A New Exhibition in Los Angeles Presents “Objects as Aura”

Closing this Sunday is an exhibition in Los Angeles, called SIZED, that aims — as LA residents emerge into a newly reopened city — to recapture some of the magic of in-person, pre-pandemic events. Curated by Alexander May of Offsite.Studio, with all items available to purchase, the exhibition gathers together hundreds of objects that address our desire to collect. I described the exhibition to Monica, jokingly, as “pure vibes” but in fact that is the point: “For the central installation, [May] gathered numerous works upon a low-rise stage, calling attention to the relationship between objects and our performative lives, [treating] site as medium and object as aura.”

Many of the pieces are borrowed from collectibles sites around town, like JF Chen, The Window, and NFS, and the objects on view are a true mix: vintage Verner Panton chairs, anonymous French stools, a new, site-specific work by Sterling Ruby, a smattering of furniture from Jonathan Saunders’s collection, some of Lykke Li’s musical instruments from her personal collection. SIZED is debuting several design launches as well, including Cactus Store’s new furniture line and a Studio Shamshiri chair created in collaboration with John Williams. On the mezzanine is Alex Tieghi-Walker TIWA Select–curated tea room and mezcal bar with its own selection of commissioned objects, including lights by Minjae Kim and a collection of limited-edition mezcal copitas by artists like Simone Bodmer-Turner. Open to the public, no appointment necessary — doesn’t it feel good to say that?

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