Installation view
Los Angeles Water School (LAWS), 2024
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon Los Angeles Water School (LAWS)

Morán Morán is pleased to announce Oscar Tuazon’s solo exhibition, Los Angeles Water School (LAWS), marking the artist’s first show with the gallery and first solo exhibition in Los Angeles since 2016’s Oscar Tuazon: Hammer Projects at the Hammer Museum.

Los Angeles Water School (LAWS) builds upon Tuazon’s ongoing investigations into the nature of water, its physical properties, and its intricate connections to the environment and architecture. Since 2016, Tuazon has been developing LAWS, an evolving educational and mobile project that uses water as a unifying thread to link people, places, materials, and objects. Returning from the resistance camp at Standing Rock, Tuazon invited a group of artists, water protectors and activists to create an experimental architectural project adjacent to the LA River. For 18 months, LAWS occupied an empty lot in downtown Los Angeles, hosting events, roundtable conversations, and exhibitions. Using the tools of public art to create places of collective learning around water, Water School expands beyond individual authorship, representing a shift from solitary studio art practice towards a collaborative form of performance architecture.

Five years later, Tuazon reflects on the dynamic collective work of LAWS with an exhibition of architectural fragments, works on paper, and new paintings. Water remains central to these new works, with Tuazon finding inspiration in paper marbling techniques that create patterns by floating pigments on the water’s surface. In his series of works on canvas and paper, he captures the movement of water in color on a flat surface, treating pigments as sculptural components that engage with their surroundings in a spatial manner.

Los Angeles Water School (LAWS) is a testament to Oscar Tuazon’s ongoing commitment to exploring the multifaceted nature of water and its profound impact on our environment and society. Through this exhibition, Tuazon celebrates the collaborative spirit that has defined LAWS since its inception. By engaging with various communities and drawing on collective experiences, Tuazon’s work transcends traditional art practices, creating a powerful dialogue around the significance of water in our world. This exhibition serves as both a reflection on the past and a continuation of Tuazon’s journey, highlighting the enduring relevance of water as a central theme in his art and its capacity to connect people, places, and ideas across time and space.

LAWS, a publication from DoPe Press, will accompany this exhibition.

Oscar Tuazon’s Los Angeles Water School (LAWS) is part of PST ART: Art & Science Collide. This landmark regional event explores the intersections of art and science, both past and present. PST ART is presented by Getty.

Dates

September 07 - November 02, 2024

Opening Reception

Saturday, September 7, 5-8pm

Location

641 N Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90004

Artist

Oscar Tuazon

Installation Views

All images: Los Angeles Water School (LAWS), 2024, installation views. Courtesy of Morán Morán

Installation view
Los Angeles Water School (LAWS), 2024
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Artworks

Oscar Tuazon
LAWS: Los Angeles Water School, 2024
C-print mounted on aluminum
24 x 32 inches
(61 x 81.3 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
The Evening Redness in the West, 2024
C-print mounted on aluminum
47 x 72 x 5 inches
(119.4 x 182.9 x 12.7 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
No Free Air, 2024
Acrylic and spray enamel on canvas
48 x 48 x 1 1/2 inches
(121.9 x 121.9 x 3.8 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
Vapors, 2024
Acrylic and enamel on canvas
48 x 48 x 1 1/2 inches
(121.9 x 121.9 x 3.8 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
Dr. Water, 2024
Acrylic, marbling ink and spray enamel on industrial tarp
46 3/4 x 46 3/4 x 2 1/2 inches
(118.7 x 118.7 x 6.3 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
Water Laws, 2024
Acrylic, marbling ink and spray enamel on industrial tarp
46 3/4 x 46 3/4 x 2 1/2 inches
(118.7 x 118.7 x 6.3 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
Fun Addiction, 2024
Acrylic, marbling ink and spray enamel on canvas
46 3/4 x 46 3/4 x 2 1/2 inches
(118.7 x 118.7 x 6.3 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
Shadow Action, 2024
India ink on tent fabric on canvas
46 3/4 x 46 3/4 x 2 1/2 inches
(118.7 x 118.7 x 6.3 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
Totality, 2024
Acrylic and oil on charred Western Red Cedar
39 x 39 x 3 1/2 inches
(99.1 x 99.1 x 8.9 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
Naked View, 2024
Acrylic and oil on charred Western Red Cedar
27 x 27 x 4 inches
(68.6 x 68.6 x 10.2 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
Cedar Spring Water School Window, 2018/2023
Enamel on glass, plywood, steel, aluminum, Douglas fir
75 1/2 x 23 1/4 x 12 inches
(191.8 x 59.1 x 30.5 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
Sun and Moon, 2024
Douglas fir, aluminum, and steel
92 1/2 x 5 3/4 x 19 inches
(235 x 14.6 x 48.3 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
It can Come from Anywhere, 2024
Douglas Fir
79 1/4 x 9 3/4 x 9 1/4 inches
(201.3 x 24.8 x 23.5 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
There is no Shame in Failure, 2024
Charred Douglas Fir, Maple, aluminum, and steel
86 x 18 inches
(218.4 x 45.7 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
Inner Ring, 2024
Latex on Douglas Fir and steel
92 1/2 x 18 inches
(235 x 45.7 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
Rainwater Fountain, 2024
Found water pump with copper
90 1/2 x 23 x 8 1/2 inches
(229.9 x 58.4 x 21.6 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
Joshua Tree, 2024
Marbling ink, enamel, spray paint, acrylic paint on found topographical map
31 x 25 5/8 x 1 1/4 inches
(78.7 x 65.1 x 3.2 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
Agua Caliente, 2024
Marbling ink, enamel, spray paint, acrylic paint on found topographical map
31 x 25 5/8 x 1 1/4 inches
(78.7 x 65.1 x 3.2 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán

Oscar Tuazon
West Berdoo, 2024
Marbling ink, enamel, spray paint, acrylic paint on found topographical map
31 x 25 5/8 x 1 1/4 inches
(78.7 x 65.1 x 3.2 cm)
Courtesy of Morán Morán