No. 39: Reilly Davidson
The Barnes Foundation, a trip to LA, morning East Side River walks, a LIFE IS LIFE pendant and eBay lowballing.
Reilly Davidson is a New York-based, Seattle-born writer, curator, and gallerist. She’s currently the Director of the New York & Los Angeles gallery C L E A R I N G. Through Reilly, I’ve come across many artists who I am excited to now have on my radar, like Walter Price and Trevor Shimizu, and the latest works of those I’ve admired for a long time, like Nicole Wittenberg and Katherine Bradford. From Reilly —
I. a museum
Okay so I am ashamed about how long it took me to visit The Barnes Foundation, but better late than never etc etc. It was mid-February… my best friend Louisa rented a car and drove us out to Philly. First stop was a cheesesteak from Pat’s - neither of us knew what to order so we each ended up with a dry bread/meat combo and a pitiful slab of cheese, left mostly uneaten. Once the towel was thrown in, we made our way toward the Barnes, where we spent hours moving through the collection of largely European masters like Cézanne, Gaugin, Picasso, Matisse, and my favorites: El Greco and Soutine. These are interspersed with furniture and strange ephemera, creating a multiplex of objects, works on paper, and paintings. Need to go back soon…
II. a trip to LA (last day)
March 10, 2024
I woke up early, checked out of my hotel, and hit the road. Despite two ill-tempered weeks in the city, the weather on this day was stunning.
First stop was the Hollywood Farmers’ Market for my favorite nut butter and a pastry: cinnamon toffee almond butter and a black sesame muffin. It was Oscars Sunday, so the vibes were high… then I hopped back in the rental and drove to LACMA, the Sultan-centric exhibition and works from the Chester and Cameron Chang collection being of specific interest.
The red Kia was parked in a side street near the LA Fitness on Wilshire so I slogged back across several lanes of traffic and construction to reunite with my ride. Once settled in, an 800+ song playlist that I’ve been compiling since high school was shuffled. Put me in the craziest headspace, the right one… I whipped out of the neighborhood, my sights set on PCH. I transferred between freeways then alternated between coasting and stopping for nearly an hour until I caught a hard right toward the Getty Villa. Sans entry ticket, I flashed an expired press pass and drove up the cobblestone road to the parking lot.
The sky opened up again as I looked over the main peristyle from the south balcony. I navigated the rooms quickly, but took my time to stroll the campus. Once satiated, I returned to the car and made my way to Malibu, cruised through a shopping village, and happened upon the city’s meager farmer’s market. Homemade tinctures and overpriced merch abound, respite in the form of sun-melted cookies.
Malibu Point proceeded this. I left the car in a muddy lot and strolled along well worn paths until hitting the sand. Left the beach with an oversized oyster shell.
Neptune’s Net was the next plot point - a 30 minute ride from the beach. The stage was set - a confluence of bikers sat out front as their girlfriends ordered fried fish from the menu inside. I asked the server what was best and went with his recommendation: classic fish and chips. I ate on a front porch of sorts, hands accumulating grease at a rapid rate. Delicious! Then onwards…
Excessive rain caused road blockages on the road that leads straight from Malibu to Topanga Canyon, so I opted for the “long way.” I departed Ventura, heading back south for a bit before hitting a left turn and climbing into the hills. I saw the canyons, the seaside overlooks, breezed through Calabasas and into the jungle of Topanga. The hippie haven is home to Hidden Treasures, which I browsed for a bit, but ultimately left empty handed. A vintage mall in Canoga Park proved to be a more successful venture.
After this point it was time to ditch the valley so I drove to Santa Monica and shopped a bit more (unsuccessfully) before pivoting toward Venice’s Salt & Straw. I parked in the neighborhood then went to the shop, sampled a few flavors, ultimately opting for a cookie dough/eggnog collab in a waffle cone. I ate and walked toward the beach, strolling along the sand before sitting down and writing on my laptop. I split my time between typing and watching the sun recede from the sky. Once it drew close to the horizon line, I packed up my stuff and trekked the half hour back to the car.
The Kia was booted up for my final stop: Manhattan Beach. My mother lived there until she was 8, so I co-opted her nostalgia. I called her on the way over to let her in on my plan and bring her to speed on the details of my LA trip. After driving through the airport’s strange thoroughfare and across the darkened cityscape, Polliwog Park materialized.
The South Bay neighborhood is marked by coastal suburbanism - restaurants, specialty shops, and high end clothing stores occupying much of the real estate. I drove to the foot of the Manhattan Beach Pier and looked out at the cascade of lights decorating either side of the walkway. After a few moments I put Kanye on shuffle and set the GPS toward the airport, traversing a Mad Max-like industrial zone to an endpoint that was the Hertz drop off.
I sat under yellow lights in the shuttle bus, texting a friend about my departure before making it through security and toward my gate. With two hours to spare, I continued writing a piece for my friend’s exhibition in London.
The boarding process was smooth. Once seated, I took 3 CBD gummies and slept the whole way home.
III. a morning ritual
Most days I wake up around 6:15 and head to the East River, clinging to Manhattan’s lower edge, hit the Hudson and cut back over through Tribeca or Soho. Ultimate “me time.” Depending on the season and my mood, I read while doing this.
IV. a pendant
My LIFE IS LIFE pendant is so large and totally perfect, an amulet of sorts… this piece is a collab between Gabi Dziuba and Hans-Jörg Mayer. I bought it on the occasion of the show I organized with Hans, which was also the last I organized at my previous job. This piece marks a shift in life and general perspective… Life is neither bad nor good, it just is.
V. a practice
Lowballing eBay sellers… enough said…
~ bulletin ~
los angeles
On view: Emily Ferguson’s It Girl opens Saturday upstairs at Nicodim (read her Affection Archives feature!). Angel Otero’s The First Rain in May and the late Winfred Rembert’s Hard Times at Hauser & Wirth. Wellspring, an exhibition of works by Michael Angelo Bala, Tomasz Kowalski, Eric McHenry, and Yan Xinyue at C L E A R I N G. Loren Erdrich’s Little Stars opens on Saturday at Shrine. Lois Dodd & Ellen Siebers opens Saturday at Parrasch Heijnen. Andrew Kerr’s Mitty Mag at Matthew Brown Gallery. Maia Ruth Lee’s hold shimmer wind at François Ghebaly. Chang Ya Chin’s Stories of Stories at Half Gallery. Ryan Sullivan, Sebastian Silva, Roberto Matta: All Things Are Changing in All Dimensions, JB Blunk, and pascALEjandro at Blum. Phil Davis’ Chorus at Fernberger. Vanessa Beecroft’s Broken Arm at Wilding Cran. Camille Claudel sculptures at the Getty Museum. Clare Woods’s I Blame Nature and Coco Young’s Passage at Night Gallery. Ed Ruscha’s Now Then at LACMA.
new york
On view: Photos from Stephen Shore’s topography series at 303 Gallery. Areum Yang’s Home of Being at Derek Eller. Erica Newton’s Never No Treasure opens Friday at Entrance. Michael McGregor’s Voyage Voyage opens Saturday at Hashimoto Contemporary. Alex Gardner’s Pyschic Stamina opens Saturday at Perrotin. Sedrick Chisom’s … And 108 Prayers of Evil at C L E A R I N G. The Tulip Room at The Future Perfect. Lindsey Adelman’s A Realm of Light — a collection of oil lamps — featuring Sarah’s panels at TIWA Gallery. Simone Bodmer-Turner’s A Year Without A Kiln at Emma Scully Gallery. Dubuffet x Giacometti at Nahmad Contemporary. Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion at the Met. Second solo exhibition of French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle, featuring five works of her late-career Tableaux Éclatés, at Salon 94.
Friday - Sunday: Merci, C’est Vintage and Found By The vintage pop up at The Fifth Avenue Hotel 11:30a-6:30p.
Friday - Monday: TURN pop-up featuring Merrma at MNZ.
Monday - Tuesday: Outline BK’s archive sale from 9a - 8p.
Affection Archives is a weekly look into the archives of yours truly (Arielle Eshel) and humans I admire. If you’d like to add an event to the bulletin, reply to this email or DM.