Elizabeth Ibarra

Elizabeth Ibarra’s first solo show with Rental Gallery also marks the first formal presentation of the Los Angeles-based artist’s work in the United States outside of California. On view in East Hampton, her paintings depict a cast of brightly-colored extraterrestrials who are delightful to behold—though who are themselves hard to read.

For her artist’s statement, Ibarra composed a poem:

Can I let these images be,
each like a song,
with its own rhythm,
with its own wordless message?

Can I let them be notes
That hit like truth?
With their own tempo
and not mine?

Can I let them stand alone
with their own self,
like planets dancing
out there?

Can I let them be your witness,
my witness
that we were both someday,
humans?

Can I?


—Elizabeth Ibarra