KELLY WALL

          Vitrified Values is a California story. It’s author, Kelly Wall, is a native Angeleno, daughter of sun and sand and oranges and avocados. But this is a tale of new California, of burnt icons and scarred landscapes.

          One shelf work, I wish I could remember these dreams and what they are trying to tell me, presents a display of souvenirs from this new California. Each hand built ceramic mug on the left references a threatened or decimated California space – Malibu, the Angeles National Forest, the Getty Center, Six Flags, along with mugs for New Low (the exhibition’s host space) and a make-believe roadside attraction Prometheus’ Pit Stop, a reference to the Greek Titan who built humans from clay and stole the fire from the gods to give to humanity. The right of the shelf features cast keychains of similar types of places – Disney-Land/Cal-Arts, not Disneyland, (in the form of Mickey Rat), Paramount Ranch, Dante’s Motel – another made-up place, and the recently burned down Bachelor mansion in Calabasas. The center of the work is a screen printed quote from Steinbeck, with obvious references to heat and solitude, with a rat lapping water from a spilled bucket.

          Another shelf work, Reliquary of a Travelling Salesman (pitches, paydays & pyres), features a hand written page seemingly ripped from a notepad with rules for telling a campfire story. This is surrounded by more mugs, “Talk More Now”, this time drawn from a former newscast performance collaboration by Wall and lydon frank lettuce. A small step stool sits below the shelf, you can flip the centerpiece to reveal an image of wildlife threatened by fires.