Louise Alexander Gallery/AF Projects is proud to present Blue with Exceptions, an exhibition showcasing new works by John Divola from his ongoing George Air Force Base (GAFB) series.

Divola's photographs capture the abandoned housing area at the decommissioned George Air Force Base in Victorville, California, revealing scenes of decay and dereliction. Crumbling walls expose layers of paint and plaster, while Divola’s gestural interventions in the form of painted shapes introduce a surprising contrast. The work captures the tension between observing the specific decay of a place and the insistent presence of abstract art.

Enso: 36 Right-Handed Circumference Gestures

In this particular work, Divola reflects on the intersection of time, space, and his physical presence. The piece consists of 36 silver gelatin contact prints, each depicting an attempt to draw a circle with spray paint, traced by Divola’s right arm. The images were captured over a period of two months, from June 7th to August 12th, 2018, in different rooms of the abandoned housing area. The photographs act as a personal index, tracing both the place and time of creation, as well as Divola’s physical being in that space.

Divola draws inspiration from the 1995 film Smoke, in which Harvey Keitel's character, Auggie, photographs the same corner outside his shop every day. Although the photographs seem identical, Auggie insists they are all unique. This sentiment resonates in Divola's work, where each gesture, each circle, is a distinct moment and trace of the artist's presence.

Divola, born in Los Angeles in 1949, earned his MFA from UCLA in 1974, studying under renowned photographer Robert Heinecken. He has taught photography and art at various institutions, including California Institute of the Arts and, since 1988, at the University of California, Riverside.

Since 1975, Divola has had numerous solo exhibitions worldwide, including at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2013), Palm Springs Art Museum (2019), and Kunstverein Freiburg, Germany. His works are housed in prestigious collections such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Divola has received multiple awards, including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship.