Renowned Los Angeles artist Lezley Saar constructs worlds within worlds by transforming the museum’s gallery into a series of large-scale dioramas. Saar has been fascinated with dioramas since childhood and continually references them in her work. For the exhibition, Saar will elaborately stage her own painted tapestries, totem sculptures, collages, altered books, and other mixed media works to construct fantastical tableaux in which visitors can immerse themselves. Themes of race, gender, neurology, and sexuality – all longstanding concerns in Saar’s work – converge in this series of dioramas and illustrate the power of conjuring one’s reality and finding truth in the surreal.

This exhibition is supported in part by the Pasadena Art Alliance and Walter Maciel Gallery. Additional support provided by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

Image: Lezley Saar, The Clairvoyant, 2022. Acrylic on canvas, mixed media within carved out book, 16 x 11 x 2.25 inches. Courtesy of the artist. 

Read an interview with Saar regarding her exhibition here.