OUR DESERT FOREST

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Selections from Desert Forest: Life with Joshua Trees
Curated by Sant Khalsa
May 11 – June 12, 2025

Opening Reception: Saturday, May 10, 6 – 9 pm
Curators and Artists Gallery Talk: Saturday, May 24, 3 pm

Madena Asbell
Diane Best
Bill Leigh Brewer
Claudia Bucher
Gerald Clarke
Maryrose Crook
Juniper Harrower
Sant Khalsa
Rebecca Lowry
Meg Madison
Aline Mare
Catherine Ruane
Ed Ruscha
Kim Stringfellow
Danielle Giudici Wallis

Our Desert Forest features artworks by local area artists who were included in the Getty supported PST ART: Art & Science Collide exhibition "Desert Forest: Life with Joshua Trees" at MOAH Lancaster (Sept - Dec 2024), curated by Sant Khalsa and associate curator Juniper Harrower.

Living with Joshua trees reminds us of both the fragility and resilience of the natural world. This extraordinary species inspires a thoughtful examination of the intricate ecosystems and human activities, which impact our life-sustaining resources. As a resident and icon of the “American West,” Joshua trees have deeply entangled relationships with humans that have persisted over the centuries, but sadly may disappear within our lifetimes.

Following centuries of colonialism and the westward expansion of industry, Joshua trees are now threatened by the changing climate as well as impacts from development, industrial solar, wind power, and wildfire. Millions of Joshua trees recently burned in the Dome and York fires at the Mojave National Preserve and beyond, further necessitating their protections with California’s Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act.

Science, history, and Indigenous knowledge are integral to understanding the current state of the Joshua tree. The dominant images seen within our society and most recently in social media, present idealized representations of Joshua trees, absent of the extensive threats impacting the species’ lives. The diverse artistic investigations and expressions in the exhibition bring awareness to the complexity and seriousness of the issues, while honoring the mystical neither-tree-nor-cactus Joshua trees and their Mojave Desert habitat. Each artist included in the exhibition has engaged in personal, in-depth creative research to produce artworks that exemplify a range of ideas across myriad practices. Ideas inspired by evolution, ethnicity, capitalism, spirituality, caregiving, beauty, and death are shared through innovative works that illuminate the power of art to make the unseen and overlooked visible.