[NoHo Arts District, CA] – This month’s LA Art blog takes us through Stroll Garden’s current exhibit, There are things I’d rather whisper, from artist Taylor Kibby.
I’m someone who will generally use GPS and Google Earth to scope out parking in Los Angeles, but for my trip to Stroll Garden I’d searched the crossroads and parked in a nearby neighborhood. I figured I’d run into a garden – how could I miss it!? To be clear, I am acutely aware my approach to Los Angeles driving isn’t the most favorable or savvy (even if I were a native Angeleno). I’ll save you the embarrassment of walking through backlots – Stroll Garden is indeed a traditional art gallery brick and mortar!
A beautiful and intimate space, Stroll Garden hosts not only lovely docents but recently, Taylor Kibby’s There are things I’d rather whisper. Kibby’s debut solo exhibition explores change and unpredictability of growth. With diametrically opposing optical illusions, Kibby encourages us to interrogate our preconceptions between opposing ideas.
With materials that look heavy and durable from a distance, Kibby’s ceramic interlocking chains look fragile up close. The structure of the chain link motif drapes in a way reminiscent of headscarves, arm warmers, and un-kilned clay pots.
A delicately beaded (and broken) string lattice sits behind glass as if it were an artifact curated for a museum. It’s difficult to tell if the beads are intended to mimic carefully preserved colonial treasures once looted, or perhaps a fishing net of old. Quite honestly though, Kibby’s process is a manifestation of her own meditation; the fact that the viewer gets to meditate on these things is just a bonus.
Intended to be “…an intimate and unpredictable conversation,” Kibby’s exhibition brings both familiarity and new musings in a way that is accessible to all if the viewer takes time to slow down and ponder. Throughout life and this exhibition, contemplation of change is a constant, and in Kibby’s grounding works of art, she encourages this inner dialogue within us.
Exhibition:
There are things I’d rather whisper
April 14 – May 13, 2023
Artist:
Taylor Kibby
Location:
Stroll Garden
7380 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Hours:
Wednesday – Saturday
12pm – 6pm