Cliff Notes
Each week, our regional Cliff Notes columnists Jaydra Johnson, Brittney Frantece, Blessing Greer Mathurin, and Quintessa Matranga pick the most exciting events and exhibitions on the West Coast.
George Rouy: The Bleed, Part II
Hauser and Wirth Downtown, Los Angeles, CA
February 18 – June 1, 2025
I walked five miles to see George Rouy’s Bleed II. The entirety of the walk, from Hennessy and Ingalls to Hauser and Wirth, “Immaterial” by SOPHIE played, bled out of my headphones—a heaping social faux pas. As I lovingly gazed at the works, the lyrics “I could be anything I want” crescendoed. The figures in Rouy’s paintings melted into each other, folding and falling in love. “I could be anything I want” repeated; sexless, formless, faceless but demanding attention.
An arm, a leg, a nude figure ranging from deeper hues to paler imprints.
I did not read the press release, but it stood to be essential, deep, oozing with depth. But within the context of “Immaterial” playing on loop in my ears, the works bounced, so to speak. The works danced. The paintings almost promised a transmission of boundaries.
The lyrics “im-ma-ma-material” kept drawing me deeper into each painting, and they held me in that immaterialism. I saw a situationship, a summer party, winter warehouse rave, and time attempting to erode. But the paintings stood steadfast, free, exploring, and open.
It felt nice to be in the middle of things with George Rouy. It felt beautiful that in the finiteness of the paintings the middle of things was celebrated, archived, and amplified.
Reflection: How do you find peace in the middle of personal transformation?
Yorgos Lanthimos: Photographs
WEBBER, Los Angeles, CA
March 29 – May 24, 2025
I walked 3 more miles to WEBBER to see Yorgos Lanthimos: Photographs. I tried to get in before the talk so I could just be with the work, but I was turned away. I walked around a bit and then returned to find a line down the block. Lanthimos is well known for his delicate The Lobster(2015), Poor Things (2023), and The Killing of a Sacred Deer(2015).
Despite the celebrity of it all, despite trying to avoid a film bro ex or two, what truly astonished me was the sincerity of each image. The absurdity is still there, but something more is as well, something in tandem with William Eggleston. There are pronounced isolations: imprints on a leather couch, heels peeking from under door frames, Emma Stone crouched over a toilet. There is a heightened reality defining each private, intimate moment. The roof of a car obstructed by a highway divider feels cheeky, like a lover trying to catch a glimpse—and a missed connection. It’s incredible, the space Lanthimos leaves for the viewer to project.
Through this absence, the dialogue that would play between characters is replaced with the dialogue between audience and Lanthimos. I walked to what feels like the interiority of a film, able to pick, point, and apply references to my life and emotional palettes. In this way, it’s surreal, the Sontag instance of surrealism. Lanthimos creates a duplicate world, but in this one, you are also a character.
Reflection: What song will you be singing beautifully?