We continue to look at some of the best shows for Frieze Week Los Angeles, and one the most anticipated shows is the new painting work from hyperrealistic painter, Calida Rawles, A Dream for My Lilith, at Various Small Fires. Her works are both poetic and liberating, the scenes of African American youth playing in swimming pools, with every detail accounted for and still room for political undertones, a rare trait in hyperrealistic painting.
From the gallery: "For Rawles, water is a spiritually healing element for all people – yet she recognizes its historical connotations to racial exclusion and cultural fears. She uses the complicated duality of water as a platform to address identity politics while reimagining her subjects beyond cultural tropes. At times, her work alludes to current events, even making topographical maps of cities where acts of racially targeted violence have occurred. In other moments, her works are purely celebratory of the resilience, strength, and beauty of African American culture."
