Exhibition Review: Victoria Sambunaris High and Dry & Ed Ruscha Parking Lots
Written by Olivia Young
Photo Edited by Ece Yavuz
Copyedited by Chloë Rain
Untitled, (Badwater Basin from Dante's View), Death Valley National Park, California, 2021 © Victoria Sambunaris
Courtesy of the artist and Yancey Richardson, New York
The Yancey Richardson Gallery is currently showcasing two collections, the first being Victoria Sambunaris’ High and Dry, and the second Ed Ruscha’s Parking Lots.
High and Dry is set in the California desert, the vastness of the landscape translated through Sambunaris’ large-scale images. Combining dramatics with insight, she works to document the presence of life amidst the bare terrain. The rigidness of dunes and mountains often contrast the hue of a blue sky, immense in comparison to the human activity it surrounds. Sambunaris has been drawn to this concept for over two decades, however, High and Dry investigates activity between 2020 and 2021. She has expressed the urgency with which individuals burst into the desert during lockdown, visible throughout the three cross-country trips made by the artist.
Untitled, (Zabriskie Point), Death Valley National Park, California, 2021 © Victoria Sambunaris
Courtesy of the artist and Yancey Richardson, New York
Samburnaris’ has embarked on a yearly photographic journey since she emerged as an artist in 1999, her career now characterized by an infatuation with American landscapes. High and Dry spans across the desert, ranging from the Death Valley National Park to the All American Canal and more. This recent excursion has the ability to alter the opinion many may possess of the desert. What is typically seen as desolate, is revealed as expansive, awe-striking, and a region that was collectively seen as a safe space during times of tribulation. In connection to Samburnaris’ other bodies of work, it is representative of the deeper themes she has continuously explored. Specifically, the awareness with which one may approach a given space, and the issues regarding how it may be put to use.
Untitled (rider), captured in Joshua Tree, California, 2021, depicts a boundless stretch of dirt, a soft shadow of mountains visible behind it. Centered, is a discreet figure, its form difficult to make out. However, behind the figure, is a distinct trail of dust, the whiteness of the debris stark against the dirt. Even with the rider so miniscule to his surroundings, the remnants of his presence are evident, becoming the focal point of the image. Similarly, in Untitled (jump), set in Glamis, California, 2020, the human subjects are barely present. Appearing as specks, a dirtbiker is witnessed soaring across the rolling dunes. There is a team close to the rider, and a series of four wheelers peeking between the hills. Imprinted across the sand, is footsteps and tire tracks, evidence of the human presence Sambunaris is so driven to convey.
Untitled, (rider), Joshua Tree, California, 2021 © Victoria Sambunaris
Courtesy of the artist and Yancey Richardson, New York
In an alternative approach to how a space is used, Ed Ruscha’s Parking Lots, is a series of aerial photographs depicting the expansion of urban landscape in Southern California. Extracted from a 1967 portfolio, Parking Lots allows a glimpse into the origins of Ruscha’s craft. With over six decades of experience as an artist, this collection showcases early interests that would appear throughout his later work. Specifically, those of mapping and topography. Entirely black and white, this collection captures landscape through a geometric lens. As well as, the constantly slimming line between artificial and man-made.
Though featuring sites of historical significance, such as the Dodgers Stadium or Universal Studios, it is primarily the mundane that Ruscha is drawn to in this body of work. Purposefully, this was done in order to reflect the lack of originality that urban life induces. Through focusing on something seemingly insignificant, such as parking lots, his subject is transformed into a concept. Even more evident in this body of work, is the clear pull towards recognizing angular patterns from this perspective. Captured from the view of a helicopter, the building tops, roads, and vacant lots combine to form clear, geometric shapes.
Dodgers Stadium, 1000 Elysian Park Ave. © Ed Ruscha
Courtesy of the artist and Yancey Richardson, New York
For example, in Intersection of Wilshire Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd, a right angle triangle of road is formed strictly around a set of buildings. Two parallel lines, also of road, make up the edge of the triangle and an outer line. The structures both within and outside the triangle appear to follow its shape methodically, precisely fitted within the confines of the road. Similarly, Dodgers Stadium, 1000 Elysian Park Ave. shows the infamous field centered. The surrounding landscape creates a repeated rounded edge, drawing the eye inward to the subject of the image. Outside of this ring, is a series of winding paths, distant roads, and a subtle hint of greenery. Others, like Lockheed Air Terminal, 2627 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, instead choose to shed light on the shockingly vast amount of space that urban life occupies. This piece, and others that feature the expansive lots, the subject appears to take up a majority of the frame. It is overbearing when compared to other natural features of the image, speaking to the themes of topography Ruscha has implemented into his work.
Intersection of Wilshire Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd. © Ed Ruscha
Courtesy of the artist and Yancey Richardson, New York
Victoria Sambunaris’ High and Dry and Ed Ruscha’s Parking Lots will be showing at Yancey Richardson Gallery until February 18th, 2023.
