“For Maria: Lost Cienega” (2021) by June Edmonds
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions
TRACING HER JOURNEY from figuration to abstraction, “Full Spectrum” at Laband Art Gallery surveys the practice of June Edmonds over the past 40 years. Edmonds was born in Los Angeles, where she continues to live and work. Over the years, consistently considered the complexity of the Black experience, through race and history. Early representational works are personal images of domestic scenes. More recently, Edmonds has employed a language of abstraction, utilizing shape, repetition, and color. She has explored little-known narratives of historic women, redlining, and the symbolism of the American flag. Providing the first opportunity to consider the full spectrum of Edmonds’s ouevre, more than 40 paintings and drawings, made between 1980 and 2021, are on view. CT
“June Edmonds: Full Spectrum,” Laband Art Gallery, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Calif., from Sept. 25, 2021-Feb. 20, 2022
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Installation view of “June Edmonds: Full Spectrum,” Laband Art Gallery, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Calif., 2021-22. | Courtesy Laband Art Gallery
JUNE EDMONDS, “Self-Portrait in Studio,” 1981 (oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches). | © June Edmonds. Courtesy the artist, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, and Laband Art Gallery
JUNE EDMONDS, “Contrast,” 1982 (oil on canvas, 48 x 72 inches). | © June Edmonds. Courtesy the artist, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, and Laband Art Gallery
JUNE EDMONDS, “Beloved,” 1997 (charcoal and mixed media on paper, 50 x 38 inches). | © June Edmonds. Courtesy the artist, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, and Laband Art Gallery
JUNE EDMONDS, “Dawn,” 1997 (charcoal on paper, 19 x 24 inches). | © June Edmonds. Courtesy the artist, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, and Laband Art Gallery
JUNE EDMONDS, “Alicia,” 1999 (oil on canvas, 36 x 35 inches). | © June Edmonds. Courtesy the artist, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, and Laband Art Gallery
JUNE EDMONDS, “Gee’s Jungle,” 2012 (acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30 inches). | © June Edmonds. Collection of Aiko Sakazaki Anglim, Courtesy the artist, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, and Laband Art Gallery
Installation view of “June Edmonds: Full Spectrum,” Laband Art Gallery, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Calif., 2021-22. | Courtesy Laband Art Gallery
JUNE EDMONDS, “Untitled,” 1982 (oil on canvas, 48 x 72 inches). | © June Edmonds. Collection of Dr. Lucia Edmonds. Courtesy the artist, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, and Laband Art Gallery
JUNE EDMONDS, “Unina,” 2017 (acrylic on canvas mounted on linen, 67 x 74 inches). | © June Edmonds. Michelle Branch & Dale Cook Collection, San Francisco, Calif., Courtesy the artist, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles and Laband Art Gallery
JUNE EDMONDS, “League of Six Nations Flag,” 2019 (acrylic on canvas mounted on linen, 74 x 50 inches). | © June Edmonds. Collection of Robert & Bonnie Friedman, Courtesy the artist, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, and Laband Art Gallery
JUNE EDMONDS, “Shadd Cary Flag,” 2020 (acrylic on linen, 74 x 50 inches). | © June Edmonds. Collection of Michael Kohn & Caroline Styne, Courtesy the artist, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, and Laband Art Gallery
Installation view of “June Edmonds: Full Spectrum,” Laband Art Gallery, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Calif., 2021-22. | Courtesy Laband Art Gallery
TOP IMAGE: JUNE EDMONDS, “For Maria: Lost Cienega,” 2021 (acrylic on canvas, 69 x 104 inches). | © June Edmonds, Courtesy the artist, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, and Laband Art Gallery
FIND MORE about June Edmonds on her website
FIND MORE The solo exhibition “June Edmonds: Joy of Other Suns” was recently on view at Luis De Jesus gallery in Los Angeles
FIND MORE June Edmonds gave the Russell Lecture at Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego on Oct. 27, 2021, discussing in depth specific works, residency experiences, public art projects, and how her practice has developed over the years
BOOKSHELF
A forthcoming exhibition catalog will document “June Edmonds: Full Spectrum” with essays by dr. jill moniz and Laband Art Gallery Director Karen Rapp. Discussing early references and more recent inspirations, June Edmonds has cited “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration” by Isabel Wilkerson, and the catalog “Two Centuries of Black American Art,” from the traveling exhibition organized by David Driskell at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1976.
