The exhibition comprises new paintings inspired by the landscape of southern California’s Temecula Valley, the location of Dorland Mountain Arts Colony, where Allan was an artist-in-residence in 1993, 1994, and again in 2010. Chaparral refers to a botanical ecosystem that is arid and fire-prone, ... Read more
The exhibition comprises new paintings inspired by the landscape of southern California’s Temecula Valley, the location of Dorland Mountain Arts Colony, where Allan was an artist-in-residence in 1993, 1994, and again in 2010. Chaparral refers to a botanical ecosystem that is arid and fire-prone, with plants and animals that have adapted to drought conditions. Dorland — established in the 1930s — was destroyed by wildfire in 2004 and is now being reconstructed, one studio at a time.
Allan was invited for a summer residency as one of the first returning artists since the colony’s re-opening. Known for her longstanding exploration of watershed landscapes of the Pacific Northwest and the Hudson River, Allan’s new work explores a landscape without water, as well as the disjunction between Dorland’s wild terrain (the historic tribal land of the Pechanga band of Luiseño Indians), and the suburban enclaves and commercial developments of Temecula, visible in the distance. The exhibition at 2/20 Gallery includes paintings from 2010 as well as work from before the fire.
