"LUCIANA ABAIT: ON THE VERGE," a Survey Exhibition of the Interdisciplinary Artist's Work, Addresses Climate Change and Global Migration

The show is on view at LABAND ART GALLERY in Los Angeles through December 10, and a site-specific DANCE PERFORMANCE takes place December 1, 5PM-7PM

Works from 2017-2022 span photography, painting, sculpture, video installation, and augmented reality

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The work of Los Angeles-based, Argentinian-born photographer and interdisciplinary artist Luciana Abait is the subject of "Luciana Abait: On the Verge," a survey exhibition presented by Laband Gallery at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.  This expansive multimedia solo show – up through December 10 – features more than twenty works from 2017-2022, spanning photography, painting, sculpture, video installation, and augmented reality. A dance performance has been added for December 1, from 5-7PM, where dancers will dance in dialog with Abait's pieces.

The show introduces a new photographic series "On the Verge," created just for the exhibition. These photos were taken at Lake Powell, a water reservoir in the U.S. that is drying up at an alarming rate. Reminiscent of 18th century landscape paintings, each photo's details reveal you're not looking at a utopia. A dumpster, a paved parking lot, a water pump – these items highlight how the human imprint interrupts the beauty of the natural world, and act as reminders of actions we can take to alleviate climate change.

Throughout the exhibition, Abait conjures imaginary worlds that address the fragility of our eco-systems and portend climate catastrophes. It's clear that Abait is compelled by the presentation of existential incongruities in her otherworldly landscapes — in color, size, and scale — to convey her ideas. 

From Buenos Aires, Abait immigrated to the United States in 1997. She draws from personal feelings of displacement and vulnerability to urge viewers to consider how global warming is wreaking havoc everywhere. Abait's piece "The Maps that Failed Us" — a monumental sculpture of world maps placed out of context — makes visible our social, physical, and global interdependence. She invites us to consider our collective geographic proximity and universal fate to reorient our sense of shared planetary survival.

"Luciana Abait: On the Verge" was curated by Laband Art Gallery Director Karen Rapp, who says, "Luciana's depictions of our contemporary climate crisis are likewise overwhelming and invitational. Her palette is sometimes skewed neon, deliberately unnatural, causing an unsettling effect. But, at the same time, she renders her pictures with such intentionally beautiful surfaces and colors to remind us of what's at stake. Her landscapes are figuratively pushing at the edge of planetary existence, as if she's urging us to step into the scene and do something good."

Another highlight is the site-specific digital projection "Agua" (2021), that has previously only been shown as part of a downtown L.A. public art project. The piece's luminous, cascading waterfall celebrates the beauty and sensuality of water, while also reminding us – in drought-stricken times – of the precariousness of its supply.

Abait has said, "Through my photo-based landscapes, installations, video, and photo-sculptures, natural landscapes, and human-made objects are impossibly adapted to new roles where they coexist in a magical reality. I frequently use color manipulation to achieve a surreal, awe-inspiring mood within the landscape to create a childlike sense of wonder for viewers.  Scientific evidence shows that nature is fundamental to our health. It's long been known that hope is crucial for people's willingness to take care of the natural world. People will feel it's a lost cause if we only present the negative, yet if we show them beauty and hope, they will want to fight for planet earth and care of it."

Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Abait is based in Los Angeles, where she's a resident artist at 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica. Her multimedia works engage with themes of environmentalism, climate change, ecological fragility, assimilation, and immigration. Abait uses images of nature, including mountains, icebergs, and oceans, along with flight plans, maps and manmade structures, to act as metaphors for her personal experience. Abait studied at the National School of Fine Arts, "Prilidiano Pueyrredon" in Buenos Aires (1997), and has shown her work internationally and extensively in Los Angeles. 

SHOW IMAGES
Installation photos:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g5r5uu6c371p2m5/AACDiybmvgx-GDSjejynbf10a?dl=0 
Artwork:  https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/0zwfjli3ivchlcu2vhdf6/h?dl=0&rlkey=8gsjh86mvnvqm8z6vxtc67gf2

https://www.lucianaabait.com/

Media contact:
Laura Grover
[email protected]
3109941690

SOURCE Luciana Abait, Photographer and Interdisciplinary artist