A new art show brings L.A. climate inequities to life at Descanso Gardens

This weekend, Descanso Gardens will unveil a meticulously organized art exhibition entitled “Cool roots: a celebration of trees and shadow in a warming world. “Co -organized by Edith de Guzman, researcher in cooperative climate at the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, and the artist Jolly de Guzman – A husband and wife duo – the exhibition highlights all -female artists who provoke visitors to contemplate the Braque number

The objectives of the exhibition are clear from the start, starting with its title, “Roots of Cool”, which creatively integrates the Fahrenheit symbol in the word “de”, a tree in the letter “t” and the word “cool” as a shadow thrown from the word “roots”.

The exhibition begins in the garden trails, dotted with works of art, which lead visitors to the rooms of the gallery housed in the Sturt Haaga gallery of the Parc and the Historical Boddy house.

The proposal of a visitor for a new type of bus stop that offers more shadow, part of the new exhibition “Roots of Cool: A Celebration of Trees and Shade in a Wharming World” in Descanso Gardens on July 9, 2025.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

The first work of art on the path, located at the entrance to the gardens, is “the bus stop of the past” of Leslie K. Gray, an outdoor installation which shows the silhouette of a woman standing in a street in Los Angeles, probably waiting for a bus, without a nearby shade structure, intended to represent the challenges linked to the climate confronted with bus routers with which it was confronted with the shuttle.

This is the first of a three -part installation – the other two parts appear later in the exhibition – which invites visitors “to think temporally where we have been and where we are going,” said Gray. According to the artist, it is intended to highlight the historical decisions of town planning which have left certain communities disproportionately disproportionate to heat, in particular women of colored, who are eminent horsemen of public transport, as indicated by statistics displayed on bus panels accompanying the works.

Another star of the exterior part of the exhibition is “Cool Canopy” by Chantie Benefield, which includes dozens of multicolored umbrellas suspended on the heads of visitors. The room is particularly resonant since it is in fact a laboratory that Benefield was lost after the loss of the original, with his family home, in the fire of Eaton.

The installation of the singed artist Benefield “Cool Canopy” in Descanso Gardens on July 9, 2025.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

“What if the trees in the neighborhoods were like graffiti, just omnipresent everywhere?” Deventied asked. Its installation is both a colorful tribute for lost greenery and a powerful declaration on the disparities of urban shadow, encouraging visitors to contemplate what they would do without the shade being thrown by these “trees” while they cross the sunny patch where work is located.

The next stop on the way is the second part of the three -part installation in Gray: “Bus stop in the present”. It is a version of the first, but with the addition of a shadow structure for the bus rider. However, this clearly shows that the additional structure is still inadequate, reflecting many realities with which the women’s communities are faced today. The bus panel here contains scientific facts that argue for the critical need for systemic changes in urban planning. Gray pointed out that these facts had been carefully selected from the research evaluated by peers and “scientifically verified”.

Upon entering the Sturt Haaga gallery, things change. Each piece is intended to arouse a specific experience around town planning and vegetation, and each has its own visual and auditory scheme.

The play by Kim Abeles “in search of paradise (downtown Los Angeles)”.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

It begins with a dreary urban past: shown against the gray walls, the works of Kim Abeles and Diana Kohne approach historical inequalities. The installation of Abeles “in search of a paradise” visualizes the unequal distribution of trees in downtown Los Angeles, while the painted urban landscapes of Kohne represent in a clear way the inadequacy of the shade, it witnessed first-hand through its bus trips that as a resident of Los Angeles, stressing the way in which Los Angeles and other cities were constructed for “Bus efficiency” rather than human comfort. The work is associated with convincing research, in particular the history of red and crucial statistics of the lack of heat, with which visitors can interact and see how their own communities are affected by these factors.

The following room is the present, with bright yellow walls representing the growing urban heat of a changing climate. The works are trying to do the same. For example, the installation of Lisa Tomczeszyn, “each bench deserves a tree”, consists of two benches next to the other, one without nuance and only a street panel reading “Asphalt Blvd” while the other is shaded by a large tree – with leaves which are in fact photos of cutting of trees through the Dionso gardens.

Finally, the third gallery room tries to project a fresher and more green future with colorful walls a green green shade. He presents works that imagine a future where technology and urban planning react better to environmental stressors, including the “suspended garden” of Pascaline Doucin-Dahlke. Like the work of Tomczeszyn in the previous room, this room is also composed mainly of benches placed under umbrellas. In this case, however, these umbrella awnings are made of reused plant materials.

The play by artist Pascaline Doucin-Dahlke “Hanged Garden” in Descanso Gardens.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

One of the main objectives of the exhibition is to help visitors connect to the importance of heat, shade and urban trees. For example, at the very end of the exhibition in the Boddy house, visitors can contribute to a collection of real world data on how the shadow shapes their neighborhoods and what a fact related to the shade that they find the most striking, and are also invited to draw their imagined shadow structures for women who expect bus stops.

“”[We] I don’t want to do science and I don’t want to make art. [We] You want to create a good intersection that really engages people, ”said Jolly de Guzman.

Bombing of Los Angeles son inside Boddy House in Descanso Gardens on July 9, 2025.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

“We want to make them cross the strings of the heart, visually, aesthetically and actively,” added Edith de Guzman. Reflecting on the broader potential for change, she said: “There are many reasons to despair at the moment, but if we change our radiofrequency, we can connect to a completely different feeling. We can really create the city we want, in the neighborhoods we deserve. ”

The exhibition will take place from July 12 to October 12, 2025, with a free opening reception on Friday July 11 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.