Body Counts | David DiMichele: Envirotechnology | Erin Cooney: Aire Libre
3320 Civic Center Dr., Torrance, CA 90503
Saturday, March 29 at 6:00 PM 9:00 PM
Ends May 24, 2025
Torrance, CA – Torrance Art Museum (TAM) is thrilled to announce three exhibitions, opening March 29th and running through May 24th, 2025. The exhibitions focus on the intersection of the body, technology, environmental justice, and the human experience. Join us for the opening reception on Saturday, March 29th, from 6-9 PM, with a special live dance performance by the CONTRA-TIEMPO Activist Dance Company at 7:15 PM. Exhibition Details: Body Counts explores how figurative art reflects issues of representation, trust, group dynamics, alienation, and social capital. In a time of political uncertainty and social inequality, these artists use the body as a medium to explore the individual’s expression and the collective needs of a community. Featured artists include Alison Blickle, Danie Cansino, Amir Fallah, Lanise Howard, Justine Otto, Duane Paul, Jose Sanchez III, Meghan Smythe, and Haena Yoo. The exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the pleasures and pitfalls of human interaction, from isolation to empowerment. David DiMichele’s immersive installation, Envirotechnology, is an exploration of the relationship between environmental issues and technology. The installation consists of a linear network of twisted oak branches intertwined with a flexible LED neon rope light, creating a meandering line of light that envelops the viewer in a completely immersive environment. The work emphasizes the possibility of technology coexisting harmoniously with nature, particularly relevant in the face of the ongoing climate crisis. Erin Cooney's Aire Libre is a video installation that addresses environmental injustice in South Los Angeles. The piece, created in collaboration with East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice and poet Rocío Carlos, weaves oral histories with spoken-word performance. Featuring dance by the CONTRA-TIEMPO Activist Dance Company, the video illuminates the struggles surrounding air and soil pollution in areas such as the 6th Street Bridge, Bandini Park, and the LA River. The work will also be projected onto industrial sites within the community, reclaiming spaces of extraction and oppression with dance as a symbol of resistance and renewal. The public is invited to the opening reception on Saturday, March 29th, from 6-9 PM, where visitors can meet the artists and experience the exhibitions firsthand. The evening will include a live performance by the CONTRA-TIEMPO Activist Dance Company, featured in Erin Cooney’s Aire Libre. The performance will take place in the museum’s courtyard at 7:15 PM.