Rosson Crow

Ocean Front Property in Arizona, 2022
925 Silverado Street (The Balling Block)

12' 11" x 42' 3"
Sheryl and Bob Scarano – Wall Sponsors

Rosson Crow’s mural, Ocean Front Property in Arizona, is a fantastical scene depicting a fictitious beach front location in the landlocked state of Arizona, a fabricated imagining given the geography of the southwestern state. Technicolor hues and psychedelic colors create a playful menagerie filled with all the fun trappings of a beach day including colorful umbrellas, coolers, and floats. While the work resonates as joyous and celebratory upon first encounter, darker undertones are present as the viewer comes to realize that the scene is completely abandoned, devoid of any physical human presence. Emphasizing this dichotomy, Crow plays at the precarious balance between the reverie of human life and the cost of such, connecting us to the fact that the natural beauty in La Jolla is also a reminder of the threat of rising sea levels. Evoking concerns around the eminent specter of climate change, the work hints at the delicate balance to both enjoy and preserve the world around us, striking at what it is to be human today. 

Rosson Crow uses a mixed media painting practice to create immersive compositions, steeped in an air of nostalgia, to explore how historical events are viewed differently over time, juxtaposing artifacts and icons from various eras. She was born in 1982 in Dallas, Texas. She received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York in 2004 and went on to receive an MFA from Yale in 2006. Through densely layered, large-scale paintings, she uses a combination of acrylic, spray paint, photo-transfer, oil, and enamel to evoke a system of dichotomies and symbiosis rooted in historical allusion and theatrical illusion. 

Crow’s work has been featured in many notable institutions. She has had solo exhibition at MOCA Tucson, AZ; Musée Régional d’Art Contemporain de Sérignan, France; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH; and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Forth Worth, TX.  She participated in the prestigious residency at Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris in 2006. Her work is held in many permanent collections including the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, TX; Carré d’Art, Nîmes, FR; and the Grand Duke Jean Museum of Modern Art, Luxembourg. She lives and works in Los Angeles.

Photos by Philipp Scholz Rittermann