An exhibition dedicated to the photographic work of filmmaker David Lynch is scheduled to open in Los Angeles this fall, offering a focused look at over three decades of images captured in the city he called home. Titled “David Lynch: L.A.,” the show will debut on September 18 at the Pace gallery, presenting 35 black-and-white and color photographs from five distinct series created between 1979 and 2008.

This exhibition marks the first solo presentation of Lynch’s photographic output in Los Angeles and the first major show in the city since the artist’s death in 2025. According to Pace founder Arne Glimcher, the works reveal an intensity and distinct strangeness that align with the filmmaker’s broader creative oeuvre, yet remain a less familiar aspect of his artistic legacy.

While only one of the five series directly depicts the urban landscape, the remaining collections evoke the atmospheric qualities of Los Angeles. Bill Griffin, managing partner of Pace’s L.A. gallery, notes that Lynch’s long residency of over fifty years deeply informed these photographs, reflecting the city’s architecture, cinematic noir elements, and moods of mystery and color.

Born in 1946 in Missoula, Montana, Lynch began his artistic journey studying painting in Philadelphia, where he encountered the urban decay that would inspire much of his later work. After receiving an American Film Institute fellowship in 1970, he relocated to Los Angeles, where he spent years working on his first feature, the surreal 1977 film "Eraserhead." Lynch has described his affection for Los Angeles’ light and atmosphere as a source of creative inspiration since the moment he arrived.

The photographs in the exhibition include richly textured images such as a 1979 shot of a chandelier casting delicate light across a coffered ceiling, and a fire-damaged Thrifty sign frozen in time above a Westwood drugstore. Lynch’s approach to photography was to linger on singular images, free from narrative constraints, inviting extended contemplation, according to Los Angeles County Museum of Art curator Britt Salvesen.

Aside from cityscapes, the exhibition also highlights three series focused on the female form, offering intimate, often abstracted portraits that test the boundaries between voyeurism and art. Other sections of the show, like the “Kits” series, incorporate a darkly playful element featuring dissected animal models labeled for reassembly, reflecting Lynch’s longstanding interest in fragmentation and surreal storytelling.

Griffin emphasizes the humane undercurrent running through Lynch’s work, which he believes reconnects viewers with the complexities of being human. Organizing the exhibition after Lynch’s passing posed unique challenges; gallery staff worked closely with Lynch’s family, including his son Riley Sweeney Lynch, to maintain the artist’s vision and sensibility.

Riley Lynch recalls his father’s profound connection to Los Angeles, describing how the city’s environment helped him find his creative identity. Reflecting this legacy, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is developing a retrospective of Lynch’s varied career, which spans filmmaking, painting, design, and music. This exhibition at Pace gallery contributes to a growing institutional recognition of Lynch’s multifaceted artistic contributions and continues the city’s evolving engagement with his enduring influence.