LA-based artist Mary Little planned to open her exhibition to the public in March. A few days later, COVID-19 took hold and her planned show at design workshop Estudio Persona in Los Angeles was cancelled.
Several months later, the show is now brought back to life as a digital exhibition available to view from 15th August until 15th October 2020. Talking to Architectural Digest, Little explains “It’s a very tranquil space, bathed in natural light from above, with beautiful polished concrete floors and plaster walls. I selected works I’ve done from the past four years that reflect the serenity of that environment. I chose pieces that are sympathetic to the space—and the refined, sculptural quality of Estudio Persona’s designs—as well as sympathetic to each other.”
Originally from Northern Ireland, Little has continually included references to her roots in the Irish countryside in her art. Included in the exhibition is Islandmagee, a triptych of striated canvases with tumescent protrusions, and is named after the peninsula where Little’s mother was raised. Another piece, Killyvolgan, one the most dramatically articulated works in the show, was named for the farm where her father was born.
“Every piece in the exhibition has some connection to the places and people I knew during those tranquil years living in the country,” the artist says.
Little has distilled her materials palette to one: raw, heavyweight artists’ canvas, naturally coloured in an ivory tone. From a fabrication perspective, the material is well suited to the variegated shapes and forms the artist achieves by meticulous cutting and sewing.
“It has a soft, three-dimensional quality and a kind of gentleness,” Little says. “I do many trials with small pieces of cloth to see how I can manipulate the material to conform to the idea. I also factor in the effect of gravity, how the piece hangs. There’s an element of serendipity in the process. Ultimately, I’m most interested in the formal, sculptural qualities of the work—how they respond to questions of scale and proportion.”
Twenty percent of all sales from the exhibition will go to the I Have A Dream Foundation of Los Angeles. It is a not-for-profit charity that supports underserved youth as they pursue higher education.
All images in this article are courtesy of Little Mary.
