Night Gallery is pleased to present Subterrestrial, a new installation by Lily Kwong. This marks the artist’s inaugural presentation with Night Gallery and her first environmental intervention in Los Angeles since 2017. Subterrestrial will be on view through Summer 2025.
Installed in the courtyard of Night Gallery North, Subterrestrial takes inspiration from Hügelkultur, a permaculture technique that creates sustainable, self-irrigating garden beds using mounds of woody debris and other organic materials. Kwong’s hügel, or mound, will span 18 feet in diameter and rise nearly six feet high. The artist will carefully seed the work with a diverse selection of native trees, grasses, and flowers. Subterrestrial is designed to evolve with the seasons and meditate on the rich ecological potential that dwells beneath the sprawling, omnipresent concrete of industrial, downtown Los Angeles.
Night Gallery will celebrate Kwong’s work with a series of public programs that support the artist’s mission to reconnect her audience with their natural environs. Details on a community artmaking project as well as a Spring Solstice activation on March 20, 2025, when the hügel is in full bloom, are forthcoming.