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Julian Charrière: Deep End at MOCA

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles is thrilled to announce the inception of Julian Charrière: Deep End, the acclaimed French-Swiss artist’s first solo museum exhibition in Los Angeles. Running from November 15, 2026, to June 6, 2027, this exhibition is one of the inaugural showcases under the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Environment and Art Prize, alongside another exhibit titled Cecilia Vicuña's Quipu of Encounters: The Dream of Water. Both exhibitions aim to spotlight artists who are at the crossroads of art, climate, and environmental activism.

Julian Charrière's work has long been marked by an exploration of the natural world and its intricate relationship with human activities. With a career reflective of over a decade of artistic inquiry, Deep End encapsulates Charrière's commitment to examining both the aesthetic and political aspects of ecological issues. The exhibition features a diverse range of mediums including photography, sculpture, and film, alongside newly commissioned immersive installations designed to challenge viewers’ perceptions of nature today.

Charrière’s practice engages with geological and historical narratives that reveal the interconnectivity of human actions and the environment. The exhibition presents a poignant commentary on the fragility of planetary water systems, highlighting the sea not just as a resource but as a complex biogeological system. Visitors can expect immersive experiences that evoke the ocean’s depths and present multi-sensory interactions aimed at fostering a deeper understanding of our connection with water bodies.

A remarkable centerpiece of the exhibit is Hope Line (2026), featuring a live stream from a coral reef located near Port Antonio, Jamaica. This area faced significant impact during the 2023 El Niño bleaching event. This installation serves as a meditative space where visitors can witness and interact with one of the earth's most vital ecosystems, even contributing their own voices to the coral reef's ambient soundscape. This component of the exhibit not only strengthens the dialogue between art and climate but also extends Charrière's ongoing series, Calls for Action (2024-ongoing), which invites museum-goers to engage with rainforests globally, thus bridging creativity and advocacy for environmental conservation.

In addition to Hope Line, the exhibition will unveil Midnight Zone (2024/2025), Charrière's thought-provoking film and installation that dives into the Pacific Ocean's depths above the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture, a site increasingly targeted by deep-sea mining. In this installation, a Fresnel lighthouse lens—an object synonymous with navigation—slowly descends into the ocean, guiding viewers into the so-called 'midnight zone,' a realm teeming with diverse marine life yet untouched by sunlight. The interactive environment is designed not only to captivate but also to educate attendees about the potential impacts of human exploration and exploitation of the ocean's resources.

Clara Kim, MOCA's Chief Curator, highlights that Charrière’s profound practice blends fieldwork and scientific inquiry, accentuating the deep ocean's scale and precarious nature. The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Environment and Art Prize is pivotal in supporting artists like Charrière in their quest to intertwine art with vital issues of climate and ecological justice. Charrière’s ambition resonates with MOCA’s commitment to environmental sustainability, making this exhibition a crucial part of the museum’s artistic programming.

Throughout his career, Julian Charrière has been celebrated for his ability to merge art with environmental philosophy. He creates spaces that challenge viewers to reconsider their relationship with nature, underscoring the political aspects of attention and observation. As Charrière articulates, art should create encounters that enable us to experience landscapes—not merely as backgrounds but as active participants in a shared ecological narrative.

For the Hope Line (2026) installation, Charrière collaborated with the Alligator Head Foundation and utilized technology from DeepSea, which provided a subsea camera and engineering assistance for the live-feed streaming. This integration of technology emphasizes the importance of collaboration among artists, scientists, and institutions in promoting ecological consciousness and addressing climate issues through art.

Curated by Paula Kroll, the exhibition seeks not just to display the artist's work but also to engage audiences in crucial discussions around environmental stewardship and the scientific principles guiding ecological systems. The interplay between Charrière's artistic endeavor and actionable environmental support characterizes the essence of the Deep End exhibition.

Accompanying the show is a richly illustrated catalogue set for release in Spring 2027, which will feature Charrière's images and insights alongside scholarly essays discussing the intersection of art and environmental issues. The dedication of MOCA, supported by various foundations and organizations, plays a vital role in facilitating exhibitions that speak to the pressing challenges facing our planet today.

In summary, Julian Charrière: Deep End at MOCA promises to be an enriching, immersive experience that fosters critical dialogue about our shared environmental future. It represents a significant moment in the museum’s history, setting a precedent for how contemporary art can engage meaningfully with climate and ecological discourse.