Julie Mehretu at LACMA
The Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art is currently presenting the exhibition candidly titled Julie Mehretu, in a study of the artist’s mid-career survey. A comprehensive exploration of Mehretu’s works up until this point in her career, the exhibition collaborates with other artists, featuring a classical Rembrant painting as well as a film created by Tacita Dean, which follows the life and works of Mehretu. The exhibition is a compilation of approximately 40 works on paper and 35 paintings, 20 years of significant works are to be explored, first dating from 1996, up until the present day.
Many have recognized the work of Mehretu as finitely abstract with great complexity in many of her works which mirror the making of maps. In the fine lines and thick dashes of Mehretu’s creations, cities and roads appear to sprawl out and overlap one. Her techniques have meandered and shifted throughout the years, finding new forms and conceptions. The artwork touches upon themes of civilizations, climate change, architecture, civil unrest, and transitions of powers and peoples. Always in a state of movement, the bold strokes and curving elements set in Mehretu’s drawings and paintings stretch across the canvases, building upon convoluted storylines. Sometimes leaning towards darker, more ominous elements, and sometimes bursting with color and light, the inclination that Mehretu leaves the viewer with ranges from foreboding and intimidated to stimulated and awe-inspiring.
From her large scale paintings, stretching to lengths of 15 feet, to her smaller 5 by 5-inch works, Mehretu expounds on the power of “we” as she often credits others in helping her achieve her creations. Establishing herself in humility, a grand gesture in the face of her massively complex and intricate works, Mehretu speaks in great volumes of humanity and the importance of alliances and collaborations. Although oftentimes chaotic and even ominous, the works of Mehretu illustrate the beauties of human struggle in every facade of life.
