JESSICA DALVA

MOVIES WE COULD HAVE MADE

solo exhibition

July 19th - August 10th, 2025

Opening Reception: First Friday, August 1st • 5-9pm​

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Arch Enemy Arts presents MOVIES WE COULD HAVE MADE by Jessica Dalva, a solo feature that has everything we love about Jessica’s work. Each piece is an elegant moment from a much larger world, or in this case, a still shot from the set of a feature film.

 

“The initial inspiration from this series stemmed from the unexpected loss of my father in 2023. He was a film editor and director, and movies and the discussion of them was always a staple in our family. I had always imagined making or contributing to a movie with him someday, so these pieces are little portions of concepts pulled from the film vault that never was.” - Jessica Dalva

 

This touching catalyst, combined with Dalva’s versatile mastery over her materials, makes for powerful and evocative work. As always, the artist’s combination of soft, sewn fabric with painted hard clay and repurposed mixed media is so clean and convincing—for this show, done at a commanding scale—it's work that stops you in your tracks. Raw, detailed and narrative, these sculptures are really dimensional illustrations that the artist has left brilliantly open-ended. Dalva gives us just enough information, like the downward turn of a face or the subtle opening of a hand; she makes space for viewers to write our own stories for her subjects, and we are left with the full spectrum of motion picture feeling. 

 

Jessica Dalva (b. 1987) is based in Oakland, California. She graduated from Otis College of Art and Design with Honors and a degree in Illustration. We are honored to be hosting Dalva’s sixth solo feature with the gallery, and we are stoked to announce that she’ll be joining us for the opening on First Friday, August 1st. As one of our longest exhibiting artists, Jessica began showing with the gallery back in 2014, and we can’t wait to see her again. 

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MOVIES WE COULD HAVE MADE will be on view from July 19th - August 10th, 2025
Sold works will begin to ship the week starting August 17th, unless other rush shipping arrangements have been made. 

Items marked with a red dot have already been sold.

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