Egan Frantz’s show, “The Oat Paintings,” provides a possible opening into a discussion of the nature of political art: how we distinguish it from among the myriad latent political aspects of most other art; how we recognize and define its characteristics; how it succeeds or fails on a political level, and the extent to which its formal characteristics can supersede its political content. In other words, can a work of art be deemed successful if it fails to deliver on its stated (through text or title) political intent?

By Annabel Osberg

“Capriccio,” Michael Dopp’s show in Roberts & Tilton’s small secondary gallery, features 18 ink drawings brimming with symbolism. From afar, their washy Old Masterish monochromaticity suggests pictures one would find hanging in a musty museum or library display case rather than on the walls of a contemporary gallery. Closer observation reveals that the venerable academic semblance belies impishly fanciful compositions. 

By Andrew Beradini

The two-by-four skeleton of a curious structure designed by architect Joakim Dahlqvist stands almost naked in the center of a modern white-walled and concrete-floored gallery. This half-built house has been painted in a bright hue that evokes the color of a blueprint and is cutely called “Safe Harbor” by its manufacturer, and work by twelve artists have been hung outside and inside its walls.

By Alberto Gonzalez

Roberts & Tilton Unveils their new exhibition, New Babylon. On a rainy evening in Los Angeles, a wet crowd entered Roberts & Tilton's opening reception for New Babylon, a group show featuring fourteen local artists. Walking in, they immediately saw a bright blue sculptural framework of painted wood by architect Joakim Dahlqvist. The freestanding structure, which takes up most of the gallery, serves as a base upon which all the other pieces of art are displayed and even embedded, and its design allows viewers to wander in and out.