About a week and a half ago, Luke Pelletier packed up his life in Brevard, North Carolina, jumped in the car with his brother Tristan Pelletier and headed to Los Angeles. The entire year leading up to this departure moment Pelletier, with help from his brother who can usually be found documenting Luke’s artistic endeavors and antics with polaroids, photographs and videos, created an extensive body of work – paintings, custom metal knives, sculptures, music videos, a surf rock album and a 120-page book – heavily informed by his rural, yet tourist-driven hometown.
Pelletier’s nearly 3,000-mile journey from NC to LA didn’t only conclude with a new place to call home, but also a solo exhibit at New Image Art Gallery. The shows works are “heavily influenced by seasonal economies, as well as the multi-level relationships, dependence and resentment, between tourists and locals.”
We had a chance to stop by Pelletier’s first LA show, Tourist Seizin’, which proved a successful and seriously fun night.
Look forward to our exclusive feature spread on Luke in our upcoming sixth print issue of Amadeus out September 11th (help us celebrate the release of issue 06 at WNDO space in Venice, September 19th). But in the meantime, peep our gallery from the show’s opening night.