Des Artistes is pleased to present the opening of its inaugural group show, Post-Fire 1, from March 13 to June 1, 2026. The first of four annual shows, Post-Fire 1 features the work of 22 artists from the Altadena area who lost homes and studios in the Eaton fire: Eddie Aparicio, Kelly Akashi, Maura Brewer, Jamison Carter, Evan Chambers, Kevin Cooley, Kenturah Davis, Brad Eberhard, Margaret Griffith, Olivia Hill, John Knuth, Alice Könitz, T. Kelly Mason, Ana Medina, Adam Ross, Caitlin Slegr Ross, Rachelle Sawatsky, Ross Simonini, April Street, Camilla Taylor, Diana Thater, and Ariane Vielmetter. These artists have continued their practice while navigating the logistics of relocation, reconstruction, and preservation: a transformation that has reshaped their work and charts a path forward, even in the face of enormous loss and grief.

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While the fires of early 2025 registered as a singular event for many, the artists in this exhibition ask us to understand the devastation not simply as a marker in time or a closed historical occurrence, but as the beginning of an altered reality. For those directly affected, the “event” continues to unfold, shaping both their artistic practices and their personal lives. While others may move on from the memory of the fires, these artists remain in dialogue with the aftermath, continually reckoning with what it means to begin again.

 

Spirited responses to natural destruction resound throughout the exhibition, whether through the reanimation of scorched objects, or the exploration of portals and mutations in the natural world. Paintings using strips of flattened tree bark become both canvas and sculpted matter. Video images featuring native plants and flora scenes from Altadena gardens remind us of what used to be. Elsewhere, the viewer is situated within the artists’ imagination – screen printed compositions are saturated with both known and strange textures and forms. Some of the works in the exhibition were made before the fires, a near-miraculous survival of works whose meanings are now even further deepened. These testaments of tremendous resilience explore a world at once familiar and changed beyond recognition.

 

Much of the work featured in Post Fire 1 is thanks to generous financial aid, temporary studio spaces, and community support organized in response to last year’s fires. The Post-Fire series extends this support into the future, fostering opportunities for affected artists to showcase the development of their practices.

 

All proceeds from sales will go to the artists, with Des Artistes taking no sales commission.