Jess Valice & Taylor Prendergast

Without Telos is a two-person exhibition with LA-based painters Jess Valice and Taylor Prendergast. Telos originated from Aristotle, who used the term to describe the purpose or end goal inherent in all objects and beings. Something without Telos is always in motion, always in process. To create something without Telos is to not have an end goal in mind, ultimately letting the creation guide itself rather than being directed by the creator.

If “Labas” means hello in Lithuanian, then why does the painting of a young man clutching a red rose bud feel like he’s saying goodbye? Elsewhere, we see a painting of “Taylor” presented in the manner of Goldie Hawn’s “Private Benjamin.” The exhibition “Without Telos” is a two-person presentation with LA-based painters Jess Valice and Taylor Prendergast. Telos is an idea closely associated with Aristotle, who used the term to describe the open-endedness inherent in all objects and beings. Something without Telos is always in motion, always in process. To create something without Telos (a-telic) is to not have an end goal in mind, ultimately letting the creation guide itself rather than being directed by the creator. The title track here is a bouquet of flowers with a bleached-out centerpiece leaving the viewer to wonder about that liminal space between process and subject matter.