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Ann Lofquist
at Skidmore Contemporary, Santa Monica, California
Recommendation by Scarlet Cheng


Ann Lofquist, ''View from Mulholland (Nocturne),'' 2012, oil on canvas, 23 x 64 1/2''.

 

Continuing through July 7, 2012

 

Ann Lofquist moved to Southern California only recently, and there's a glorious quality of light in her coastal paintings that feels incredibly fresh, as if we're seeing these vistas for the first time along with her. The four large-format landscapes (over five feet wide) and smaller studies feature expanses along the Pacific Coast Highway by Pacific Palisades, views of Ventura towards the ocean, as well as early evening over the Los Angeles basin. We're aware of human habitation in the buildings and houses she includes in the foreground and middle ground - with mountains and the ocean in the hazy distance. These elements are well-integrated, fitted into the horizontality of the landscape. 

 

“City Lights - Ventura” captures the bend in the bay, while “Ventura from Grant Park” looks more directly out to sea from the hillside of the city. Both are masterful in the way they capture the shift in color and luminosity in the sky and how white buildings are interspersed amongst clusters of streetlights and of dark green trees as night falls. “View from Muholland (Nocturne)” is a view of the Los Angeles basin see from Mulholland Drive, on one of those turn-offs designed for admiring the grid of lights and architecture that make up the city, especially in the evening when all seems magical.  Lofquist has managed to capture that magic, which is all encompassed in a bluish tinge. Pinpoints and pools of light tell us the city is alive. To the near right is a contemporary house being constructed on the hillside. We see the floors, the beginnings of walls, and we can project ourselves into the stunning view this house will one day enjoy - the one depicted in Lofquist's painting.

 

Published courtesy of ArtSceneCal ©2012

Skidmore Contemporary Art

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