Press Release

Don’t the Sun look Angry at Me: pictures & objects from Los Angeles now

Featuring works by artists Joshua Callaghan, Gustavo Godoy, Larry Johnson, Farrah Karapetian, and Karen Lofgren

On Friday February 10th Royale Projects launches an exhibition of work by five Los Angeles based artists, furthering the season long initiative to explore exciting contemporary art from the area. Works in a variety of mediums, including photography, video, and sculpture, contemplate urban imagery and observe life in Southern California.

The title of the exhibition is taken from the poetic and powerful “Desperados Under the Eaves”, written by Warren Zevon. It is an autobiographical ballad about a tragic hero bemusing the struggles of his prosaic existence in Hollywood. After observing his sorry state of affairs, the desperate protagonist resigns to the realization that freedom from life’s challenges is only found in one’s dreams. Paradoxically, the banal sound of the buzzing air conditioner starts to transform into a magnificent and moving melody that then reveals a peculiar but profound piece of insight.

Artists Joshua Callaghan, Gustavo Godoy, Larry Johnson, Farrah Karapetian, and Karen Lofgren create a myriad of objects that touch on the imperfect and, at times doomed, city life. Much like the unexpected shift in the song, the artists in this exhibition have found dreamlike freedom in embracing the mundane and exposing the simple beauty of humble, urban objects. These creations in-turn take on the task of sharing truth.

This exploration of typically un-glamorous imagery and mediums address the flawed reality we live in yet through the vision of these artists we find truth, beauty, and freedom.