October 30, 2025
James Casebere and Jose Dávila
The Poetic Dimension
Sean Kelly, Los Angeles
September 13 - November 1, 2025
James Casebere and Jose Dávila
The Poetic Dimension pairs photographer James Casebere and sculptor Jose Dávila, linking them together because of their shared interests in Mexican modernist architect Luis Barragán. Luis Barragán (1902-1988) was a revered figure in the architecture world. His buildings, many of which were residential, were filled with light and color. He melded the traditional aesthetics of Mexico with modernist principles to create spaces that were about form, structure and the relationship between inside and out. Both Casebere and Dávila are modernists whose formal practices delve into the relationships between planes of color and the spaces created between objects — either real or constructed. Seeing their works presented together under the umbrella of Barragán's architecture makes for a wonderful trio of interrelationships.
Jose Dávila trained as an architect but later turned to sculpture and installation. Using a wide range of materials, he fashions objects that are simultaneously beautiful and uncanny. In the gallery are four recent sculptures that investigate structural equilibrium and restraint. Joint Effort (2024) juxtaposes two pale, terra-cotta colored cuboids, one serves as a base for a rounded boulder and the other rests on top of the stone. The entire work is encircled and held together by a white canvas strap and metal ratchet. The work is sturdy, yet precarious. Fundamental Concern (2025) is equally playful and solemn. Four light blue concrete rectangular forms paralleling a minimalist sculpture are piled on top of each other. The top two blocks are perched at an angle between a small off-white rock that resembles an outstretched tongue. Acapulco Chair Stack (2022) combines numerous Acapulco chairs that have been stripped of their netting so all that remains are the green-blue frames. These metal forms are intertwined to create a sculpture that supports three stones at different levels within the interior space.
On the walls surrounding Dávila's floor-based sculptures are James Casebere's color photographs. Casebere has had a long career constructing and then photographing table-top models drawn from architectural and cinematic sources. His photographs often depict sculptural spaces that have been carefully lit to maximize light and shadow. Whether interior or exterior spaces, these constructions are created with exacting detail, though often designed to be viewed from a specific vantage point where he places the camera. In these images, Casebere uses Barragán's architecture as a point of departure. He does not recreate Barragán's spaces verbatim, but rather captures the essence of receding corridors and the shapes of light across walls and floors to emphasize transcendence. Vestibule (2016) appears to be an impossible space with irregularly shaped walls that converge toward the back of the image. On the right, a light pink wall intersects with those that are off white, in contrast to a dark floor. A yellow square and rectangle stand out from the white walls as anomalies — random shapes that appear to be illuminated by an invisible skylight. The place is evocative and welcoming, yet spatially confusing.
An internet search reveals an image of Barragán's actual studio that features a spacious room with a couch and table. The emphasis is on warmth as the room is flooded with yellow light. In Casebere's rendition, Empty Studio (2017), the furniture is gone. The ceiling has yellow beams and the floor is made of simple wooden panels that recede toward the back wall. An evocative, geometric shape created by light coming in through the window at right is positioned near the middle of the image, hugging the back wall and floor. Casebere's other photographs depict exteriors: Courtyard with Orange Wall and El Eco Courtyard (both 2017) reduce Barragán's architecture into geometric shapes and flat planes of color. The blue sky in relation to a yellow column and light brown facade becomes a geometric abstraction, as do the green and orange shapes in Courtyard with Orange Wall.
While Casebere's and Dávila's works resonate individually, when shown together, they become an unusual yet thoughtful homage to Barragán. The exhibition creates a conversation not only about how to interpret the built environment, but how it can be used to generate abstractions. The exhibition illustrates how architecture shares many of the same formal concerns as sculpture and photography.
The Poetic Dimension
Sean Kelly, Los Angeles
September 13 - November 1, 2025
James Casebere and Jose Dávila
The Poetic Dimension pairs photographer James Casebere and sculptor Jose Dávila, linking them together because of their shared interests in Mexican modernist architect Luis Barragán. Luis Barragán (1902-1988) was a revered figure in the architecture world. His buildings, many of which were residential, were filled with light and color. He melded the traditional aesthetics of Mexico with modernist principles to create spaces that were about form, structure and the relationship between inside and out. Both Casebere and Dávila are modernists whose formal practices delve into the relationships between planes of color and the spaces created between objects — either real or constructed. Seeing their works presented together under the umbrella of Barragán's architecture makes for a wonderful trio of interrelationships.
Jose Dávila trained as an architect but later turned to sculpture and installation. Using a wide range of materials, he fashions objects that are simultaneously beautiful and uncanny. In the gallery are four recent sculptures that investigate structural equilibrium and restraint. Joint Effort (2024) juxtaposes two pale, terra-cotta colored cuboids, one serves as a base for a rounded boulder and the other rests on top of the stone. The entire work is encircled and held together by a white canvas strap and metal ratchet. The work is sturdy, yet precarious. Fundamental Concern (2025) is equally playful and solemn. Four light blue concrete rectangular forms paralleling a minimalist sculpture are piled on top of each other. The top two blocks are perched at an angle between a small off-white rock that resembles an outstretched tongue. Acapulco Chair Stack (2022) combines numerous Acapulco chairs that have been stripped of their netting so all that remains are the green-blue frames. These metal forms are intertwined to create a sculpture that supports three stones at different levels within the interior space.
On the walls surrounding Dávila's floor-based sculptures are James Casebere's color photographs. Casebere has had a long career constructing and then photographing table-top models drawn from architectural and cinematic sources. His photographs often depict sculptural spaces that have been carefully lit to maximize light and shadow. Whether interior or exterior spaces, these constructions are created with exacting detail, though often designed to be viewed from a specific vantage point where he places the camera. In these images, Casebere uses Barragán's architecture as a point of departure. He does not recreate Barragán's spaces verbatim, but rather captures the essence of receding corridors and the shapes of light across walls and floors to emphasize transcendence. Vestibule (2016) appears to be an impossible space with irregularly shaped walls that converge toward the back of the image. On the right, a light pink wall intersects with those that are off white, in contrast to a dark floor. A yellow square and rectangle stand out from the white walls as anomalies — random shapes that appear to be illuminated by an invisible skylight. The place is evocative and welcoming, yet spatially confusing.
An internet search reveals an image of Barragán's actual studio that features a spacious room with a couch and table. The emphasis is on warmth as the room is flooded with yellow light. In Casebere's rendition, Empty Studio (2017), the furniture is gone. The ceiling has yellow beams and the floor is made of simple wooden panels that recede toward the back wall. An evocative, geometric shape created by light coming in through the window at right is positioned near the middle of the image, hugging the back wall and floor. Casebere's other photographs depict exteriors: Courtyard with Orange Wall and El Eco Courtyard (both 2017) reduce Barragán's architecture into geometric shapes and flat planes of color. The blue sky in relation to a yellow column and light brown facade becomes a geometric abstraction, as do the green and orange shapes in Courtyard with Orange Wall.
While Casebere's and Dávila's works resonate individually, when shown together, they become an unusual yet thoughtful homage to Barragán. The exhibition creates a conversation not only about how to interpret the built environment, but how it can be used to generate abstractions. The exhibition illustrates how architecture shares many of the same formal concerns as sculpture and photography.