THE Magazine - Los Angeles

The work of these three artists shares a preoccupation with fantasy realms, each artist offering his or her own distinct invitation to fathom the rich imagery of their inner voyaging. Josh Dorman uses topographic, antique maps; old textbooks; and antique ledger pages to help compose worlds that he teases out of an internal logic and then presents those worlds as puzzles to be deciphered by the viewer. Julie Speed's two new series entitled Supplemental Air and Warflowers deal with her love of collecting found objects with exquisite imagery. She combines those two to create a new and utterly seamless piece. Her meticulous arranging and rearranging of the collage materials until they attain impeccable, finished edges produces flawless images of mythical creatures and absurd realities. The viewer needs to look repeatedly to discern that these collages, in some cases minimally hand-tinted with gouache, are not in fact etchings. Each of Speed's pieces has a story behind the tireless manipulations that have gone into the final result, so captivating are they in the originality of the juxtaposition of materials. Carol Es, a native Angeleno and self-taught painter, has titled her show She Dreamed She Remembered. Her work explores her Jewish identity, and some images obliquely reference the tribulations of childhood trauma. Her newest works are witty, psychological portraits, and while many pieces continue to describe a painful past, the very process of creating them serves as a release from that pain. Es uses both Hebrew and English texts and sometimes embroiders directly onto her canvases, thus adding further texture to what are already complex surfaces. The application of string becomes a literal thread that runs through her life's memories and ties them all together. These artworks embody multiple transitions in her art making, along with humor, pain, angst, and reverie.