Steve Turner is pleased to present Top Five Buddy Cop Films, an exhibition of collaborations between five pairs of Los Angeles-based artists, curated by Santi Vernetti. The exhibition features works by Amanda Ross-Ho & Diedrick Brackens, Larry Johnson & Adam Stamp, Lisa Anne Auerbach & Joel Kyack, Kerry Tribe & Edgar Bryan, Lila de Magalhaes & Roni Shneior.

The works of Amanda Ross-Ho and Diedrick Brackens mine the emotional and conceptual depths of things: from trinkets and domestic objects to the tools and devices of their respective studio practices. Ross-Ho’s works explore the language of design, art, and consumer culture through the complication of scale and the thoughtful consideration of art’s mechanisms of display and dissemination. Brackens’ similarly explores the intimacy of objects through an oeuvre that delves into the history of weaving. Both artists share an interest in fabric and textiles, as well as the role of texts relationship to sculpture and images.

Larry Johnson and Adam Stamp are often described as quintessential Los Angeles artists. Armed with incisive wits, Stamp and Johnson shrewdly observe and critique the aesthetic makeup and cultural history of their shared city. Johnson’s work often refers to popular culture, graphic and commercial design, advertising, and personal narratives, resulting in images that are as richly layered in process as they are in meaning. Stamp, who studied under Johnson, also addresses personal histories in his work, providing astute, humorous, and hauntingly strange ruminations on the role of the artist and the state of the aesthetic experience.

When Joel Kyack and Lisa Anne Auerbach moved into their home, Auerbach discovered a shed in the backyard that she quickly converted into an exhibition venue called The Meow. The first exhibition was The Dirty Poke: a tattoo shop, performance, and installation by Kyack and Matthew Johnson. Auerbach’s diverse practice lies at the intersection of visual art, self-publishing, political activism, and crafting. Her work processes the political through humorous insights into popular culture, personal history, and global events. Kyack works in a variety of mediums and found objects that result in complex, bold, humorous, and visually/figuratively colorful installations that explore the depths of the human psyche.

On paper, the practices of Kerry Tribe and Edgar Bryan couldn’t be more dissimilar. Tribe works mostly in film, video, and installation, while Bryan works mostly in painting, book design, and clay. What they share is a collection of overlapping interests and approaches to making. Both explore the boundaries and possibilities of gesture and representation within their chosen mediums. They also share a rich history of collaboration with other artists, friends, and strangers.

The works of Lila de Magalhaes and Roni Shneior share an appreciation for the handling, massaging, and molding of materials. The two have known each other since relocating to Los Angeles from different countries around 2011. Today they have neighboring studios. Magalhaes’ works are steeped in references to magical subjects, but they also approach quotidian and natural experiences with a sense of bizarre wonder. Shneior’s work similarly exudes a peculiar sensibility, casting eerie glows onto banal subjects like pickles or a planter near a gas station pump. Whether working in textile, paint, or clay, both artists always manage the difficult task of representing the process of becoming or appearing—the state of transition as a state of being.