In her first solo exhibition in Los Angeles in a decade, Laura Aguilar will show new black and white photographs from her recent “Stillness” and “Motion” series.

Laura Aguilar’s photographs feature the artist nude, sometimes together with other women, in the landscape, mostly the desert landscapes of Texas. Positioning her body in a reverential environment of nature, Aguilar explores the physical and emotional ramifications of her large body and it’s relationship to pictorial traditions of the female nude. The gestures expressed in her images suggest a sense of contentment and seclusion that does not depend on the viewer’s participation or appreciation. Aguilar’s investigations of self-portraiture started with her series of “Clothed/Unclothed” diptychs, which reflect the emotional conflicts and victories of the subjects shown. In her new series, by placing herself both in front and behind the camera, Aguilar takes issues of power, beauty, and the relationship between human and nature to a far more subliminal place.

Laura Aguilar lives and works in San Gabriel. She is self- taught and has shown recently at the ArtPace Foundation in San Antonio, Texas, the La Caixa Foundation in Barcelona, Spain, the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut, and the Nexus Center for Contemporary Art in Atlanta, Georgia. Laura Aguilar received the 1998 J. Paul Getty Grant for the Visual Arts; her work was included in the traveling “Sunshine & Noir” Exhibition, the “Bad Girls” Exhibition at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, and in the Aperto 93 Biennale in Venice, Italy.

In the project space, we are introducing new paintings by Tam Van Tran. Van Tran’s intricate paintings on masonite and canvas reflect his interest in complex, intuitive systems. Delicate lines and patterns weave across his surfaces, resembling sophisticated mappings or organic vehicles that suggest both transportation through real space and the space of the mind.

A selection of works featured in the exhibition can be seen at www.vielmetter.com. (please klick on the images to open additional visuals)

The gallery is located two blocks west of La Brea Avenue between Detroit and Cloverdale. Parking is available on Wilshire, Detroit, Cloverdale and on the corner lot

of Wilshire/Detroit.