The Armory Show 2026: Whitney Bedford

Javits Convention Center
September 24 - 27, 2026

Booth 213

For The Armory Show 2026, SECRIST | BEACH presents the most recent iteration of Whitney Bedford’s acclaimed Veduta series in booth 213. The moonscapes on view mark a natural progression from her previous body of work which featured sunsets, some of which were created in the aftermath of the devastating 2025 Palisades Fire in Los Angeles. In this transition from day to night, Bedford introduces a new chromatic register, transforming the atmospheric qualities of the Veduta series from muted luminosity to the heightened ambiguity of moonlit landscapes. The resulting works constitute a subtle yet striking evolution of the artist’s ongoing engagement with light, atmosphere and the moods they evoke.

Originally, veduta paintings were highly detailed depictions of recognizable European vistas: significantly, this genre also captured imagery of healthy and pristine vistas untouched by development, pollution and other man-made blight. Seeing what the world looked like through this artistic lens in the 1600s is an eye-opening assessment of the complicated relationship between humanity and nature.

Bedford’s new series of moonlit landscapes and seascapes embrace the essence of the sublime. Inspired by masterworks by artists such as Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Milton Avery, Camille Pissarro, and Frederic Edwin Church as underpaintings, Bedford layers vivid neon-colored tree and cacti motifs, many native to her Southern Californian environs. A third element introduces an architectural gesture: a three-quarter view of an interior room defined by a floor, back wall, and hints of two adjoining walls. Together, the underpainting, neon flora, and architectural framework draw the viewer into an intimate, immersive space, enhancing the experience of the sublime.