George Billis Gallery LA | 7/9-8/20 | Los Angeles, CA

Opportunity and Grit

Artist’s display their Los Angeles and Southern California inspired works at the George Billis Gallery LA annual Cityscape Show.

George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles (GBGLA) returns for their exciting 12th edition of the Cityscape Show, with this year’s theme and show title, Iconic, set to highlight artworks that capture the mood and look of Los Angeles and the overall Southern California region. Each year, the gallery chooses a different angle or theme and features significant works by a wide-ranging group of artists. Viewers can expect to see masterful works by Patricia Chidlaw, Danny Heller, Lindsey Warren, Christine Rasmussen, Ana Medina, Mary-Austin Klein and Terry Thompson, all taking a moment to appreciate what makes Southern California unique, as seen through their eyes. Danny Heller, Trader Mort’s, oil on canvas, 20 x 28"

“Los Angeles is a strange place—some consider it soulless and heartless,” says gallery director Tressa Williams. “But that is far from the truth. Los Angeles has a soul that is strange and compelling and multi-faceted and ever evolving. The constant is change, and that is what draws people here—for the sense of opportunity mixed with a bit of a grit, the history of dream-making and for the fantasy sometimes more than the reality. ‘Iconic’ Los Angeles inhabits our collective unconscious.”

For Warren, her paintings are largely focused on the Los Angeles landscape since she returned to the area from the East Coast around seven years ago. “I love the unique light in LA—the extended twilight and reflected light from the rising and setting sun bouncing off the hills and buildings,” Warren says. “In my most recent work, the imagery has been even more narrowly focused as I spent increased time at home during the pandemic. While I am known for painting sunsets, I was able to view and photograph more of them during this time, resulting in the discovery of some unexpected hues and color combinations in the sky.”Lindsey Warren, Venice Beach in Crimson, oil on canvas, 20 x 24"

Her paintings in the show display “quiet vistas and utilize silhouettes to simplify some of the visual information.” She continues, “The city lights in Towards Hollywood and the well-placed palms with man-made structures in Venice Beach in Crimson both suggest the inhabitation of the city and present views that are very specific to Los Angeles without being precise, recognizable locations.”

Heller, based in Coachella Valley in Southern California, is endlessly inspired by the region’s natural light and warm weather. With his added interest in capturing vestiges of 1950s and ’60s architecture and design, and living in close proximity to the eye-catching neighborhoods of Palm Springs, the artist is supplied with abundant material on a daily basis. “I can’t get around to painting everything I’d like—there’s just too much!” he remarks.Patricia Chidlaw, Tankcars, Sixth St. Viaduct, oil on canvas, 15 x 30"

While Heller will have a painting in the show featuring a midcentury home in Palm Springs, another exciting piece on display will be Trader Mort’s, depicting a tiki-themed liquor store the artist found in San Diego. “I coupled it with a 1965 Chrysler New Yorker, which helps give the painting a vintage quality and blur the lines as to whether this scene is happening today or is a freeze frame from a bygone day,” says Heller. “I like obscuring the time period…making the viewer guess if the landscape still looks the way I present it in my work. My goal is to show that this type of midcentury architecture is timeless—it doesn’t have to be confined to a past era but can be enjoyed and thrived in today.”Terry Thompson, Circus Liquor, oil on canvas, 34 x 34"

Other thrilling and “iconic” Southern California inspired artworks include Thompson’s painting Circus Liquor, based on an enormous clown shaped sign that is a North Hollywood icon, appearing in television and film. “It’s cool, comical and colorful,” Thompson says. Show attendees will also enjoy California urban landscape paintings like Rasmussen’s piece Radiant Facade and Patricia Chidlaw’s Tankcars, Sixth St. Viaduct.

The Cityscape Show XII: Iconic opens to the public starting July 9 and closes on August 20. —

George Billis Gallery LA
2716 S. La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 838-3685
www.georgebillis.com