Sacred Geometry

Two distinct visions of the American West combine in a dynamic pairing that celebrates the storied frontier and the beauty of life.

By Marcia Biggs

Tampa Bay-based contemporary multimedia artist Ya La’ford, who has ascended to international stardom in recent years, has teamed with the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art for Survey the West: A Cross-Continental Reflection.

In her largest solo show to date, La’ford explores and interprets the American West through her signature geometric and linear labyrinths. The paintings and sculptures are the culmination of a three-month exploration of the American West in 2022 when she was granted an artist residency at the Ogden Contemporary Arts Museum.

La’ford teamed with James Chief Curator Emily Kapes to organize the museum’s first abstract art exhibit, a challenge Kapes says she welcomed with open arms.

For many, the artist’s work may already be familiar. Downtown St. Pete boasts a number of murals she painted as part of the Shine Mural Festival. In 2023, she was even commissioned to paint her symbolic geometric imagery on an IndyCar during the St. Pete Grand Prix. Most recently she was tapped by the city to create a public art monument in honor of the Courageous 12, a group of Black police officers who fought to end segregation within the St. Petersburg Police Department. The monument will be located in the plaza of The Central, a new development in the Edge District.

“Her art explores themes of connection, heritage and the power of art as a universal language,” Kapes offers. “In Survey the West, she took inspiration from the colors, history and habitats of the many places she visited from the Tetons and Yellowstone National Park in Montana, to the canyons and rugged red mountains of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. She even created some of her own individual pigments using dirt and sand from the lands she explored.”

An example of this can be observed in Baby Brother, Lower Antelope, an entirely copper red composition painted with dirt from red rock formations.

Several metal sculptures are responses to specific sites and images the artists came across—Witnessed in the geodesic dome sculpture that hangs from the ceiling. “It was inspired by tumbleweed,” explains Kapes.

“Through her work, we are hoping visitors gain a new perspective on the West,” Kapes says. She has compiled a slideshow, to accompany the exhibit, that includes many photos taken by La’ford of the various destinations that inspired the artworks. “Not everyone who visits the exhibit will be familiar with the iconic sites of the American West,” Kapes elaborates. “These photos should help understand the inspiration.”

For more information on days, hours and programming, go to thejamesmuseum.org