Artists Space

La Villa Basque, Vernon, CA

September 16 – October 29, 2005

Project Space

Opening Reception
Friday, September 16, 6 - 8pm

Adrià Julià’s film La Villa Basque depicts a restaurant of the same name in Vernon, California, a tiny community just five miles east of downtown Los Angeles, which was co-founded by a French Basque immigrant in 1905. An homage to the town founder’s ethnic roots, the restaurant is a Basque mirage and an imagined memorial to the family that is still controlling the community.

In his film, Julià examines the restaurant’s elaborate, colorful, and outdated décor, customs, and activities. The piece is a metaphor for memory as much as it is a tangible example of the American Dream.

An older man in a white collared shirt, pink tie, and black vest leans against a shining countertop—perhaps a bar—with both hands. A restaurant interior and fishtank gleam behind him.
[An older man in a white collared shirt, pink tie, and black vest leans against a shining countertop—perhaps a bar—with both hands. A restaurant interior and fishtank gleam behind him.]