An art project by Vincent Lamouroux whitewashes a hotel and it’s neighboring palm trees in Silver Lake.
Don’t be surprised if you are driving down Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake and are startled by a vision of white palm trees on the horizon, writes Mallery Roberts Morgan, the LA-based design writer and curator who spent many years living in Paris and now notices an influx of French creatives moving here.
Among them: art collectors Nicolas Libert and partner Emmanuel Renoird, owners of the two year-old gallery-come-store named (with Gallic obliqueness) Please Do Not Enter, who have put funds into the creation of a Christo-like conceptual project by artist Vincent Lamouroux.
As of Sunday, April 26th the site-specific installation titled ‘Projection’ by artist Vincent Lamouroux will cover an entire building – as well as the billboard and palm trees that surround it – with an opaque white lime wash.
Located at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Bates Avenue, the derelict Sunset Pacific Motel, known by locals as the ‘Bates Motel’, will be “re-imagined,” says Lamoroux in his artist’s statement, “as an architectural model transposed in an urban environment. . . a transitioning façade, an abandoned motel as a commonplace, archetype of the constant mobility of contemporary society.”
Although entrance onto the property is not allowed, passersby can approach the installation on Bates Avenue and there will be an opening event on April 26th from 3:00pm – 6pm.
‘It’s our gift to Los Angeles,’ says Nicolas Libert of the installation he and partner Emmanuel Renoird commissioned and primarily personally funded. Generous support for the project was also provided by Creative Migration, FLAX (France Los Angeles Exchange), Lycée International de Los Angeles, and Institut Français.
The two French natives were so intrigued by the historic architecture, cultural diversity and emerging art scene of downtown Los Angeles they relocated here and opened their concept store gallery downtown called Please Do Not Enter.
They are part of a handful of small commerce French entrepreneurs opening businesses in DTLA – restaurants, art galleries, bakeries and more. They all share a passion for the historic architecture as well as the adventure of being part of downtown’s rapid transformation.
Having amassed an important outdoor sculpture garden on the grounds of their home in Normandy in France, Libert and Renoird wanted to extend their passion as art patrons to their newly adopted city.
They view Please Do Not Enter as more than just a curated store gallery but also as a supportive platform for contemporary creation. ‘Projection’ is the first in series of outdoor installations and commissioned works they hope to help produce and sponsor.
In case you are worried about the wellbeing of the palm trees, the ecologically safe lime paint will naturally erode over the course of the following weeks.
PROJECTION
By Vincent LAMOUROUX
4301 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90029
PUBLIC OPENING – Sunday, April 26, 2015
3:00 – 6:00 PM
4301 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90029
Bates Avenue at Sunset Blvd. and the Silver Lake Jewish Independent Community Center
FREE ADMISSION