Lester Monzon: Collapse Antonym

Edward Cella Art & Architecture is pleased to announce Collapse Antonym, an exhibition of new painting by Los Angeles based artist Lester Monzon. Built of gorgeous layers of graphite, acrylic and oil paints on top of a polished layer of gesso over Belgian linen; Monzon advances of a complex system of abstractions that simultaneously posits the joy of painting and the destruction of painting. Through an intricate progression of building graph-like patterns and luscious, multi-colored gestures of paint; Monzon creates conditions for their erasure, loss, and failure.

Collapse Antonym represents the gallery’s second solo show for Monzon and comes at the end of a immensely fecund period for the artist during the historic tumult of 2020. Unexpectedly flourishing in his studio, Monzon found further power in his unique artistic process that seeks visual and aesthetic joy in failure and system collapse. Matched to a moment in time where what was is no longer; Monzon heroically prevails in creating striking and powerful paintings of surprising harmony and movement. Masterful in their deployment of historical painting techniques and built of patience and labor; each painting seeks to deconstruct its own visual field.

The graphs in his paintings denote organization, a pre-determined system or order which call to mind data or rules. Monzon says, “The graph is something that’s in order. You fall in line, you fall in line with everything, everything has their place, and everyone pays taxes.” Until they don’t. Recognizing this void, Mozon ultimately seeks to liberate the estrangements of pattern and brushwork, opposing ideologies and spatial separations.

Installed at the Thomas Lavin Showroom at the Pacific Design Center and curated by Edward Cella; the exhibition is available for viewing Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM with appropriate social distancing measures in place. To expand the accessibility of the exhibition; a short new feature documentary produced by the Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum of Cal State Long Beach on the artist’s creative practice is featured in the exhibition’s accompanying online-viewing room.

Lester Monzon: Collapse Antonym is presented concurrently with Between Worlds, a group exhibition of new and recent works by Cathy Daley, Rema Ghuloum, Robert Gunderman, Brad Miller, Lester Monzon, Patti Oleon, Ruth Pastine, Alex Rasmussen, Aili Schmeltz, Chris Trueman and Amir Zaki.

ABOUT LESTER MONZON

Lester Monzon (b. 1973, Brooklyn, NY) received his B.F.A. from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena. His work has been exhibited at the Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art at Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga; Mark Moore Gallery, Los Angeles; Kinkead Contemporary, Los Angeles; Roberts & Tilton, Los Angeles in addition to shows in San Francisco and Chicago. His work has been covered and reviewed by the Los Angeles Times, Artforum, and Artillery. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego. Monzon lives and works in Los Angeles.