Fade to West : Paul Jasmin and Todd Weaver | Fahey/Klein Gallery

Musèe Magazine

July 23, 2025

Fade to West : Paul Jasmin and Todd Weaver | Fahey/Klein Gallery

Bringing together the work of Paul Jasmin and Todd Weaver, Fade to West displays the intimate beauties of Los Angeles. Capturing a restless and radiant city, the work embodies the vibrance of the place that took both artists in. Pairing Jasmin’s tender portraits with Weaver’s cinematic scenes of nature, the exhibition reveals the wayward spirit of California in all its complexity. Fade to West was developed with Paul Jasmin before his death, but it remains a lasting tribute to his adoration for Los Angeles. The photographs feel alive, breathing with the youth and intimacy that characterize the West Coast.

Jasmin’s portraits are defined by a tender curiosity that colors staged moments of seductive youth. Clint, Charlotte, and Oliver (1998) captures the heat of a western summer as they bask in morning light. Despite the rustic interior, the photo evokes luxury. Lingering glances and lounging bodies depict the aimlessness of youth, coated with fervent sexuality. Languid and lived in, Jasmin’s depictions of Americana reside in a romantic narrative. Concurrent with a defined visual language of Los Angeles, his work emanates with a soft haze. A youthful hunger that fills the air with humid desire.

Jasmin’s work harkens back to the entertainment ecosystem of Los Angeles. Like film stills or cinematic vignettes, his portraits capture an intrinsic connection to cinema. Glittering but soaked in emotional desolation, the duality of California dreaming emerges.

Weaver, on the other hand, explores the landscapes that characterize the state’s atmosphere. Working with an analog process and camera experimentation, his work forces the viewer to take a second look at familiar horizons. Echoing an American nostalgia, Summer Evening Crowd (2020) feels suspended in time. Slowed down and relaxed, Weaver portrays a colorful meditation on Southern California’s surf culture. Exhibiting his adept compositional skill, his experimentation with film techniques brings the true sensibility of a California sunset. Building on his depiction of nostalgia, Weaver’s landscapes spark a conversation around presence. His photographs capture a fleeting moment as light disappears behind the water. The warmth of the moment is fading away.

Jasmin and Weaver’s work is rooted in the culture of California, though enigmatic and elusive by nature. Fade to West balances reverence and disillusionment in a way reminiscent of Joan Didion’s reflections. Navigating through the mythology of a deeply personal place, the work evokes consideration of the cultural landscapes that form us. Whether examining natural elements or intimate personal moments, the work retains the glowing sensibility of a city that ushers people in with open arms.

Rendering California in its complicated entirety, the exhibition dives beyond the illusion and into the dynamic world of chasing dreams. Fade to West is on display at the Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles, California, beginning July 10th. The exhibition will be on display until September 6th.

*The exhibition has been extended until September 13th, 2025