Lost Angeles will feature a new body of work where Donwood extends his poignant perception on the impact of current societal trends and behavior towards Los Angeles. His visual meditation on society envelopes viewers in a beautifully, graphic landscape of impending doom. The fluid black and white scene resonates with honesty and forewarning. True to form, Donwood once again succeeds in giving flawless design to his version of our tragically flawed future.

On display will be an 18-foot apocalyptic panorama of the City of Angels being destroyed by fire, flood and meteor storm. Originally carved into 18 separate panels of linoleum then hand burnished onto Japanese Kozo paper, the never-before-seen, limited edition print was inspired by subject matter similar to Donwood’s 2006 work titled London Views.

Donwood began London Views in 2004 after being shaken by the Indian Ocean tsunami that claimed more than 229,000 lives. His original drawings evolved from being visual recordings of the destruction into ruminations on the environmental repercussions of contemporary lifestyle. Inspired by the aesthetics of the woodcut illustrations in the 15th century publication Nuremberg Chronicle, Donwood carved scenes from his drawings into a 10 foot-long linoleum panorama. This visual narrative of London being consumed by natural disaster was then laboriously transferred onto rolls of Kozo Washi?a durable, fibrous paper first developed in Japan over 1,300 years ago.

Selections from the Lost Angeles series (2012) will be accompanied by the London Views (2006) print and a small linocut titled Fleet Street Apocalypse (2008), all connected by a similar theme. Individual relief prints from the original linocuts, a selection of limited edition screen prints, several books by Donwood, and jigsaw puzzles of scenes from Lost Angeles will also be on view.

Following are a few images from the opening reception.

 

-Amy Duran

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LOST ANGELES

Stanley Donwood

Through May 26, 2012

Subliminal Projects