October 2019
Sayre Gomez at François Ghebaly
On View: September 20–November 3, 2019 Living in L.A., there is a lot of visual information that buzzes for our attention. Billboards, stacks of strip-mall signage, and layered graffiti—not to mention the daily phenomenon of the sky changing into fluorescent hues as the sun sets westward. Sayre Gomez’s solo show at François Ghebaly is at once a celebration and a critique of our city’s visual cacophony—his hyperrealistic painting of a palm-tree-style cell tower looming in front of a smoggy sunset…
Find out more »November 2019
Sharif Farrag at François Ghebaly Gallery
On view: November 9–December 15, 2019 When you think of ceramic work, you might think of the age old form of a vase, or ideas of beauty or timelessness. Yet Sharif Farrag’s ceramic creations throw taste and caution to the wind, feeling playful, irreverent, and a bit punk rock. His vase forms sprout monstrous feet or ghoulish arms, and are draped with chains. Each is inhabited by a cast of orgiastic characters (think Pee-wee’s Playhouse meets Garden of Earthly Delights). Some of his glazes…
Find out more »February 2020
Kathleen Ryan at François Ghebaly
On view: February 15–March 29, 2020 Downtown at François Ghebaly, Kathleen Ryan’s fruit sculptures are frozen to appear as if they are perpetually rotting. A large scale grapevine looks shriveled like it’s been left in the sun. Oversized watermelon rinds are scattered around the gallery, green mold forming in spots on their surface. Despite the visual decay, Ryan’s forms are created by applying thousands of beads and stones to a central form. Where mold seems to sprout from her fruits,…
Find out more »October 2020
Patrick Jackson at François Ghebaly
From KCRW's Art Insider, Lindsay Preston Zappas: At François Ghebaly, Patrick Jackson’s solo exhibition, “My Dark Architect,” has a subtleness that builds across the show into a strange effect. In the first gallery, small display shelves are made by balancing glass sheets between plexiglass spacers. On each sculpture, a different store-bought item is featured: oversized foam dice, plastic skulls, silk house plants, and metal sifters. As I rounded the corner to the second gallery, still attempting to make meaning out of…
Find out more »December 2020
Christine Sun Kim at François Ghebaly
This is the last week to view Christine Sun Kim’s exhibition of drawings at François Ghebaly downtown. Though this exhibition focuses on drawings, Kim is a multi-disciplinary artist who works in drawing, performance, and sound. Kim was born deaf, and this exhibition titled “Trauma, LOL,” blends communication modes of ASL, infographics, feeling charts, clocks, and musical notation to create works that communicate an array of ideas as well as various obstacles that are faced by the deaf community. One pair…
Find out more »June 2021
Cindy Ji Hye Kim at François Ghebaly
The first room in Cindy Ji Hye Kim’s exhibition “Soliloquy for Two” feels like a moody prologue to a novel, sparsely outfitted with three wooden lanterns, laser cut with intricate designs and hanging from delicate chains. Small cathedral windows drawn directly into the wall lead the viewer down a hallway to the second gallery, setting up narrative tension and introducing eerie themes of light, looking, and interiority. Turn the corner, and the second space booms with drama. Seven grayscale paintings…
Find out more »September 2021
Neïl Beloufa at François Ghebaly
After a year of Zoom calls with colleagues and FaceTimes with family, Neïl Beloufa’s low relief wall sculptures at François Ghebaly feel a bit too familiar. For each of the uncanny lightboxes on view, the artist carves a low relief image into a wooden base and then skins a second image onto its surface with warmly colored leather. The juxtaposing layers of the images make each one difficult and unclear to read — just when you’ve made out an image…
Find out more »