The inaugural West Coast museum exhibition for New York-based artist Josh Kline (b. 1979, Philadelphia), the exhibition brings together—for the first time—the major works from Kline’s epic saga about the climate crisis, exploring the close-at-hand ramifications of human inaction on global warming. Organized by Rebecca Lowery, Associate Curator, with Emilia Nicholson-Fajardo, Curatorial Assistant, “Josh Kline: Climate Change” features artworks dating from 2019 to the present and includes the debut of several new sculptures specially commissioned by MOCA.
Kline, whose work is steeped in “complexity and purposefulness” (ARTnews), is known for creating immersive installations using video, sculpture, photography, and architecture. He is distinguished among artists of his generation in his focus on class, labor, and inequity in the contemporary United States. “Climate Change” is both an exhibition and a total work of art—an ambitious, immersive suite of sci-fi installations that imagines a future sculpted by ruinous climate crisis and the ordinary people destined to inhabit it. Originally conceived in 2014 as a chapter in a multipart cycle of installations about political and technological upheaval in the 21st century, “Climate Change” has been made in sections over the last six years. The major elements of Kline’s eponymous project will be brought together for the first time at MOCA.
“We are thrilled to present Josh Kline’s first West Coast museum exhibition,” said Johanna Burton, The Maurice Marciano Director. “The themes explored in Kline’s work are urgent and prescient as society grapples with the fast-moving impacts of climate change. This exhibition is a testament to MOCA’s commitment towards presenting work that delves deeply into critical environmental and other social issues, and we look forward to seeing the dialogue that the exhibition inspires.”
Mobilizing sculpture, moving image, photography, ephemeral materials, and lighting in order to completely transform the galleries of MOCA Grand Avenue, “Climate Change” is a visceral, charged Gesamtkunstwerk of our contemporary times. In this vision, which could be called dystopian but in truth is terrifyingly near, a catastrophic sea-level rise has inundated the world’s coasts, unleashing a flood of hundreds of millions of traumatized refugees. What happens in a world where the systems built to sustain and extend capitalist enterprise and global political hegemony melt down their own foundations? Kline opens the door to such a future, inviting us to place ourselves within it and consider the rear view.
“Kline’s work is layered, meticulous, and essential in its clear articulation of the problems of the present day and how they will impact human life in the near future,” says Lowery. “We are honored to have supported the production of several new artworks for this exhibition, and thrilled to share the artist’s project with MOCA’s diverse audiences within and outside of Los Angeles, a city that has played a significant role in the imagination of this saga.”
“Josh Kline: Climate Change” will be accompanied by a fully-illustrated publication featuring original installation photography from this exhibition; an essay by Lowery situating Kline’s work within the nexus of contemporary petro-culture and the towering Hollywood entertainment monolith, itself a direct product of the oil rush of the 1920s; and essays from guest contributors Lauren Cornell and Matilde Guidelli-Guidi. The catalogue is designed by Practise and will be published in Fall 2024.
In conjunction with “Josh Kline: Climate Change,” and with support from The Manitou Fund, the museum will present public and educational programs exploring climate and environmental justice. The exhibition is also supported by the MOCA Environmental Council, a first-of-its-kind affinity group for a major art museum in the United States, which focuses on climate and environmental justice in alignment with the museum’s mission. As the creative work of artists is pivotal to both awareness and action, the museum’s artist collaborations and exhibitions play an indispensable role in fostering dialogue around pressing environmental issues.
at MOCA, Los Angeles
until January 5, 2024