Cal State LA’s Ronald H. Silverman Fine Arts Gallery to showcase work of renowned Los Angeles artist Betye Saar’s Mojo Rising curated by jill moniz, highlighting Betye Saar’s influence and inspiration on two generations of L.A. artists: Alison Saar, Lezley Saar, Kerry James Marshall, Sarah Perry, John Outterbridge, David Hammons, Tanya Aguiñiga, Kelly Berg, Lavialle Campbell, Kendall Carter, Carolina Caycedo, Chelsea Dean, Keiko Fukazawa, Yrneh Gabon, Todd Gray, Regina Herod, Maddy Inez Leeser, Michael Levell, Lilah Lutes, Rodney McMillian, Rosalyn Myles, Echiko Ohira, Miguel Osuna, Duane Paul, Emma Robbins, Cordellus Smith Abadachi, Lisa Diane Wedgeworth, Monica Wyatt and Brenna Youngblood.
Nearly 50 years ago, Cal State LA exhibited Betye Saar’s first survey exhibition, Betye Saar: Selected Works 1964-1973, which included Mojo Handbag (1970), Nine Mojo Secrets (1971) and Rainbow Mojo (1972), and other objects that showcased her attention on mysticism. Betye Saar is still a conjurer who uses diverse cultural iconography to ritualize recycling, investigate identity and contest how and where we find beauty. Today, with this new exhibition, moniz reflects on Saar’s ongoing legacy, specifically how her transformative visual language has made space for artists to reimagine materials in new contexts and create work centered on the poetics of time, race and gender.
Mojo Rising features Saar’s ongoing mojo focus, and local artists who are inspired by these ideas to create cultural narratives and engaging objects that challenge normalizing tropes, and reveal practices influenced by Saar’s ceaseless commitment to making, sharing, teaching and encouraging artists in Los Angeles and beyond.
Dr. jill moniz, Invited Curator
Dr. Mika Cho, Director, Ronald H. Silverman Fine Arts Gallery
Read More About This Exhibition
Installation Images
Featured Artists
Betye Saar with Alison Saar, Lezley Saar, Kerry James Marshall, Sarah Perry, John Outterbridge, David Hammons, Tanya Aguiñiga, Kelly Berg, Lavialle Campbell, Kendall Carter, Carolina Caycedo, Chelsea Dean, Keiko Fukazawa, Yrneh Gabon, Todd Gray, Regina Herod, Maddy Inez Leeser, Michael Levell, Lilah Lutes, Rodney McMillian, Rosalyn Myles, Echiko Ohira, Miguel Osuna, Duane Paul, Emma Robbins, Cordellus Smith Abadachi, Lisa Diane Wedgeworth, Monica Wyatt and Brenna Youngblood
Betye Saar
"Lucky Mojo", 1991
Mixed Media Collage on Textile, Courtesy of Roberts Projects Gallery, Culver City.
"Trickster (mojo)", 1994
Mixed Media Installation, Courtesy of Roberts Projects Gallery, Culver City.
"Floating Figure with 7 Spades" , 1977
Mixed Media on Fabric, Collection of Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum. Gift of the Wives of the Bench and the Bar, Courtesy of the California African American Museum.
"For Rosey", 1976
Mixed Media Collage, Collection of the California African Museum. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Leon O. Banks, Courtesy of the California African American Museum.
"Mojo Eyes (Spirit Door)", 1992
Mixed Media Assemblage, Courtesy of Roberts Projects Gallery, Culver City.
Alison Saar
"Thistle and Twitch", 2013
Mixed Media (Paper, Glue, Acrylics and Copper & Found Brambles), Courtesy of L.A. Louver Gallery, Los Angeles.
"Sea of Serenity", 2007
Wood, Copper and Ceiling Tin, Courtesy of L.A. Louver Gallery, Los Angeles.
"Lazarus", 1988
Painted Wood, Courtesy of the Artist.
Lezley Saar
"Paonne", 2019
Mixed Media, Courtesy of Walter Maciel Gallery, Los Angeles.
"Reuel", 2019
Mixed Media, Courtesy of Walter Maciel Gallery, Los Angeles.
Kerry James Marshall
"Revolution Dinner Plates", 1998
Ceramic Plates, Collection Lyndon & Janine Barrois.
David Hammons
“Hardcore Unemployed”, 1968
Body Print, Courtesy of the California African American Museum.
John Outterbridge
"22 Rhymes", 1998
Mixed Media Installation, Courtesy of the California African American Museum.
Sarah Perry
"Twister", 2005
Bones in Glass and Bronze, Collection of Laura Lee Stearns.
Tanya Aguiñiga
"Feminine Occult", 2018
Mixed Media Assemblage, Courtesy of Volume Gallery, Chicago.
Kelly Berg
"Triangulation", 2020
Acrylic on Canvas, Courtesy of Craig Krull Gallery, Los Angeles.
Lavialle Campbell
"Meditation 1", 2020
Cotton and Felted Wool, Courtesy of the Artist.
Kendall Carter
"Cranes for Solange", 2017
Mixed Media Assemblage, Courtesy of the California African American Museum.
Carolina Caycedo
"The Leap/El salto", 2017
Mixed Media Collage, Courtesy of the Artist and Commonwealth and Council Gallery, Los Angeles.
"Vocabulary Infrastructure/Vocabulario e infrastructura (after the Distance Plan)", 2017
Marker on 10 Banknotes, Courtesy of the Artist and Commonwealth and Council Gallery, Los Angeles.
Chelsea Dean
"A Spiritual View", 2018
Assemblage, Courtesy of the Artist.
"Constructs of Beauty", 2019
Assemblage, Courtesy of the Artist.
Keiko Fukazawa
"Homage to A.W.", 2016
Mixed Media Assemblage, Courtesy of the Artist.
Yrneh Gabon
"Waiting for God" , 2020
Assemblage, Courtesy of the Artist.
Todd Gray
"Sketch (Nike D.O., Versailles)", 2020
Assemblage of Three Archival Pigment Prints, Courtesy of the Artist.
Regina Herod
"Weight on the Invisible", 2018
Charcoal, Ink and Pigment on Paper, Courtesy of the Artist.
Maddy Inez Leeser
"Sown", 2020
Ceramic Vessels, Courtesy of the Artist.
Michael Levell
"4 - Untitled", 2020
Ceramic Vessels, Courtesy of Tierra Del Sol Gallery, Los Angeles.
Lilah Lutes
"A Forgotten Secret", 2017
Mixed Media Assemblage, Courtesy of the Artist.
Rodney McMillian
"Double Double Jesus", 2006
Textile, Courtesy of Vielmetter Los Angeles.
Rosalyn Myles
"Cotton Birds", 2019
Mixed Media Assemblage, Courtesy of jill moniz.
Echiko Ohira
"Gloves", 2010
Mixed Media, Courtesy of the Artist.
Miguel Osuna
"Horizo-Line", 2019
Paint, Pen and Gesso on Board Cube, Courtesy of the Artist.
Duane Paul
"Mr. Bonjangles Dance", 2019
Assemblage, Courtesy of the Artist.
Emma Robbins
"…his x mark", 2019
Mixed Media, Collection of Dr. Daniel Brauner.
"LA River Paper", 2018
Fiber and String, Courtesy of the Artist.
Cordellus Smith Abadachi
"Spirit Box", 2016
Ceramic, Courtesy of the Artist.
Lisa Diane Wedgeworth
"Hex Be Gone", 2020
Acrylic on Canvas, Courtesy of the Artist.
Monica Wyatt
"Hanging by a Moment", 2020
Mixed Media, Courtesy of the Artist.
Brenna Youngblood
"Mega Diamond", 2011
Mixed Media, Courtesy of Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles.
Exhibition Images: Gareth Mackay