DylanDeRose, Lara Joy Evans, Rachel Rosheger Phantom Power
5513 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90019
TORUS is proud to present Phantom Power, an exhibition of recent works by Dylan DeRose, Lara Joy Evans, and Rachel Rosheger, examining the historic entanglement and reciprocal influence of technological advancement and spiritual belief. The works on view explore various strains of speculative mysticism around invisible forces, from the electromagnetic animism of the 18th and 19th centuries, to the contemporary deification of quantum computing and artificial intelligence. Phantom Power looks at science and spirituality as paired gears propelling humanity’s pursuit of knowledge and thirst for transcendence.
Perhaps more than any other natural phenomenon, electricity has long captured the scientific and spiritual imagination. In countless pre-modern cultures across the globe, electricity was associated with the “life force” of the cosmos. While this belief may seem quaint today, it is in fact more true than ever: electricity literally animates the world around us, and for most contemporary people it is as commonplace and essential as the air we breathe. Since the mid 18th century, as the Age of Reason hit full swing and natural philosophers and tinkerers commenced upon the project of taming and harnessing its power, electricity has become synonymous with modernity. While this conquest is widely remembered as exemplary of the Enlightenment’s demystification of nature, this era was also home to a sect of esoteric electrofreaks who believed that their experimental observations provided empirical evidence of their mystical beliefs.
Dylan DeRose (b. 1991) lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. Recent solo exhibitions include Order of Operations, Property Holdings Development Group, Hong Kong (2022); Final Portal, The Bunker, Malibu (2020); #1, Holy Motors Projects, Hong Kong (2016). Group Exhibitions include Rendering, Property Holdings Development Group, Hong Kong (2022); III, Hyperspace Lexicon, Los Angeles (2021); II, Hyperspace Lexicon, Los Angeles (2020); A Most Filial Imprint (curated by Robin Peckham), Aike Dellarco, Shanghai (2017); Leap Pavillion (curated by Robin Peckham), Espace Pierre Cardin, Paris (2015); Under The Influence, Floor 5 ½, Hong Kong (2015); Shampoo Whatever, A-LIFT Gallery, Hong Kong (2014).
Lara Joy Evans (b. 1993) lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. Evans received a BA from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Evans’ recent solo exhibitions include: Silver Globe, Reflet Machine, Paris FR; Empedocles, Final Hot Desert, Lund, NV; Arnhemse Uitnacht, Code Rood, Arnhem, The Netherlands; PrimalditchBP (before present), Galerija Miroslav Kraljevic, Zagreb, Croatia. Recent group exhibitions include: Maxwell’s Demon, Canary Test, Los Angeles, CA; Ausable Chasm, Merry Gates, New York,, NY; The last man on planet earth, ASHES/ASHES, New York, NY; Dreams in Deixis, Tufenkian Fine Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Earth Positive, Spas Setun, Moscow, Russia; Pineal Eye Infection, Seasons, Los Angeles, CA; Paradise on Mars, OJ Art Space; Istanbul, Turkey.
Rachel Rosheger (b. 1994) is an artist based in New York, NY. She graduated from The Cooper Union in 2017 and is a recipient of the 2018 Benjamin Menschel Fellowship. Recent solo and two person exhibitions include Gone Before You Get There at Microscope Gallery, New York (2021) and Sell the Farm at SARA's, New York (2023). Her work has been included in group exhibitions at The Fall River Museum of Contemporary Art, Massachusetts; Eyes Never Sleep, New York, NY; Eolith, Montreal, Canada; Lower Cavity, Massachusetts; Parent Company, New York; Fragment Gallery, New York; Harkawik, New York; As it Stands, Los Angeles; among others.