Mount Wilson Observatory will present “Small Paintings of Infinity,” an exhibition featuring the unique tar-based artwork of James Griffith, installed in the historic 100-inch telescope dome.
When I thought of tar as a material, I loved it because on one hand it is this primordial goo. At the same time, it’s at the heart of the whole environmental problem. It has a contemporary quality but also an incredibly ancient timeline quality, Griffith said.
The exhibition, curated by artist Stephen Nowlin, opens with a free public reception on July 13 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Following the opening, admission is $5 exhibition admission during run. Nowlin, who stepped aside from his position as vice president for ArtCenter Exhibitions in July, continues his curatorial work as an independent curator with an emphasis on the intersection of science and art.
Griffith continues his practice spanning over a decade of using raw tar collected with permission from Pit 91 at the La Brea Tar Pits. He first began incorporating tar into his artwork around 2013, when he discovered its painterly uses as a substitute for traditional oil paint. In his work, he depicts elements emerging from thinned tar over titanium white, creating what he describes as “a sepia colored world suggestive of primordial origins.”
The 100-inch telescope dome provides an appropriate setting as it houses the instrument with which Edwin Hubble discovered our place in an expanding universe. The telescope first operated in November.
Visitors should note that access to the dome requires climbing a 53-step staircase at the observatory, which sits at 5,710 feet elevation in the San Gabriel Mountains.
Exhibition Details:
- Event: “Small Paintings of Infinity” by James Griffith
- Date: Saturday, July 13, 2025
- Time: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
- Location: Mount Wilson Observatory, 100 Mount Wilson Circle Road, Mount Wilson
- Admission: Free opening reception; $5 exhibition admission during run
- Information: (626) 214-8030 or https://www.mtwilson.edu/
events/arts-griffith/
