Beverly Fishman’s work might appear enticing and harmless, but one need only scratch the surface before something more murky comes bubbling up.
At Gavlak gallery, Fishman's show, ‘Love Letter to LA’, explores the marketing of pharmaceuticals to an increasingly medicated public. These alluring, ultra-polished wall reliefs rendered in urethane paint seek to make tangible the physical and mental states of pain, anxiety and wellness. They also critique the pharmaceutical industry in an era of increasing agitation, addiction and mental health issues.
Beverly Fishman, Untitled (Pain, ADHD, Pain, Pain), 2021, urethane paint on wood. Courtesy of the artist and GAVLAK Los Angeles | Palm Beach.
Visually, it’s a hard-edged minimalism indebted to mid-1960s California modern art, including the Finish Fetish movement and the vibrant palette of early-career Eva Hesse, before she deserted colour entirely.
Fishman is best known for multidisciplinary work exploring technological, scientific and biological systems of perception and representation. She seeks to provoke constructive conversations about the complexities in the medical industry, and how individuals perceive their physical and mental health, and fashion their identities.
Top: Beverly Fishman, Untitled (Depression, Pain), 2021, urethane paint on wood. Above: Installation view of Beverly Fishman: 'Love Letter to LA' at Gavlak, Los Angeles. Courtesy of GAVLAK Los Angeles | Palm Beach.
The polymer sheen and ovoid shapes of the artist’s new work appear to reference tablets and capsules, divided and dosed; their alluring forms demonstrate how both sickness and health can be marketed via seduction. The rosy hues reference how women are particularly vulnerable to gendered pharmaceutical campaigns that have the potential to misdiagnose their targets; for example, the documented phenomenon of heart attacks in women misidentified as anxiety.
In paintings with hard-hitting titles like Untitled (Pain, Anxiety, Anxiety) (2020) and Untitled (Pain, Asthma, Anxiety) (2021), the artist’s slick handling of matte and satin finishes prompts optical uncertainty as to whether forms are convex or concave, two- or three-dimensional. This jumble of positive and negative effects reflects on the increasingly common practice of polypharmacy, in which an individual patient is prescribed simultaneous courses of medication with potentially harmful combined effects.
Aesthetically, Fishman’s new pieces glow with exuberance and optimism, yet they imply the very opposite. Beneath lurks something sinister, obscured by their glossy, beguiling, pseudo-neon gleam.
Beverly Fishman, Untitled (Pain, Anxiety, Anxiety), 2020, urethane paint on wood. Courtesy of the artist and GAVLAK Los Angeles | Palm Beach.
Beverly Fishman, detail shot of Untitled (Anxiety, One Missing Dose), 2020. Courtesy of the artist and GAVLAK Los Angeles | Palm Beach.
Beverly Fishman, Untitled (Anxiety and Stress), 2020, urethane paint on wood. Courtesy of the artist and GAVLAK Los Angeles | Palm Beach.
Beverly Fishman, Untitled (Epilepsy, Pain, Chronic Pain, Opiate Dependence), 2021, urethane paint on wood. Courtesy of the artist and GAVLAK Los Angeles | Palm Beach.
Beverly Fishman, detail shot of Untitled (Insomnia, Pain, ADHD, Pain), 2020. Courtesy of the artist and GAVLAK Los Angeles | Palm Beach.
Beverly Fisherman, detail shot of Untitled (Anxiety, Three Missing Doses), 2020. Courtesy of the artist and GAVLAK Los Angeles | Palm Beach.
Installation view of ’Love Letter to LA’ at Gavlak, Los Angeles. Courtesy of GAVLAK Los Angeles | Palm Beach.
INFORMATION
‘Love Letter to LA’ until 5 June 2021 at Gavlak gallery, Los Angeles
ADDRESS
1700 South Santa Fe Avenue, Suite 440
Los Angeles, CA 90021
-
A major Frida Kahlo exhibition is coming to the Tate Modern next yearTate’s 2026 programme includes 'Frida: The Making of an Icon', which will trace the professional and personal life of countercultural figurehead Frida Kahlo
-
Stay at Nujuma, a forward-facing sanctuary in the Red Sea regionNujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, sets the bar high as one of Saudi Arabia’s ultra-luxury destinations
-
Pierre Yovanovitch’s set and costumes bring a contemporary edge to Korea National Opera in SeoulFrench interior architect Pierre Yovanovitch makes his second operatic design foray, for The Marriage of Figaro in Seoul
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella ValleyWill Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
-
Cowboys and Queens: Jane Hilton's celebration of culture on the fringesPhotographer Jane Hilton captures cowboy and drag queen culture for a new exhibition and book
-
New gallery Rajiv Menon Contemporary brings contemporary South Asian and diasporic art to Los Angeles'Exhibitionism', the inaugural showcase at Rajiv Menon Contemporary gallery in Hollywood, examines the boundaries of intimacy
-
Helmut Lang showcases his provocative sculptures in a modernist Los Angeles home‘Helmut Lang: What remains behind’ sees the artist and former fashion designer open a new show of works at MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House
-
In ‘The Last Showgirl’, nostalgia is a drug like any otherGia Coppola takes us to Las Vegas after the party has ended in new film starring Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
-
‘American Photography’: centuries-spanning show reveals timely truthsAt the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Europe’s first major survey of American photography reveals the contradictions and complexities that have long defined this world superpower
-
Tasneem Sarkez's heady mix of kitsch, Arabic and Americana hits LondonArtist Tasneem Sarkez draws on an eclectic range of references for her debut solo show, 'White-Knuckle' at Rose Easton
-
Don't miss these seven artists at Frieze Los AngelesFrieze LA returns for its sixth edition, running 20-23 February, showcasing over 100 galleries from more than 20 countries, as well as local staples featuring the city’s leading creatives
