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LOS ANGELES RIVER SERIES #28

John Kosta • May 21, 2021

Los Angeles River Series #28

NBC Buildings

Studio City

Oil on Canvas  24”x 30”x 1.5”

An image of California artist John Kosta's painting entitled Los Angeles River #28.
Los Angeles River Series #28 (2020)

Who owns the Los Angeles River? Surprisingly, besides the city of Los Angeles, no less than 181 other individuals and businesses own pieces of the channelized waterway ranging in size from tiny slivers of land along its edges to acres of land from bank to bank. The numerous owners include several movie studios including NBC that owns and occupies office buildings adjoining the river.   

In Los Angeles River Painting number 28, NBC Studio Buildings, trees and vegetation cast bold high-contrast diagonal and vertical shapes of purple, blues, and blacks across a narrow ribbon of cool-blue channelized water. Sunlit studio buildings and the shear walls of the river reflect bold oranges and sienna hues. Electrical transmission poles, ever-present along the banks of the Los Angeles River, cast their linear shadows onto nearby office buildings only feet away. Several cars squeak by on a private access right of way with only a chain link fence separating them from the vertical drop to the river bottom below.

If you are interested in this painting, you can view more details in the Store. If you would like to learn more about the City of Los Angeles' River Project, explore the links below.


More on the Los Angeles Revitalization Project

The official website for this tremendous undertaking by the City of Los Angeles.

An interactive map that highlights a number of the developments planned and occurring along the Los Angeles River.

Home of the Los Angles River Project, an organization dedicated to restoring the vital ecosystem along the river.


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