L.A.'s 30 Under 30: The City's Rising Stars
The Sculptor: Lola Rose Thompson
Somehow within the lifetime of everyone on this list (i.e. the last thirty years), Los Angeles has gone from being a predominantly entertainment-driven town to boasting a bustling and brag-worthy art scene. So, it’s no wonder that a native like Lola Rose Thompson would set her sights on returning here to make a name for herself. But for a young woman like Thompson, who is more conscious of what she doesn’t know (and trying to learn it) than intent on proving how smart she is, we think she just might stand a chance in this ever-changing artistic atmosphere.
Perhaps it’s our magpie-like obsession with all shiny things, but it was her hanging sculptures made of geodes, minerals, and salts from exotic locales that first caught our eye. While we as viewers focus on the materials, the sculptor has quite the opposite approach: “I usually come up with the title of a thing before I actually make it. Creating it is hard and the fun part is trying to make something that you've thought of exist in another form,” she says. And it’s just that attitude that we find refreshing about Thompson. Watching a young artist making work, trying to learn from her own process, and being transparent about it might be the keenest idea we’ve seen take shape inside or outside gallery walls. This summer, keep your eye out for her pieces in a number of group shows around town and online at the Tappan Collective.
—Elizabeth Parks Kibbey
Hair by Jacquie Fetch, makeup by Mayera Abeita and Ali Magee.
in NYC