The Ultimate Zone of Unspeakable Horror
April 18th - 25th
2026
California Institute of the Arts’ Sublevel
From the Curate LA Description:
“California Institute of the Arts is pleased to present The Ultimate Zone of Unspeakable Horror, a group exhibition on view in the institution’s basement, known as the Sublevel, from April 18–25th.
This exhibition addresses what dwells underneath the surface; the subconscious, fear, neurosis, secrecy, repressed memory, fantasy, perversion. Titled after Mike Kelley’s imagined, inaccessible region below the Sublevel in his essay Sublevel: Dim Recollection Illuminated by Multicolored Swamp Gas, the featured works are installed within the life-size, ready-made inspiration for Kelley’s models Sublevel and Educational Complex. A selection of twenty five artworks by current CalArts students and faculty will be exhibited in four spaces in the Sublevel over the course of the week with a reception on Thursday, April 23rd from 7-10pm.
This exhibition was curated by Mateo Alfonso, Jonas Hoehn, Frances Sheehy & Colette Zighelboim, and will feature works by: Mateo Alfonso, Charlotte Bialas, Violet Battaglia, Scott Benzel, James Benning, Sophie Darling, Al Dawson, Jordan Dove, Jason Roberts Dobrin, Gail Foley, Drew Gebhardt, Jonas Hoehn, Okey Ofomata, Fallon Lavertue, Adam Levite, Sharon Lockhart, Quinn Matthews, Nate Meier, Bryan Morello, Ella Rose, Frances Sheehy, Vincent Troia, Daniel Wang, Colette Zighelboim with a text by Michael Ned Holte.”
Drew Gebhardt
Sublevel Skylight, 2026 digital video, TV monitor
Scott Benzel
V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (cryonized head of Walt Disney), 2019 foam, latex, acrylic, synthetic hair, wood, glass
Scott Benzel
V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (De Molay), 2019 felt Order of De Molay pennant, circa mid-20th Century; prints, circa late 19th Century, of Gustave Moreau's Orpheus, 1865, and Salome dancing before Herod, 1876
Quinn Matthews
Canaries, 2026 canaries, full spectrum UV Light, pickaxes, coal
Jordan Dove
GAMMAMAX01, 2026 projected digital video from 2013, steel
Colette Zighelboim
Fountain (CalArts), 2026 metal ashtray, found limb, submerged water pump, milk
Mateo Alfonso
Springtrap, 2026 plywood, enamel paint
Michael Ned Holte Like Mike, 2026
Sharon Lockhart Mike, 2021 whiskey jug
Al Dawson
Card and Tape Model 2, (Space Mountain), 2025 cardstock, painter’s tape
Scott Benzel
V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (Happy Birthday Gunther and Walt), 2026 Duratrans on LED lightbox
Nathan Meier
The Forger, 2026 acrylic on plywood
Sophie Darling
The Disappearing Floor, 2026 Footage from The Hardy Boys and The Disappearing Floor (aired March 6th 1977) CRT TV Monitor
Ella Rose
Flag, 2026 gelatin silver prints
Erwinson Lemus Ayala
One Fortunate Attachment, 2026 oil on canvas
Mateo Alfonso
Plushtrap, 2026 plywood, enamel paint
Frances Sheehy
Night List (Green Box), 2026 index cards from 2012-2016, cardboard, velvet, glue, acrylic paint
Fallon Lavertue
Corner Unit, 2026 plaster of Paris, wood, hand engraving
Jonas Hoehn
Stool, 2026 wood
Vincent Troia
Concrete Ideology (number 6), 2026 oil on panel
James Benning
Cheapest Framed Gift (the Vivian girls come to the rescue), 2013 acrylic on Disney cell
Okey Ofomata
End Times, 2026 acrylic and oil on canvas
Jason Roberts Dobrin
Bye Bye Broadcast, 2013 digital video
Adam Levite
Basement Life 1, 2026 oil and acrylic on asphalt paper with tape, plastic, wire, photos
Daniel Wang
Ecofeminist Drip, 2026 steel, tar, enamel paint
Bryan Morello
Watcher, 2026 wood, latex paint, acrylic paint, led light, acrylic panels
Exhibition Statement by Mateo Alfonso
Poster by Colette Zighelboim
Flyers by Frances Sheehy
Reception on April 25th
Reading by Charlotte Bialas
Performance by Violet Hannesena
Exhibition Binder
“Educational Complex” by John Miller
“CalArts Need & Concept” 1966
“Sublevel: Dim Recollection Illuminated By Multicolored Swamp Gas” by Mike Kelley
Introductory Slideshow put together by Mateo Alfonso
Thank you to
The Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts
Los Angeles Contemporary Archive
The CalArts Art & Film Schools
