The Sky Remains the Same

Galerie Lelong, New York, is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Los Angeles-based artist June Edmonds, the artist’s first major solo exhibition in New York. The exhibition presents new paintings that derive inspiration from the ebe-amẹn, or river leaf, motif. Having long grounded her practice in the research of important events and traditions in Black American art and history, Edmonds recontextualizes the historic, sacred geometric form originating in the Kingdom of Benin for this body of work. Entitled The Sky Remains the Same, the exhibition considers the power of inner strength as an enduring constant through changing perspectives, patterned impasto, and a vibrant, psychologically charged palette. The ebe-amẹn, depicted as a stylized quatrefoil form, features prominently in metallic plaques from the Kingdom of Benin, where it was associated with the power and protection of kings and deities. Often, the river leaf was impressed in the background of figurative reliefs depicting deities, civil leaders, and warriors. In the paintings on view, Edmonds brings this form to the foreground, using it to anchor her compositions. While the quatrefoil is present in every painting, it is obscured to varying degrees across the works on view. In a selection of works, Edmonds increases the scale of the geometric form so only the central circle and the beginnings of the leaves are visible. While in others, only individual leaves of multiple quatrefoils are visible, nearly converging. In Still Point (2025), Edmonds uses color blocking to invoke a similar form across parallel leaves. Through shifting perspectives, Edmonds offers reminders that, even as one weathers new challenges and endures uncertain times that test their resolve, there is always an inner strength to tap into to remain grounded. Across the paintings on view, Edmonds invokes the breadth of her vibrant, emotionally charged palette. She explores the tonality of color through her signature use of impasto, creating repeating patterns in hue and texture that infuse the paintings with a sense of movement. In Gathering All the Things (2025), an expansive diptych, Edmonds employs this technique to create concentric circles in shades of maroon and magenta that form a dynamic background for colorful river leaves. The compounding geometric forms invoke meditative serenity, offering viewers a space to engage the inner peace and strength that the river leaf represents. June Edmonds is known for her dynamic abstract paintings, rendered in bold palettes of acrylic, which draw inspiration from her ruminations on Black history and her own African American roots. Her works reference specific events, individuals, and traditions, amassing an oeuvre that honors Black joy, strength, resilience, and power. Among the topics Edmonds has engaged in her work are the Great Migration, the quiltmakers of Gee’s Bend, and the reimagination of the American flag to recognize the long-standing commitment and sacrifice of African Americans in the fight for democracy and justice—lending weight to, and offering new perspectives on, varied histories. Edmonds’s signature language of abstraction embodies meditation and spirituality. She populates her paintings with geometric forms comprised of compounding bands of vivid color. Using impasto techniques, Edmonds incorporates a tactile, dimensional component to her paintings. Through her use of repetitions and patterns in color and texture, Edmonds invokes a meditative experience both in process and for viewers. Edmonds was the subject of a mid-career survey at the Laband Art Gallery, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California in 2021. Other institutions that have presented Edmonds’s work include The Getty Villa, Pacific Palisades, California; California African American Museum, Los Angeles; Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Massachusetts; Riverside Art Museum, California; and Davis Museum of Art, Wellesley College, Massachusetts. Her work can be found in the collections of institutions such as the California African American Art Museum, Los Angeles; Davis Museum, Wellesley College, Massachusetts; the Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Massachusetts; and Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California. Edmonds is a recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in Fine Arts, a MacDowell Fellowship, The Aware Prize at The Armory Show, and a Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture residency, among many other honors. Edmonds lives and works in Los Angeles, California, where she was born in 1959. The artist is represented by Galerie Lelong, New York and Luis De Jesus Los Angeles.

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