La Luz de Jesus Gallery is pleased to present California Mythos, an exhibition by Amanda Adomaitis on view from July 11-August 2nd, 2020.

The creatures that Amanda Adomaitis brings to life through her work are as much character study as an investigation into identity and the ways in which we interact with each other. Just as early societies used mythology to explain the inexplicable, modern “creature” sightings serve as a reflection of the deepest parts of our psyche. As disparate people describe their encounters with these mythical monsters using many of the same features, those commonalities must point in some way to our greatest fears and perhaps, even desires. Amanda’s ceramic sculptures are a meditation on those traits that we find most compelling and the combinations therein that haunt us most. Across all of her work, Amanda is guided by her fascination with the concept of the uncanny and the notion of feeling as action: the simultaneous reaction of being drawn to something while also repelled by it. Her work is a study in contrasts assembling features and body parts across species along with animated expressions and influences from her childhood. The colors are chosen carefully from a palette inspired by candy and confections, bringing beauty and cheer to what might otherwise be grotesque. Throughout this series, Amanda focused on the rich and varied animal kingdom of her hometown of Los Angeles: both real and imagined.

Amanda Adomaitis originally studied literature and that love of character and story has continued to inform her work across varied disciplines ever since. For almost two decades now, Amanda has worked in the fashion industry both in her hometown of Los Angeles and in London. While studying at Central Saint Martins and the London College of Fashion where she obtained her MA in Fashion Design, she found her creative voice. It is during these studies that she first started to imagine and illustrate her own creatures and hasn’t stopped since. Amanda lives in Los Angeles now with her husband and her French Bulldog, Charlie who is the best creature she knows.

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