Art and culture

Seth Kinmont’s latest art exhibition: The Catastrophics

September 28, 2022

Designed to project you millions of years into the future, artist Seth Kinmont has created a new series of sculptures for his Hotel Bel-Air exhibition. Discover more as he reveals how and why he wants to make a difference through art.

Courtesy of Seth Kinmont

Tell us about yourself

I’m a fourth-generation native of Deep Springs in California, which is where I live and work today. I studied neurology and studio art at UC Santa Cruz, followed by a stint as an MFA drawing student at Yale. Today, you can see my art in galleries on both sides of The Atlantic.

What inspires you?

I’m inspired by the human capacity for change. I love looking at solving problems in ways that have the power to transform people’s lives. The fact that anyone has the potential to wake up in the morning with an idea to invent or innovate something is incredible.

What’s your latest concept?

The Catastrophics is the result of a reoccurring thought that fascinates me: the concept of choosing an object and imagining how it might look millions of years into the future. Considering the possible transformations brought about by time and climate change to create new forms that still emanate a certain presence and meaning.

What can I see at the exhibition?

The exhibition consists of 12 small-scale cast aluminium sculptures. Each one reflects one of my favourite pieces of art by a contemporary or modern artist. My aim is to take viewers time travelling by imaging how these artworks might evolve and contemplating their fate.

Tell us about the experience at Hotel Bel-Air

I made these sculptures specifically for the lush Eden-like atmosphere of Hotel Bel-Air. The setting feels perfect thanks to the beginning-of-time feel of its dense foliage creating a beautiful backdrop. The hotel offers a relaxing environment in which to consider these futuristic pieces and imagine art’s place within that future.

Palms and trees surrounding private entrances to rooms and suites with fountain

Courtesy of Seth Kinmont

Talk us through some of the pieces

When I first saw Jeff Koon’s ‘Pink Moon’, I loved how it was forever frozen in its most inflated and shiny state. It reminded me of the bright light reflected from glaciers, which made me imagine it being discovered in the Alps millions of years from now, just like Ötzi the iceman.

Jeff Koons, Moon (Light Pink) 1995–2000
Thawing in a Glacier, 8 Million Years

Marcel Broodthaers, Pense-bête

Marcel Broodthaers’s ‘Pense-bête’, created in 1964, incorporated a child’s inflatable ball. Here, I reimagine this sculpture as I believe it would look after being trapped for 250 million years in magma, with great pressure causing the ball to crystallise into a captivating geode.

Marcel Broodthaers, Pense-bête, 1964
Dolomitic Geode, 250 Million Years

Courtesy of Seth Kinmont

Mary Heilmann, Piano, 1983

Inspired by Mary Heilmann’s ‘Piano’, I imagined Mary sitting on Venture Beach watching her lovely black ceramic ‘Piano’ sculpture slowly sinking into a shiny tar pit, where it would fossilise and be rediscovered in the future – totally transformed.

Which charity will benefit?

Proceeds from the exhibition are being donated to the Colossus Foundation to support artists. Each sculpture is paired with a small silkscreened ‘chart painting’, illustrating the thinking behind the fund. It’s an unprecedented opportunity for artists at any stage of their careers, and aims to revolutionise the art world.

The Catastrophics runs from September 1 until October 31, 2022. Discover more exhibitions at Hotel Bel-Air and let us take you on a fascinating journey through art.

Exhibition commissioned by leading private curator and art advisor Jim Hedges of Hedges Projects, based in Los Angeles and Paris.

Los Angeles

Hotel Bel-Air

A hidden sanctuary amongst the wooded hills, untouched by the clamour of life beyond the gates of Bel-Air. The most quintessentially private and exclusive hotel, delivering low-key elegance since 1946.

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