JAUS is a beautiful artist-run gallery located on a residential street in West LA. And for their last exhibit, co-owner Chris Tallon curated a group of 6 like-minded artists whose actions were based more on impulse then rationality. The work was on display for two months and all sat [read more...]]]>

JAUS is a beautiful artist-run gallery located on a residential street in West LA. And for their last exhibit, co-owner Chris Tallon curated a group of 6 like-minded artists whose actions were based more on impulse then rationality. The work was on display for two months and all sat nicely with each other in the space. Also, while some of the artists were in the midst of their MFA’s, others had long since graduated. So, it was all about the work itself rather than the artists’ pedigrees.

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JAUS - http://www.jausart.com

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Over 30 artists came together to auction off their work in an effort to help David Castleman pay his medical bills due to a recent bout with Cancer. And they all brought their A-game with them. So, a diverse array of original art lined the walls of the Keystone [read more...]]]>

Over 30 artists came together to auction off their work in an effort to help David Castleman pay his medical bills due to a recent bout with Cancer. And they all brought their A-game with them. So, a diverse array of original art lined the walls of the Keystone Fine Art Studios — ranging from metal sculptures to a hand-painted drum head for the band GWAR. There were even a couple of micro-installation pieces you could bid on silently, including an incredible peephole into outer space. Thank you to Mary Mathe for letting us know about this wonderful exhibit and if you’d like to donate to the cause, please click the link below.

David Yow

Bob Gorman

Mary Mathe

Itaru De La Vega

Michael Uhlenkott

Matt Jones

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DAVID CASTLEMAN CANCER FUND - http://www.giveforward.com/helpsupportdavidcastlemancancersurvival

KEYSTONE FINE ART STUDIO - http://keystoneartspace.com

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A really cool crowd gathered at GIANT ROBOT to hear Ako Castuera’s talk inside of her exhibit. The show consists of paintings, sculptures, and one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry – which Ako displayed on playful cardboard cutouts. She revealed at the talk that her sculptures on the shelves followed a raw narrative [read more...]]]>

A really cool crowd gathered at GIANT ROBOT to hear Ako Castuera’s talk inside of her exhibit. The show consists of paintings, sculptures, and one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry – which Ako displayed on playful cardboard cutouts. She revealed at the talk that her sculptures on the shelves followed a raw narrative of evolution — starting out as a ball when you first walk in and ending at a fully-fledged dinosaur when you get to the back wall.  And then she actually showed us how she went about making each piece, from digging up the clay herself, to smashing it up into a workable form. Afterwords, she let everyone in attendance go through some of her unfinished paintings, which were amazing when seen up close, since some of the details are so tiny that you could only really notice them when they were literally right in front of your nose.

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 GIANT ROBOT: http://www.giantrobot.com/

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Peter Adamyan’s work defies definitions and so I feel like simply calling him an artist is an understatement. Especially since, he’s developed a unique way to combine his skills as both a painter and a sculptor in order to create a new format of art that has still yet [read more...]]]>

Peter Adamyan’s work defies definitions and so I feel like simply calling him an artist is an understatement. Especially since, he’s developed a unique way to combine his skills as both a painter and a sculptor in order to create a new format of art that has still yet to be categorized. So, on the surface his work is bright and figurative, but upon closer inspection it smacks you in the face with double entendres and shock treatments. And it’s all done on purpose with an exciting skill and patience, since it can take up to 400 hours to finish a single piece. Peter and I met up at a famous donut shop in San Francisco, where he revealed the secrets of his process, his love of the blues, and his addiction to sugar.

CHAPTER LIST

1. INTERVIEW BEGINS 
2. “The Thrill Is Gone” by BB King
3. INTERVIEW ENDS 
4. “Bluebird Bluebird” by Lightnin’ Hopkins
5. “Trouble In Mind” by Bob Wills & his Texas Playboys
6. “John The Revelator” by Son House
7. “Tired of Crying” by Howlin’ Wolf

EXHIBITION SCHEDULE

MAY 4th: UNDER THE MATTRESS [Oakland, CA]
MAY 5th: THE HIVE GALLERY [Los Angeles, CA]

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 PETER ADAMYAN: http://peteradamyan.com/

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It’s a good thing we took the backstreets to Kenny Scharf’s hodgepodge exhibit at Honor Fraser Gallery, since it meant instant access to free donuts! The delicious treats were piled high on a couple of Cadillacs outside and were so good that some claimed they were the best they had ever eaten. So, the [read more...]]]>

It’s a good thing we took the backstreets to Kenny Scharf’s hodgepodge exhibit at Honor Fraser Gallery, since it meant instant access to free donuts! The delicious treats were piled high on a couple of Cadillacs outside and were so good that some claimed they were the best they had ever eaten. So, the outside ambiance and sugar set our excitement level high for what was inside. And let me tell you, it fucking delivered.

Kenny transformed the space into his own cosmic world where pretensions were to be left at the door and psychedelic excitement led the way. From a recreation of his famed black light room to a fabricated atomic-bomb lunch table, there was adventure to be had everywhere you looked.

Ann Magnuson even did a performance in the main room of the gallery during the opening reception, although it was so packed we couldn’t really tell what was going on. However, the artwork on the walls was so good that we didn’t want to leave, so we stood on our tippy toes trying to peek over everyone’s head to look in on the action.

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 HONOR FRASER GALLERY: http://honorfraser.com/

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An elegant abstraction in the window of Sabina Lee Gallery caught my eye. It was the work of Michael Todd, a well-known sculptor, who for his most recent exhibit decided on displaying ceramic works instead of bronze and wood. And I’m glad he did because they made me feel a sense of joy [read more...]]]>

An elegant abstraction in the window of Sabina Lee Gallery caught my eye. It was the work of Michael Todd, a well-known sculptor, who for his most recent exhibit decided on displaying ceramic works instead of bronze and wood. And I’m glad he did because they made me feel a sense of joy as my eyes jumped from one piece to the next. The colors of them mostly reminding me of summertime and the ocean, with subtle greens, brilliant blues, and blazing oranges. Since there is no definition as to what each piece means in this show, it’s interesting then for the viewer to reflect on how all of them make him or her feel, rather then what exactly they represent. Although, it’s always fun to think of that too.

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 SABINA LEE GALLERY: http://www.sabinaleegallery.com/

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The Weisman Art Foundation is a house in Beverly Hills that you can take free tours of. And once inside, you’re probably standing around over a billion dollar’s worth of art – no joke. I mean, there’s a Mark Rothko hanging above the sofa and multiple sculptures [read more...]]]>

The Weisman Art Foundation is a house in Beverly Hills that you can take free tours of. And once inside, you’re probably standing around over a billion dollar’s worth of art – no joke. I mean, there’s a Mark Rothko hanging above the sofa and multiple sculptures by Giacometti almost everywhere you look. The house used to be a private residence, but it’s since been opened up to the public and is definitely worth visiting at least once when you’re in Los Angeles. Even if you’re not an art history buff, it’s just crazy to see a home with this much art in it. There’s even a giant totem pole in the back yard that must be several hundred feet in longitude. I was only allowed to photograph the sculptures by Botero and others in the front yard, but I can assure you what’s inside is even more intense!

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WEISMAN ART FOUNDATION: http://www.weismanfoundation.org/

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There’s always new things to discover when you go to The Brewery Art Walk.  That’s why, in my guide I said the first thing you should do is not plan on doing anything. Especially since, the people walking around are half the fun. I mean, who would’ve expected a [read more...]]]>

There’s always new things to discover when you go to The Brewery Art Walk.  That’s why, in my guide I said the first thing you should do is not plan on doing anything. Especially since, the people walking around are half the fun. I mean, who would’ve expected a group of cosplay girls to show up at ART IS SHIT EDITIONS! It was pretty incredible and although I wished I could’ve walked around the whole time with them, since it would’ve felt like a giant performance, I went on my own way with a couple friends.

The walkways were packed with bodies checking our art, which ranged from really awesome to really Burning Man. So, there was literally something for everyone, including a really awkward sword dancing show located up in a metal tower that was definitely a must-see. Also, I’m not sure if it was part of a piece or not, but at one point we saw some people walking around with horse masks on, which I think must’ve been a sign of good luck because moments afterwords we walked into a really cool gallery space.

While 99% of the artists were really chill, there were still that 1% of them that were tragically paranoid and wouldn’t let anyone photograph their work. However, I photographed it anyways, especially since it’s always artists with crappy work who are the most aggressive about it. I mean, it’s the internet era, it’s all about sharing. And if you’re really that worried, then why make art at all. Albeit, it is a bit tricky at The Brewery because a lot of the studios are also the artist’s homes.

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BREWERY ART WALK:  breweryartwalk.com

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Bergamot Station is a compound in Santa Monica with over 20 galleries located within it. So, on the last Saturday of every month, a majority of them have their opening receptions to make the place feel like a micro-art-walk. Each space has its own distinct style and therefore work [read more...]]]>

Bergamot Station is a compound in Santa Monica with over 20 galleries located within it. So, on the last Saturday of every month, a majority of them have their opening receptions to make the place feel like a micro-art-walk. Each space has its own distinct style and therefore work can range from lo-brow all the way the most posh fine art you’ve ever seen. And for this particular month of April, there were a lot of exhibits featuring photography because of MOPLA [Month of Photography Los Angeles].

The two standout MOPLA shows, for me at least, were by the photographers Corey Arnold and Marla Rutherford – who have completely opposite approaches. Arnold documents real life fisherman in his ongoing Fish-Work series and Rutherford creates dark and sexy fantasy worlds within a single frame. So, where one had a bunch of bearded dudes covered in shark’s blood, the other had girls in tight outfits. Also, the major difference between the two exhibits was that Richard heller Gallery solely had work by Arnold on display, whereas Robert Berman Gallery had Rutherford’s work as well as other incredible pieces by others in its rather large space.

Thankfully though, not every gallery was playing by the rules set forth by MOPLA, so there were still paintings and sculptures out and about. In fact, the one exhibit I can’t stop talking about was of Charlotta Westergren’s paintings. When I first walked into the gallery, I thought she had put a nice collage on one of the walls of magazine clippings, until I stood back and saw it actually said FUCKING in huge letters. Awesome! After that was revealed I began seeing more subtle things in her paintings on the wall – like one of sheep, in which there was poop hanging on their fur. Although, the creme-de-le-creme was her classically-inspired painting of a unicorn fighting off a pack of dogs and their hunters.

The scene at Bergamot Station is a bit older then most other art walks. Yes, there are a lot of young people that go and definitely young artists showcased in the exhibits, but I’d say a majority of the people walking around were rather mature. Again, it also depends on what’s being shown. However, it’s a really cool place to visit if you’re in the area. FYI: You may want to bring some cash with you if you go to the next one, since there are always a bunch of food trucks there that are pretty good.

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Charlotta Westergren

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Robert Berman Gallery

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Sue Keane

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Sally Jacobs

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Corey Arnold @ Richard Heller Gallery

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The Frostig Collection

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Mercedes Gertz and Nancy Louis-Jones

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Puppy Sightings

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 BERGAMOT STATION: http://bergamotstation.com/

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