The Trophy Room LA is thrilled to present “Fever Dream of Divine Beauty” a group exhibition of works on paper from artists Anna Berghuis, Ólöf Kristín Ólafsdóttir, ⁠Eleanor Arbor, Satoko Okuno, Natalie Westbrook⁠. The exhibition runs from January 25th to February 22nd, 2025, and there will be an artist reception on January 25th from 5 to 9 p.m. Please join the artist and gallery in celebration. 

Fever Dream: a particularly distressing, scary, or bizarre dream that a person may have when experiencing a fever.

Divine Beauty: C.S. Lewis coined a word to describe this union of terror and beauty: terreauty. So divine beauty reveals something much greater than ourselves. It is sublime rather than comfortable. It possesses a shock element, disturbing and awakening us. It unites seeming opposites: it is attractive and terrifying; it is homely and adventurous; it invites and sends; it is measured and immeasurable; pleasurable and demanding. This alarm or even terror when confronted by the awesomeness of divine beauty can be seen as a form of veneration, an acknowledgement of its otherness.

Anna Berghuis is a New York based visual artist. Berghuis’ work reckons with authenticity and performance of personality in a time of prolific image making and sharing online. Distortion and the unreal play a large role in her figurative paintings. Her paintings utilize methods of distortion through scale, space, and mono-printing to challenge and mirror contemporary image-making. She received her AB in Art History and Studio Arts from Princeton University. She has exhibited nationally in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Boston. She most recently was an inaugural resident at Long Meadow Art Residency, a four month solo residency in the Berkshires. Her work is included in multiple private collections across the country.

Ólöf Kristín Ólafsdóttir (b. 1993) Akranes, Iceland Ólöf Kristín's work explores themes of identity and the intricacies of contemporary society, delving into the complexities of human experience. Through her art, she challenges traditional representations of reality by juxtaposing realistic and surreal imagery, crafting uncanny images that provoke introspection. Ólöf's primary focus is on androgynous figures, painted in oil, blurring the lines between masculinity and femininity. By combining traditional techniques with experimental approaches, she creates contemporary aesthetics that are both captivating and thought-provoking. Based in Brisbane, Ólöf is an Icelandic artist who completed her Bachelor's degree in Art, Design, and Dissemination at Oslo Metropolitan University in 2021.

Eleanor Arbor (b. 1993) is a Los Angeles based artist and mother working in plaster bas relief. In her process she builds up a heavy layer of pigmented plaster to scratch scenes within; not unlike scoring wet earth with one's fingertips and a twig. Arbor works quickly in the setting plaster, using immediacy to leave a visceral, aggressive and richly textured record of the artist's hand, evoking the messiness of our human condition. The work’s subjects are drawn from the natural world, specifically Arbor’s Southern California surroundings. The cycle of life is a constant theme in her work. Depicting plants, animals, mother and child, the artist is exploring what it means to exist in the natural world, to birth life, to witness death, to grow.

Satoko Okuno (b. 1991) is a painter, ceramic sculptor, and printmaker originally from Tokyo, Japan. She received her BFA from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, CA, as the Valedictorian of the Class of Spring 2024. Okuno’s work has been exhibited at venues including Thinkspace Projects (Los Angeles, CA), the Trophy Room LA (Los Angeles, CA), HeyThere Projects (Joshua Tree, CA), Alto Beta Gallery (Altadena, CA), La Luz de Jesus Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), the Hive Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), Pamplemousse Gallery (Richmond, VA), and aquabitArt galerie (Berlin, Germany). Her work has been featured in publications such as Bold Journey, Voyage LA, and Shoutout LA. Okuno lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.

Satoko Okuno's artistic vision is anchored in the portrayal of animals and mythological creatures, drawing inspiration from various sources such as her two cats, encounters at the zoo, and ancient art forms like Greek pottery and Egyptian sculptures. Her vibrant mixed-media paintings, adorned with impasto textures, and glazed stoneware breathe life into these creatures, establishing them as guardians within her art and inviting viewers into a comforting and safe realm. This profound exploration of guardianship is rooted in Okuno’s Japanese upbringing, steeped in the cultural richness of Shintoism—the belief that all things, ranging from natural materials, animals, and humans alike, have a spirit. Having grown up with traditional Japanese sculptures of guardian animals, often placed in front of shrines to bring safety and protect inhabitants, she recasts those animals as central characters in her modern-day sanctuaries, providing solace and gentleness in a world often laden with life's traumas.

Natalie Westbrook Received her BFA from The Cooper Union, her MA in Critical and Curatorial Studies from the University of Louisville, and her MFA in Painting and Printmaking from the Yale University School of Art where she received the Robert Schoelkopf Memorial Travel Grant, and the Carol Schlosberg Memorial Prize for Excellence in Painting.

Westbrook has exhibited internationally, including shows with Rarity Gallery, Mykonos, Greece; Galleri Golsa, Oslo, Norway; Artformosa, Taipei City, Taiwan; Paris Contemporary Art Show, Paris, France; Robert Miller Gallery, New York, NY; Freight+Volume, New York, NY; Mindy Solomon, Miami, FL; and Wonzimer Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. The artist’s work is held in private and public collections, including Markel Corporation, Red Bank, NJ; Capital One, Richmond, VA; and Art Bank Program, US Department of State, Washington, DC; and Haleakala National Park, Maui, HI.

Westbrook was appointed Lecturer in Painting at Yale University from 2010-2019 and currently teaches at Carnegie Mellon University where she lives and works in Pittsburgh, PA.

To inquire about any of the artwork in this exhibition, please email info@thetrophyroomla.com