Philip Martin Gallery is pleased to present "Observation and Imagined Worlds," an online exhibition of works by gallery artists. Philip Martin Gallery will donate its profit to organizations working in the areas of literacy, women and children's health, and food insecurity.
In their respective works, Tomory Dodge, Pamela Jorden, Kristy Luck, Laurie Nye examine interior and exterior landscapes. They consider what they see in the world, and also what they see in themselves. This mode of working allows for a fluid conversation in both abstraction and representation, drawing on both objective and non-objective art.
Tomory Dodge's powerful, dynamic large-scale abstract paintings are drawn from his deep knowledge of observed painting, which over decades of art-making, has become a near-daily practice. In Dodge's landscape works, we see explorations in color, brushwork, pictorial space, and motif.
Pamela Jorden applies her paint in directed, pushed and dragged flows. She actively and physically manipulates the material of her work. “For me, color is surprising. My response to it can be totally visceral and emotional, and this makes it endlessly exciting,” Jorden comments.
Kristy Luck’s paintings are windows into psychological spaces in which forms emerge from fluid gestures and rich colors. Building upon sketches, her surreal landscapes evoke a subconscious understanding of space and objects. Luck notes, "I think of it as revisiting the same place at a different time of day, or years later. The color, the emphasis, the images, all shift and change - like music.”
In Laurie Nye's work, painting is itself a motif, one that offers utopia, expression and freedom, particularly when depicting nature. In Nye's work, nature is a place of self-discovery, connection and celebration. Nye's vivid brushwork, succinct color, and sophisticated use of line breaks up the picture plane, emphasizing its materiality, flatness, and the construction of painterly space. Her paintings suggest possibility in our relationship with nature, highlighting and strengthening that fundamental bond.
Tomory Dodge (b. 1974, Denver, CO) received his BFA from Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI) and his MFA from California Institute of the Arts (Valencia, CA) in 2004. Tomory Dodge's work was recently the subject of the solo exhibition, "Hair Into Gold and Back Again," and the group exhibition, "Pocket Universe" at Philip Martin Gallery. Recent solo exhibitions include Philip Martin Gallery (Los Angeles, CA); Miles McEnery Gallery (New York, NY); LUX Art Institute (Encinitas, CA); "Stranger Than Paradise," Rhode Island School of Design Museum (Providence, RI); "Grafforists," Torrance Art Museum (Torrance, CA); "Nowism," Pizzuti Collection (Columbus, OH); "An Appetite For Painting," National Museum (Oslo, Norway); "Pouring It On," Herter Art Gallery, University of Massachusetts (Amherst, MA); "Tomory Dodge and Denise Thomasos: Directions to a Dirty Place," Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (Winston-Salem, NC); "Future Tense: Reshaping the Landscape," Neuberger Museum of Art (Purchase, NY); "American Soil," Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (Overland Park, KS); "Sheldon Survey," Sheldon Memorial Gallery, University of Nebraska (Lincoln, NE). His work is in the collections of such museums as Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles, CA); Orange County Museum of Art (Newport Beach, CA); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, (San Francisco, CA); Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (Berkeley, CA); Henry Art Gallery (Seattle, WA); Dallas Museum of Art (Dallas, TX); Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (Overland Park, KS); Weisman Art Museum (Minneapolis, MN); Minneapolis Institute of Art (Minneapolis, MN); Orlando Museum of Art (Orlando, FL); Knoxville Museum of Art (Knoxville, TN); Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (Birmingham, AL); Weatherspoon Art Museum (Greensboro, NC); Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, DC); RISD Museum, Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI); Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, CT); and Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY). Dodge's work is the subject of several monographic catalogs and has been discussed in such publications as Artforum, Flash Art, Modern Painters, Art Review, Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times. Dodge lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
Pamela Jorden (b. 1969, Knoxville, TN) received a BFA from the University of Tennessee (Knoxville, TN) in 1992 and an MFA from California Institute of the Arts (Valencia, CA) in 1996. Pamela Jorden was featured in the exhibition, "Pocket Universe" (Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA). Jorden's work was recently featured in the solo exhibition, “Window Prism Eyes," at Philip Martin Gallery (Los Angeles, CA). Jorden has had recent solo and group exhibitions at Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery (New York, NY); Romer Young Gallery (San Francisco, CA); Brennan & Griffin (New York, NY); Seterah Gallery (Düsseldorf, Germany); Pizzuti Collection (Columbus, OH); Mason Gross Art Gallery at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ). Pamela Jorden’s work is included the collections of Abroms- Engel Institute for the Visual Arts/University of Alabama at Birmingham (Birmingham, AL); Columbus Museum of Art/Pizzuti Collection (Columbus, OH); Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture, University of Tennessee (Knoxville, TN); Fidelity Collection (Boston, MA); New York-Presbyterian Hospital (New York, NY); Rhode Island School of Design Museum (Providence, RI). in Jorden's work has been written about numerous publications such as Artforum, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and Art in America. Jorden lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
Kristy Luck (b. 1985, Woodstock, IL) received her BFA from Rockford University (Rockford, IL) and her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL). Kristy Luck’s work was recently the subject of a solo exhibition, ”Close to the Verb,” at Philip Martin Gallery (Los Angeles, CA) . In June 2022, Kristy Luck had a solo exhibition at Mendes Wood DM (São Paulo, Brazil). Luck’s solo July 2021 exhibition at Philip Martin Gallery was selected as an Artforum Critic’s Pick. Luck’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Philip Martin Gallery (Los Angeles, CA); ODD ARK LA (Los Angeles, CA); Eastside International (Los Angeles, CA); and Tiger Strikes Asteroid (Chicago, IL). Additionally, her work has been included in group shows at Torrance Art Museum (Torrance, CA); Jacob’s West (Los Angeles, CA); 0-0LA (Los Angeles, CA); Guerrero Gallery (San Francisco, CA); Corbett vs. Dempsey (Chicago, IL); A Public Space (Fishers Island, New York); and Projet Pangée (Montreal, Canada). In May 2023, Kristy Luck's work was selected by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art for the museum's permanent collection. Luck's work has been featured in numerous publications including Artforum, Art in America, Los Angeles Times, Architectural Digest, Artillery Magazine, Whitehot Magazine, The Editorial Magazine, and Opening Ceremony. Luck lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
Laurie Nye (b. 1972, Memphis, TN) received her BFA from the Memphis College of Art (Memphis, TN), and her MFA from the California Institute of the Arts (Valencia, CA). Laurie Nye was recently featured in the solo exhibition, "My River Runs to Thee," at Philip Martin Gallery. Her last solo exhibition, “It Wasn’t A Dream It Was A Flood,” at Philip Martin Gallery (Los Angeles, CA) was an Artforum Best of Year 2021 feature. Recent group shows include, “solid roots, supple trunks” (2023, Rachel Uffner Gallery, NY); "Pocket Universe" (2023, Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA); "The Moth & The Thunderclap," Modern Art (London, UK, 2023); “BodyLand,” Galerie Max Hetzler (Berlin, Germany, 2022); "Encounter," Rachel Uffner (New York, NY, 2022) and "Unnatural Nature: Post-Pop Landscapes,” Acquavella (New York, NY, 2022). Laurie Nye’s artist project, “Chickasaw Moon,” at Odd Ark (Los Angeles, CA) was an Artforum Critic’s Pick. Laurie Nye’s work has recently been the subject of solo and group exhibitions at Philip Martin Gallery (Los Angeles, CA); Van Doren Waxter (New York, NY); Bark Berlin Gallery (Berlin, Germany); The Pit (Glendale, CA), Odd Ark (Los Angeles, CA) and Big Pictures LA (Los Angeles). Her work has been reviewed in such publications as Los Angeles Times, Artforum, Artillery, FAD Magazine and LA Weekly. Nye lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
The organizations to which Philip Martin Gallery will donate its profit are Friends Indeed, Young and Healthy, Downtown Women's Center and the Los Angeles County Public Library.
"Observation and Imagined Worlds" is online November 22 - December 6, 2023.
Philip Martin Gallery is open Wednesday - Saturday 11-5 and Tuesdays by appointment.
The gallery is located at 3342 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles CA 90065. For additional images or information, please call 323-507-2037, or email info@philipmartingallery.com.
