Edward Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz used the term “drawing” to describe a unique hanging relief assemblage that they created in dialogue with a larger tableau. Now on view in L.A. Louver Celebrates 50 Years, the above drawing directly relates to the Kienholzes’ large-scale tableau The Ozymandias Parade (1985) – a theatrically staged pageant of government leaders, including the figure of the vice president riding on the belly of an upside-down horse. The flagpole in the figure’s hand hoists the flag of the country where the Parade is on view.
In Drawing for the Ozymandias Parade, the Kienholzes arrange a similar scene at a smaller scale. A mantlepiece severs the body of a toy horse, whose head and dangling bridle can be seen underneath the wooden surface. Atop the mantlepiece is a ripped ten-dollar bill and a draped crocheted doily, a miniature American flag on a flagpole, and a plastic toy TV displaying the news “Ford Pardons Nixon.” The grouping is mounted on a rectangular mirror imprinted with two horse hooves. In the mirror, the viewer can clearly see their own reflection, in addition to the flag of the Thirteen Colonies painted on the reverse of the contemporary American flag. Like the monumental tableau, Drawing for the Ozymandias Parade implores the viewer to confront and change political corruption in America.
During their collaboration, Edward and Nancy Kienholz produced only a half dozen assemblage works cast in bronze, making The Morning Walk incredibly rare. While living in West Berlin, the artists continually scoured the flea markets for unusual objects to collect and to later re-contextualize within their assemblages. Also on view in L.A. Louver Celebrates 50 Years, The Morning Walk is a meditative and subtle work featuring an art nouveau-styled female figure paired with a flower stem and two dog heads, all cast in bronze, situated within a metal display case, and accompanied by an illuminated light bulb. Upon closer examination, the broken arms and soft features of the central figure imbue the sculpture with an elegiac tone, perhaps related to the Kienholzes' encounters with post-war culture in Berlin. With its corrugated metal background and metal frame, the assemblage is reminiscent of a small religious shrine or altar often placed within a family home.
Louver Gallery New York opened in October 1989 with a major solo exhibition of Edward and Nancy Kienholz’s artwork, including The Morning Walk. The exhibition demonstrated the central importance of Edward and Nancy Kienholz in L.A. Louver’s history. After featuring Ed Kienholz in the 1981 group exhibition California: A Sense of Individualism, L.A. Louver mounted a solo exhibition of Ed and Nancy Kienholz’s work with Sollie 17 and the White Easel Series later that year. L.A. Louver is honored to have represented the Kienholzes since 1981—including 12 solo presentations in Los Angeles, 2 in New York, and innumerable group exhibitions—and to now represent The Edward and Nancy Kienholz Foundation.
We invite you to view The Morning Walk and Drawing for the Ozymandias Parade on view now at L.A. Louver through 26 July 2025.
