The Diffracted Symphony: Sébastien Léon's Pioneertown Sound Sculpture Is A Funereal Mass For The Biological State Of The World

In 2017, the founders of Case Gallery ventured through Pioneertown and purchased a few hundred acres of expansive desert land with breathtaking views of the bouldered hillside and mountain ranges where they planned to create an oasis for artists to display their works of art. The first artist to contribute in initiating this vision is Sébastien Léon. His sculpture The Diffracted Symphony, inspired by the rib cage of a whale washed ashore, was originally conceived as a sound sculpture playing an altered version of Verdi's Requiem, turned into a funeral mass for the biological state of the world. Léon pleads for us to recognize that the challenge of our time is for humanity to understand its power for both destruction and preservation, and our urgent need to act as the caretakers of the Earth's balance.

Commissioned by Nancy A. Nasher & David J Heamisegger Family, with the Dallas Symphony
Contributors: Stephen Dewey (Sound Design and Composition), Jason Francesco Heath, Ph.D. (Composition), Fife Metal Works (Fabrication)

“The Tenth Muse” Group Show @ Case Gallery Celebrates Womanhood and Female Power

CASE presents “The Tenth Muse” curated by Ludovica Capobianco. Featuring Miriam Cahn, Barbara Kruger, Louise Lawler, Nicolette Mishkan, Alexis Myre, Olga Ozerskaya, Cait Porter, Fawn Rogers, Samantha Rosenwald, Sydney Vernon and Valentina Von Klencke, “The Tenth Muse” is a celebration of womanhood, showing the innate female power through delicacy, sensuality, and the intricacies that bestow the strength of femininity. The Tenth Muse refers to the poetess Sappho, the first known female artist and an epitome of how intellectual women have striven to have a voice of their own over the centuries. Despite arduously achieved freedom and independency, women still find themselves confined within social and cultural stereotypes. Women tend to be defined based on dichotomized characters and are expected to walk around wearing multiple hats and high heels. Bringing together a group of strong female artists with various practices and aesthetics, this exhibition aims at showing the beautiful and unique complexity of the female being. The Tenth Muse will be on view until March 27, at CASE Gallery, 154 S Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048.