Never disappoints…
– Los Angeles, CA 2023
Barry McGee @ Perrotin LA – “Earthworm”
Tag: los angeles
Sometimes B Side is Better
Henry Taylor retrospective at the MOCA Grand A
New Year New
Starting the year by revisiting the Broad.
Street Snaps – Os Gemeos in Los Feliz, Los Angeles
When I moved out to Los Feliz beginning of this year, I heard rumors that the Brazilian writers Os Gemeos had painted a small wall here years ago. I could find pictures of small sections of the wall scattered through the Internet, but never found the actual location. Today, I hopped on my bike and rode around the areas that I suspected this wall could be and voila, I found it! One of the best feelings ever when I caught a glimpse over my shoulder of this white washed wall with what looked liked painted figures from afar.
Here is my gift to the street art world on the Internet of these cool little gems.
– Los Angeles, CA
Awol Erizku & Isabel Yellin @ Night Gallery
Hidden away amongst old industrial complexes in the outskirts of Downtown Los Angeles, there is a cool little space called Night Gallery (@nightgallery) that is currently exhibiting two up-and-coming artists, Awol Erizku and Isabel Yellin. If you drive past a strip club on Washington Blvd, then drive through the small alley behind it, you’ll arrive at the gallery through a small opening in the parking lot fence. Yes, it sounds sketchy. Yes, it’s safe.
In my day job I work in one of those industrial factories in the area, but even I would have never guessed a bona fide art gallery existed around here. LA is so confusing sometimes.
Awol Erizku
Erizku (@awolerizku), a Los Angeles-based artist, primarily gained his notoriety as a photographer, many of his subjects being young and famous rappers and artists themselves. Although he disdains being known as the “Beyonce portrait photographer”, his fame catapulted earlier this year when Beyonce posted a photo on Instagram of her pregnant self in front of a large ring of flowers, announcing that she is expecting twins. That photo quickly became the most liked picture on Instagram EVER within a few hours.
In his latest show with Night Gallery titled Menace II Society, Erizku explores police brutality (#fucktwelve), race identity, and female empowerment through the lens of popular culture. I’m always drawn to the in-your-face, pop culture driven, subversive visual art, so Erizku fits the bill perfectly.
Isabel Yellin
Inhuman, uncomfortable, confusing, sensual, and sexual. Those are the words that entered my mind when looking at this amorphous body of works by Isabel Yellin (@isayell) exhibiting alongside Erizku in the same space. Titled It’ll Come, the shapes and materials used in these sculptures inform the range of emotions that viewers experience.
For example, the black, shiny latex material evoke images of a violent sexual act, while the conjoined pale-fleshed figures on the wall confound yet bring forth warmth, like two sisters holding hands and walking down the street.
Overall, it’s a weird experience standing between the figures, but I found myself coming back to look at them several times. I’m sure you’ve all experienced not being able to look away after playing those pimple popping videos on YouTube. It’s gross and fascinating at the same damn time!
The two shows run until October 7.
Night gallery is located at 2276 E Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90021.
– Los Angeles, CA
Street Snap: Tristan Eaton in LA Arts District
Street Snap: DXTR x Nychos “THE WEIRD”
The chief Nychos (@nychos) and DXTR (@dxtrtheweird) of the Weird Crew drove down to sunny Los Angeles to escape the drear of San Francisco a few weeks ago. Being the industrious sorts, they arranged a couple of walls before getting here and wasted no time getting to painting. I got a chance to snap a few quick photos of the wall today, but, of course, a freakin’ truck had to be blocking most of the wall when I got there. Hopefully, my next visit is better. In the meantime, these will have to do.
Here’s a good interview from Juxtapoz with the white rabbit Nychos: An Interview and San Francisco Visit with Nychos
Santa Monica & Ardmore
– Los Angeles, CA
The Broad Opens Its Inaugural Exhibition – Part Two
Downstairs on the 1st floor of the Broad is a recent body of work by the Superflat movement leader Takashi Murakami (@takashipom). There are other works on the first floor, but it is largely dominated by the works of Murakami. The common motif in these works is the catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami off the Pacific coast of Tohoku in Japan. The emotions and devastations felt as the aftermath of the disaster overtook the livelihood of the Japanese people served as an artistic inspiration for Murakami.
A 82 ft long and 10 ft tall masterwork completed in 2014 by the artist took up two full walls of the large hall. It told a beautiful story of a mischievous sea god that caused numerous deaths and the survivors that braved through the storm on the sea finally meet prosperity and peace. However, the prosperity and peace lead to greed and gluttony that foretells another disaster soon to come. I tried to capture that story in the set of pictures after the break:
Anthony Lister’s “Mad Props Street Cred” Brings the Street to the Gallery @ New Image Art
Lister’s first solo show in US in three years opened last night at New Image Art in West Hollywood. The Australian street artist was in attendance, lots of Angeleno art fans came out to party, and, of course, free booze, provided by House Beers (which was a surprisingly good beer), always helps. It was a truly multi-media event: sculptures, an installation mimicking the artist’s roaming street studio, a video installation that brought one of his paintings to life, and numerous new pieces on canvas were strewn across the gallery floor and walls. The show is open until October 10th.
Click through the post to find more pictures from the opening.
Art Openings in Los Angeles, Sept. 11th Weekend
There’s a quite a few exciting show openings in Los Angeles next weekend. BDAB will be in attendance for at least a couple of these, so drop me a line in the comments if you’re going too.
Gilded Age @ Thinkspace Gallery. Saturday, September 12th, 6-9pm
6009 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232
Andrew Horkey, Esao Andrews, Joao Ruas
Don’t call it a group show. It is a three-man exhibition between Aaron Horkey (@aaronhorkey), Esao Andrews (@esao), and Joao Ruas (@feral_kid). The idea for this show first came about back in 2012 when Thinkspace Gallery’s head honcho Andrew Hosner (@thinkspace_art) casually asked Andrew Horkey about his ideal three-man show, to which Horkey quickly named off Esao and Joao. Each of these artists have been heavily promoting the show with teasers of works-in-progress and it’s looks like it’ll easily be the show of the year in Los Angeles. Be sure to sign up for Thinkspace’s email list or follow them on social media for more information.
Mad Props Street Cred @ New Image Art. Friday, September 11th, 7-10pm
7920 Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood, CA 90046
Anthony Lister
This is the first solo exhibition in United States since 2012 of the self-proclaimed “adventure painter” Anthony Lister (@anthonylister). The Australian street artist has been busy on the streets of LA in the last week hitting up walls to promote the show. New Image Art (@newimageart) knows how to throw a party, so it should be a good show to attend if you’re not doing much this Friday. Even if you are, this will probably be better, so go to the show anyways.
https://instagram.com/p/6-8a3lL9VH/?taken-by=anthonylister
https://instagram.com/p/7N9zsyQRLD/?taken-by=newimageart
Trapezoid @ KP Projects/Merry Karnowsky Gallery. Saturday, September 12th, 7-10pm
170 S La Brea Ave Los Angeles, CA
Mark Whalen
Mark Whalen (@mark_whalen) is another Australian artist showing in Los Angeles next weekend. Merry Karnowsky (@kpprojectsmkg) has been kind to the BDAB collection in the last few years, although they probably don’t even know it. From the looks of it, Mark is preparing a large installation, much akin to the large scale outdoor work he’s done in the past.
https://instagram.com/p/7MBonZySP9/?taken-by=mark__whalen
https://instagram.com/p/7E2ZqiSSHi/?taken-by=mark__whalen
It’s going to be a fun weekend. See you guys at the shows!