BETH CAVENER: TRUST /LOS ANGELES/JASON JACQUES GALLERY X CARPENTER'S WORKSHOP GALLERY

Carpenters Workshop Gallery in partnership with Jason Jacques Gallery presents Trust, an exhibition of a new body of work from American artist Beth Cavener that’s centred on the titular pervasive theme of trust – how it’s lost, destroyed, betrayed, and abused, and the arduous journey of rebuilding it.  

From COVID isolation to political divisiveness, this body of work responds to the cultural and structural upheavals of the past five years while also engaging with intimate personal experiences that resonate deeply within us all. Through her work, Cavener seeks to re-establish empathetic connections across diverse communities, offering a poignant commentary on the state of human relationships today.  

In the centrepiece of the exhibition, Shards, an ageing, majestic life-size male lion, sculpted from 2,800 pounds of clay, dominates atop a stone table. Once an iconic symbol of power and authority, its body is now braced against imminent collapse: its massive head hanging low, bones pressing against its skin, and the colour draining from its form. This piece has been reassembled from thousands of shattered pieces, symbolising the painstaking effort and hope required to mend what initially seems beyond repair. In Captive, a life-sized equine figure is poised on a burned and blackened plinth, her body curving in on itself in tandem with the tiger tattooed onto her flesh, and, perhaps, into her mind, holding her within its predatory embrace. This piece reflects on the complex patterns of behaviour that form around reactions to fear and pain, and ultimately merge with our sense of self, oftentimes irrevocably. 

Elsewhere, Trust Me depicts a vulpine figure descending the wall in a sinister prowl, blind yet searing its surroundings, as it challenges the viewer’s perception of what it can cost to trust. Its title is both an invitation and a threat, illustrating the vulnerability and danger inherent in acquiescing to such an invitation.  G.O.A.T. embodies the manipulative nature in the hierarchy of trust and power; and Withdraw, a large hare, rears up, retreating from the viewer with an arm thrust out, her forepaw seemingly frosting over. Everything from her gesture, the ice creeping up her limbs, to the cold, pale blue of her palette suggests a rejection of the outside, a preference of isolation and loneliness to the fear of the Other. 

Cavener’s sculptures begin as detailed maquettes, which evolve into large-scale works over a six-to-eight-month timeframe. Each piece is sculpted from clay, hollowed out, fired, and reassembled. Cavener employs colours and finishes that resonate with domestic interiors, enhancing the psychological impact of her work. Her process of breaking, reassembling, and transforming materials from one to another alludes to the unconscious destruction of the foundations that create the common belief systems we rely upon to function as a whole. 

Cavener’s sculptures provoke empathy and introspection, challenging us to reconsider our own experiences of trust, fear, hope, and betrayal. Her ability to infuse animal forms with human emotions and gestures creates a powerful, authentic connection with her audience, making her work both unique and universally relatable.