The world's oceans are in extreme danger from climate change, according to a grim report issued Wednesday by the United Nations.

Artists have long had their eyes trained on the sea. One prescient artist has lately been observing the specific intertwined existence of ocean and desert in Southern California--an interconnection shown through art that figures now in the discussion of ocean and land fragility in our times. 

Matías Duville (Buenos Aires, 1974) works with objects, videos and installations, although his production has mainly grown out of drawing. His works evoke scenes of desolation with rarified, timeless atmospheres like those that precede a natural disaster: hurricanes, tsunamis or situations of abandonment in the forest that act as a dreamlike vision of a wandering explorer, like a mental landscape.

The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach, California, has on view “Matías Duville: desert means ocean” through December 1.

“Matías Duville’s artwork draws the spectator into raw landscapes that provoke opportunities to connect with the personal imagery of the artist and explore the differences and similarities between deserts and oceans,” said Lourdes Ramos, Ph.D., President & CEO of MOLAA.

During the two months spent in preparation for his exhibit, the Argentinian artist drew inspiration from Southern California’s deserts and oceans. Duville’s collection of drawings highlight the timeless interconnection between land and sea.

“For me, the Pacific Ocean is a strong influence; that’s the core of the exhibition,” said Duville. “The exhibition is a dialogue between the ocean and the desert, focusing on how they impact each other.”

His work is characterized by experimentation with expressive strokes and procedures which reveal a certain brutality. In his practice, Duville navigates questions such as permeability between inside and outside through the process of drawing, sculptures, moving images, and music with his band Centolla Society. The tension between opposites, mutation and time are some of the subjects that feature in his most recent works.

“The principle of this exhibit is not solely based on aesthetics, it’s conceptual,” said Stefanie Hessler, guest curator. “The idea of the convergence between the ocean and land is conveyed in the layout of the presentation.”   

For more information, visit MOLAA’s website at www.molaa.org.