Laddie John Dill: Contained Radiance

Contained Radiance L.A. Laddie John Dill Nye + Brown 2685 S La Cienega Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90034

Nye + Brown is pleased to present an exhibition of new and vintage works

by Laddie John Dill. Dill was an integral figure in Southern California’s “Light and Space” movement, along with such artists as Peter Alexander, Robert Irwin, Craig Kauffman, and James Turrell.

The work in Laddie John Dill’s exhibition “Contained Radiance L.A.” traverses the full spectrum, both in scale and color. The large gallery, roughly 35 x 40 feet, will house one large installation of light and sand. Bisected by two wall-to-wall corridors, this installation will be the first time that viewers will be able to immerse themselves in the center of his work, while four massive avalanches of sand flow toward the center, threatening to consume the viewer in radiating color and crystals of sand.

In the small gallery, Dill has created miniatures of his sand and light installations set upon customized tabletops. Three of the works feature the pristine geometry of glass protruding from what appears to be molten landslides frozen in time. These gems are encircled by alternating cement and glass columns and hand-blown rods of striping color, wagon trains, protectors of and objects of beauty in the Wild West of Culver City.

Dill began working with non-traditional art materials such as glass, neon light, and argon in the late 60s to early 70s. Intrigued by how different materials carried or reflected light, Dill tested the luminosity of said materials by creating “sites,” such as Untitled (1969)—a large installation that was recently acquired by the Museum of Modern Art—that consisted of placing sand over neon tubing and protruding glass. Dill found that sand was a perfect receptacle to illuminate with neon. In Dill’s own words, the reflected light will “give the illusion of piercing through a solid object.”

Laddie John Dill received his BFA from the Chouinard Art Institute in 1968.

Recently, Dill’s work has been included in Neon, Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue, La Maison Rouge, Paris, France; Best Kept Secret, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA; and Pacific Standard Time: Art in Los Angeles 1950-1980, Martin Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany. He is the recipient of two National Endowment Grants, one for painting and one for sculpture. He has also been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship Grant.

Light Sentence (Warm White), 1970-71 Argon gas, 7 sections of hand-colored glass tubing in varying colors 87 in x 12 mm

Light Sentence (Argon River), 1970-71 Argon gas, 7 sections of hand-colored glass tubing in varying colors 84 in x 12 mm

Light Sentence (Ruby Red), 1970-71 Argon gas with mercury, 48 two-inch sections of hand-colored glass tubing in varying colors 96 in x 12 mm

Light Sentence (Saffron), 1970-71 Argon gas, 6 sections of hand-colored glass tubing in varying colors 87 in x 12 mm

Light Sentence (Apple Green), 1970-71 Argon gas, 8 sections of hand-colored glass tubing in varying colors 85½ in x 12 mm

Azur Volcano, 2012 Cement, volcanic ash, glass, argon with mercury, and transformer on steel base 42 ¼ x 42 ½ x 24 ½ in

Little MoMA, 2012 Cement, glass, sand, steel, argon with mercury, and transformer on steel base 42 ½ x 46 Ÿ x 34 in

Mercury Rock. 2011 Cement, volcanic ash, glass, argon with mercury, and transformer on steel base 42 ½ x 49 ¼ x 21 ¼ in

Volcanic Dance, 2012 Cement, glass, steel, argon and transformer 42 ¾ x 29 ¼ x 29 ¼ in

White Light Trap, 1969 Cement, glass, and argon 94 x 4 x 3 Âź in

Argon Light Trap, 2012 Cement, glass, and argon 94 x 4 x 3 ½ in

Triple Argon Light Trap, 2012 Cement, glass, and argon 94 x 7 ½ x 3 Ÿ in

Red Tide Intersection, 2012 Neon, argon, various grades of sand, and eight sheets of ½ inch clear glass 36 x 264 x 264 in

Red Tide Intersection, 2012 Neon, argon, various grades of sand, and eight sheets of ½ inch clear glass 36 x 264 x 264 in

Red Tide Intersection (detail), 2012 Neon, argon, various grades of sand, and eight sheets of ½ inch clear glass 36 x 264 x 264 in

Red Tide Intersection (detail), 2012 Neon, argon, various grades of sand, and eight sheets of ½ inch clear glass 36 x 264 x 264 in

NYE + BROWN 2685 SOUTH LA CIENEGA BLVD. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90034 WWW.NYEPLUSBROWN.COM 310 559 5215 THIS BOOK IS PUBLISHED IN CONJUNTION WITH THE EXHIBITION: LADDIE JOHN DILL: CONTAINED RADIANCE L.A. APRIL 21, 2012 PHOTOGRAPHY: ROBERT WEDEMEYER DESIGN: KYLE LAMAR & KAYLAN GEORGE MUSIC: ENNIO MORRICONE: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY THEME