibition in our gallery space, opening by appointment on June 27 and August 1. The presentation will include work by Marcel Alcalá, Sarah Awad, Andrea Marie Breiling, Cara Benedetto, Han Bing, Derek Boshier, Josh Callaghan, Cynthia Daignault, Mira Dancy, Ian Davis, Awol Erizku, Derek Fordjour, Daniel T. Gaitor-Lomack, Samara Golden, Paul Heyer, Ridley Howard, Tomashi Jackson, JPW3, Wanda Koop, David Korty, Grant Levy-Lucero, Tau Lewis, Anne Libby, Jasmine Little, Rose Marcus, Jesse Mockrin, Robert Nava, Elise Rasmussen, Khari Johnson Ricks, Anna Rosen, Brie Ruais, Sterling Ruby, Melanie Schiff, Elaine Stocki, Claire Tabouret, Marisa Takal, Sean Townley, Christine Wang, Sterling Wells, Kandis Williams, and Andy Woll.
Installation view of Majeure Force, Part One, featuring works by Sterling Wells, Wanda Koop, Claire Tabouret, and Elise Rasmussen.
The concept of the “Force Majeure” is commonly found in contracts, stipulating that the terms of a given agreement will be suspended due to circumstances beyond either party’s control. These circumstances include but are not limited to war, strike, natural disasters (legally termed “Acts of God”), and epidemics. Normally relegated to the fine print, the Force Majeure clause has hidden in plain sight, quietly acknowledging the possibility of crisis – and as a result, individuals have not. From the vantage point of sheltered-in-place Spring 2020, the Force Majeure clause takes on an ironic prescience: we did foresee catastrophe – we simply didn’t prepare for it.
Installation view of Majeure Force, featuring works by Claire Tabouret, Elise Rasmussen, and David Korty.
Anna Rosen, cup of grace, 2020
2020 marks Night Gallery’s first decade in Los Angeles, and its incredible trajectory has mapped a head-spinning course of history. An anniversary exhibition has long been in the works, bringing together our diverse roster of artists in a celebration of our first ten years, in which we have grown from an artist-run storefront space to a premiere institution for contemporary art’s most exciting voices. Beyond showcasing the brilliance of our artists, our exhibition would pay tribute to the community that has grown around the gallery and continuously supported it, making Night Gallery a locus of imaginative exchange.
Installation view of Majeure Force, Part One, featuring works by Robert Nava, Christine Wang, and Andrea Marie Breiling.
Derek Fordjour, Regatta Study, 2020
By March 2020, the whole world had changed, with industries suspended and populations confined to their homes. The long-forgotten clause of Force Majeure now described the times. Through mass confusion and fear in the face of failures of public leadership, one affirming story could still be found: the endurance of creativity – through confinement, despair, and deep uncertainty. Indeed, despite the chaos of our current moment, the persistence and continued imagination of our artists has been a source of comfort and motivation. It is in that spirit, and in the spirit of communal collaboration that has always defined us, that we are pleased to present Majeure Force, an exhibition celebrating Night Gallery’s ten years. The show is named for our current moment, paying tribute to the community that surrounds us through good times and bad, and is a nod to our own role as a major force in the burgeoning art world in Los Angeles, the city we are proud to call home.
Mira Dancy, Angel on Edge, 2020
Installation view of Majeure Force, Part One, featuring works by Derek Fordjour, Awol Erizku, Samara Golden, Mira Dancy, and Rose Marcus.
Han Bing, Invalides, 2020
Installation view of Majeure Force, Part One, featuring works by Brie Ruais, Sterling Wells, and Tomashi Jackson.
Tomashi Jackson, Temple for Bakari (Shady Grove Church Bombing), 2020
Installation view of Majeure Force, Part One, featuring works by Sean Townley and Anne Libby.
Sean Townley, Red Ankhhafs, 2016
It feels like a great moment for art to untangle some of the increasing complexity. I think the ability to put form to some of these things is a great release from a diet of simplistic or truncated sound bites that are floating around.
- Anne Libby
Andrea Marie Breiling, Where The Flowers Bloom, 2020
Jesse Mockrin, Madame, 2020
Wanda Koop
Dreamline (Capitol), 2019
acrylic on canvas
108 x 84 in (274.32 x 213.36 cm)
WK149
Temple for Bakari (Shady Grove Church Bombing), 2020
archival prints on PVC marine vinyl, Pentelic marble dust, acrylic paint, American election flyers, Greek ballot papers, paper bags, muslin
88 x 59 x 10 in (223.5 x 149.9 x 25.4 cm)
TJ015
Brie Ruais
Closing In On Opening Up, 125 lbs (Nevada Site 5), 2020
Glazed stoneware, hardware
87 x 86 x 2 1/2 in (221 x 218.4 x 6.4 cm)
BR018
Cynthia Daignault
Elegy (Los Angeles), 2019
oil on linen
30 x 45 in (76.2 x 114.3 cm)
CD048
Samara Golden
The most simple thing in the world, 2020
epoxy resin, resin ink, hot glue, epoxy adhesive, acrylic paint, synthetic hair
32 x 21 x 15 in (81.3 x 53.3 x 38.1 cm)
SGO113
Christine Wang
Dinosaur, 2020
acrylic on canvas
84 x 108 in (213.4 x 274.3 cm)
CW164
Marcel Alcalá
It's a Battle, 2020
oil on wood panel
18 x 14 x 1 5/8 in (45.7 x 35.6 x 4.1 cm)
MA008
Andrea Marie Breiling
Where The Flowers Bloom, 2020
Flashe, charcoal, aerosol spray
112 1/2 x 82 in (285.8 x 208.3 cm)
AMB036
Mira Dancy
Angel on Edge, 2020
acrylic on canvas
86 x 68 in (218.4 x 172.7 cm)
MD339
Han Bing
Invalides, 2020
oil on linen
56 x 70 in (142.2 x 177.8 cm)
HB036
Jasmine Little
Arjuna’s Question, 2020
stoneware, porcelain, glaze
24 x 17 1/2 x 17 in (61 x 44.5 x 43.2 cm)
JL030
Sterling Wells
La Brea Poppies, 2020
watercolor on paper
29 1/2 x 20 3/4 in (74.9 x 52.7 cm)
SW002
Rose Marcus
Red Bush, 2015
inkjet print on adhesive vinyl, MDF, net, silk, velvet
48 x 36 in (121.9 x 91.4 cm)
RM009
David Korty
Untitled, 2020
colored pencil on paper
19 1/2 x 14 1/4 in (49.5 x 36.2 cm)
DK221
Elise Rasmussen
In the atmospheric distance between you and the mountains, 2020
cyanotype on silk
Dimensions variable: 7 parts, each 108 x 48 in (274.3 x 121.9 cm)
ER022
JPW3
The Gathering, 2020
UV print on silver foil aluminum with oil pastel and acrylic, framed
97 1/2 x 50 x 1 3/4 in (247.7 x 127 x 4.5 cm)
JPW3251
Derek Boshier
America Hands On-gardening and guns, 2019
pencil on paper
27 x 40 in (68.6 x 101.6 cm)
DB238
Awol Erizku
Ramadan Drawing May 8th, 2019, 2020
incense and oil on archival Stonehenge paper
53 x 41 1/2 x 2 in (134.6 x 105.4 x 5.1 cm)
AE149
Sterling Wells, La Brea Poppies, 2020
Awol Erizku, Ramadan Drawing May 8th, 2019, 2020
Jasmine Little, Arjuna’s Question, 2020
Installation view of Majeure Force, Part One, featuring works by Jasmine Little and Josh Callaghan.