LILY KWONG: Subterrestrial

Night Gallery is pleased to present Subterrestrial, a new installation by Lily Kwong. This marks the artist’s inaugural presentation with Night Gallery and her first environmental intervention in Los Angeles since 2017. Subterrestrial will be on view through Summer 2025. In addition, Kwong will debut Solis, a new body of photographic works, on view in the Chapel Viewing Room through December 7, 2024. Kwong’s presentations at Night Gallery precede two installations at Madison Square Park, New York, NY, which open in early 2025 and unite botany with public art.

Installed in the courtyard of Night Gallery North, Subterrestrial takes inspiration from Hügelkultur, a permaculture technique that creates sustainable, self-irrigating garden beds using mounds of woody debris and other organic materials. Kwong’s hügel, or mound, will span 18 feet in diameter and rise nearly six feet high. The artist will carefully seed the work with a diverse selection of native trees, grasses, and flowers. Subterrestrial is designed to evolve with the seasons and meditate on the rich ecological potential that dwells beneath the sprawling, omnipresent concrete of industrial, downtown Los Angeles.

Night Gallery will also present Kwong’s Solis series of lumen—or solar photogram—prints, inspired by the artist’s transition into motherhood and her subsequent reflections on renewal. Kwong uses a nineteenth-century technique and expired photographic paper to capture native plants that she foraged from her own garden and the Santa Monica mountains. She uses salt, gold, and other alchemizing elements to fix the images permanently. Solis is a lyrical extension of Kwong’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, recycled materials, and reverence for the natural world. Through both Subterrestrial and Solis, Kwong demonstrates an indexical approach to Southern California’s plant life. Her process negotiates between chance and control, allowing natural elements such as light, weather, and seasonal change to influence her aesthetics. This collaborative approach imbues her work with the spirit and essence of the region’s unique ecology.

Night Gallery will celebrate Kwong’s work with a series of public programs that support the artist’s mission to reconnect her audience with their natural environs. Details on a community artmaking project as well as a Spring Solstice activation on March 20, 2025, when the hügel is in full bloom, are forthcoming.