in lieu is pleased to announce Flyers flying, an exhibition of new work by Los Angeles artist Willa Wasserman.
The title of the exhibition - consisting of seven figurative paintings - is derived from the ocular phenomenon of muscae volitantes, or flying flies. These are mineral deposits in the eye that appear to some as motes, fog, or small flies. They seem to slide across the field of vision - like some sorry wing-wrapped floating thing - perhaps far off in the distance, perhaps on the surface of the eye itself. In fact, they are still, and occur within the eye, it’s their shadows that flutter and arc as they block and refract incoming light. This common, mundane flaw in vision reminds us that our eyes - just the first step in sight - are faulty instruments, and evokes the perceptual difficulties which become a central theme in these works. How do we look?
Each painting layers multiple iterations of a single scene, returned to continually, offering the viewer subtly unsteady images. Most are in 1:1 scale, retaining a relation to a certain feel of reality, while imagery dips in and out of recognizability. A restricted gray palette further slows the process of seeing.
The muted tones are derived from metalpoint — while dashes of oil paint weave in occasional color. Metalpoint is a traditional medium in which metal, typically a silver stylus, is dragged across a specially prepared ground. The metal scores the surface and deposits a permanent, light-value, fine line. The applied metalpoint in these works — combinations of brass, silver, copper, bronze, and steel — holds little color or darkness initially, but forms a lasting patina in the months after completion.
In Figures and stairs, the one large-scale painting in the exhibition, Wasserman has reworked a previous painting of a park-like scene. Given metalpoint’s inability to be “painted over,” the additional figures and staircases literally exist on top of the flora and yet they seem to be woven within it. Elsewhere, Wasserman references specific histories of painting, particularly the confluence of certain still-life conceits and the optical illusions commonly used to illustrate theories of perception. Wall niche with still life and light off and Wall niche with still life and light on depict similar domestic scenes of a lamp resting on a sill. The works are familiarly sized and hung at the same height you may find their depicted imagery in a home-setting. Both compositions also evoke simplistic optical illusions. They seem like something seen before, yet lean into imperceptibility.
The permanence of metalpoint gives Wasserman’s work a dizzying finish. As the material cannot be removed, painted over, or obscured. Every mistake or alternative version becomes part of the final image. Through this, the paintings in Flyers flying mirror our own perceptual experience; our realities are composed through error, misunderstanding, and the occasional mysterious acuity. But nothing is ever seen on its own, or too clearly.
Willa Wasserman (b.1990, Evansville, IN) is an artist living and working in Los Angeles. They recieved their MFA from University of California, Los Angeles in 2019. Wasserman’s work has been recently exhibited at Downs & Ross (New York), Park View / Paul Soto (Los Angeles), and The Gallery @ (Los Angeles). In addition to their solo practice, Wasserman is also a part of the collaborative painting group En Plein Error alongside Jenny Gagalka and Beaux Mendes.
