A poet walks into a bar. That’s not the start of a joke. That’s the start of this exhibition.
Well, not quite…

The start of this exhibition was back in 2013 when I moved to Los Angeles. Ian James was the first friend I made when I got here. We’re both Aries boys from neighboring Midwest states who have radical leftist politics, love bucolic landscapes and grimy towns equally, and tend to stay up way too late and fiercely debate. He immediately made me feel as though leaving New York City and driving 3,000 miles west was absolutely the right decision. And when he opened up a new gallery below the nowclosed gallery metro pcs, and eventually asked me to curate a show in this new space, I was determined to try to best honor our friendship, my experiences in this gorgeous and complex city, and many of the artists who have had profound impacts on me over the past near-dozen years. It is my hope that after you make your way through the labyrinth that is known as Leroy’s, you are able to gain some insight into what matters to me and what I think matters and has mattered in Los Angeles.

Thank you, Ian. Thank you to everyone else involved with this exhibition. And thank you, Los Angeles.

— Keith J. Varadi, January 2025