The Act of Ornamentation is Centered in Adorned Self @ Sow & Tailor in Los Angeles

Alli Conrad

Adorned Self is Sow & Tailor’s first group exhibition of the summer, showcasing six emerging women artists of the same generation, whose work explores themes such as nature, sensuality, gender, and ornamentation. They share a unique perspective as artists who grew up in the 1990s: an epoch characterized by multiculturalism, globalization, self-reference, environmentalism, and technological advances. With these cultural, social, and political shifts, came new forms of self-fashioning.

Adorned Self explores ornamentation as an act, both outward and internal, that opens the self to enlivenment; how we fashion ourselves in order to attract others, make a statement, or express individuality. The artists probe the way our internal landscapes are expressed and communicated onto the world, even in things as banal as a tattoo, jewelry, makeup, or a luxurious fabric. Adornment can also be entirely internal—achieved through cultivating deep self love.

Adorned Self is on view through August 12 @ Sow & Tailor, 157 W 27TH ST. LOS ANGELES, CA. 90007

 
 

Jean Nagai Invites You to Enjoy the Present Moment in "Midst Seizen" @ Sow & Tailor in Los Angeles

Jean Nagai, "Midst Seizen"

Jean Nagai

Jean Nagai’s Midst Seizen at Sow & Tailor in Los Angeles bears witness to the artist’s work as a landscape painter in that his practice is a direct reflection of the world around him, wherever that happens to be. In the title of his exhibition Midst Seizen, the Japanese American artist’s play on words has a simple yet powerful message for humankind: enjoy the present moment. According to Nagai, the word “midst” refers to layers of reality and is a riff on “mid” and “mist” while the word “seizen” is a play on “season” and “seize.” With the climate rapidly changing, Nagai believes that our seasons have become less defined, and our lives are more unpredictable than ever as a result. His latest body of work serves as a reminder to pause and celebrate the connectedness of everything, to embrace science and the supernatural, and to honor both life on Earth and the otherworldly.

Midst Seizen is on view through August 12 @ Sow & Tailor, 157 W 27TH ST. LOS ANGELES, CA. 90007