Gabba Gallery Wish List 11 and Heading Toward Change

Posted on by Diversions LA

What could be a better way to spend an evening in October than with Gabba Gallery’s Wishlist 11? It’s a delicious invitation, and you don’t have to wish on the first evening star to attend.  Featuring more than 75 artists working locally, nationally, and internationally, this annual and always- anticipated group exhibition offers a full range of art mediums at accessible prices.

The ever-changing exhibition will vary throughout its opening night and throughout the run of the show.  When an artwork is purchased, the gallery removes it so that the collector can take it home, and a new piece is hung in its place. Not only does this make for an evolving and lively evening, but each subsequent visit to the gallery provides a new experience. Curated by gallerists Jason Ostro and Elena Jacobson, this year’s stellar art roster includes:

Alex Achaval
Douglas Alvarez
Donna Bates
Cody Bayne
Terri Berman
Andrea Bogdan
Nicholas Bonamy
Nicole Bruckman
CANTSTOPGOODBOY
Kate Carvellas
R.B. Cole
L. Crosky
Matt Dey
Jackson Dryden
Emek
Fin
Jaq Frost
Gadget
Frank Gentile
Peter Greco
Patrick Haemmerlein
Mary Hanson
Shlome J. Hayun
Hero
Bruce Horan
Cyrus Howlett
Iskar
Warren Jacobson
JSpot Jr.
Nagisa Kamae
Ahmed Khoko
Konecki
Jennifer Korsen
Hope Kroll
KrossD
Andrea LaHue
Margaret Larabel
Taylor Marvenko
Jason Mascow
Nichole McDaniel
Bobby Moore
Morley
Scott Moss
MRSN
Jules Muck
Jeremy Novy
Jason Ostro
Judy Ostro
Isaac Pelayo
Phobik
Olga Ponomarenko
Dave Pressler
Christina Ramos
Jermaine Rogers
Ricky Sencion
Jeffrey Sklan
Bisco Smith
Jawsh Smyth
Nicolette Spear
Marq Spusta
Matthew Steidley
Sarah Stone
Sonya Stone
David Swartz
Teachr
Jordan K. Valdez
Shawn Waco
Em Wafer
Sébastien Walker
Sya Warfield
Christine Webb
Pastey Whyte
Caleb Williamson
Jared Yamahata
Essi Zimm
and others to be announced…

Along with this event marking 11 Wishlist events, it also stands as the gallery’s 11th year, at an extremely special and changing time for Gabba’s current location.

According to gallerist Jason Ostro, when the gallery began, the neighborhood was a bit uneven at best. Today “[There is a sense of] community, beautiful art where there was once a lot of trash in the alleys.”  He adds that over the years, conducting art tours, getting to see so many artists creating exhibitions with Gabba, and playing a part in advancing the art careers of talented creators, have been among the highlights in this incarnation of the gallery. “So many amazing artists have careers only in art now,” he notes.

So why these elegaic notes? Gabba is moving. “The gallery has borught joy, community, beautiful art, amazing conversations and inspiration for [our] neighbors, and so much love to us. We love our neighborhood here, and really are so sad to have to leave it,” Ostro relates.

Yes, Gabba is currently looking for a new home. “We don’t know where we’re going yet, but we are looking all over LA to find a fun new home,” he reports. And wherever that ends up being, one thing is certain, you can make a “wish list” on Gabba – to achieve the same kinds of community, happiness, and cool opening events the gallery has been known for from the start.

As to Wishlist itself, he describes the annual holiday show as “a buy and take show that constantly gets recurated with every piece sold. A new piece takes the place of the piece that sold.. Everything is affordable as far as art goes and it’s first come and buy for the person who takes it home.” The fast-paced, engaging exhibition also offers amazing deals because the contributing artists know this is a special holiday show.

The yearly show is a rich part of the art community that Ostro loves, and which he notes “has supported us for the past 11 years…  some of the happiest days of my life. Seeing so much creativity and love for expression is so beautiful and keeps us going,” he attests. “Wishlist is a show we feel gives back to the collectors and also helps new collectors start colllecting. Why spend money on something mass produced, when you can have the original for not much more?”

Ostro asserts that “Art is something that is shared and loved and bought as gifts for oneself and others. Wishlist and Gabba together are perfect for that. We always try to have something for everyone,” he says.

Several days after the opening, the gallery will also offer an online print archive sale and the online sale of any of the original work that is still available.

For now, the gallerist describes himself and Jacobson as being “thankful for our art community. We would not be here after 11 years without them. We’ve all supported and trusted each other, and in some ways, Gabba has felt like a community center for me. Having some of the same patrons for the past 11 years means so much to us.”

As to the exhibition space itself, according to Ostro, “Gabba is and always has been something special, a labor of love. Something that we wanted to always be fair and honest and supportive of our artists. In the past 11 years, we’ve gotten to support so many beautiful creative souls. We wish we could stay here as it’s [been] home, but we’re very excited for whatever the next chapter of Gabba Gallery is. Stay tuned because we hope to keep the magic in the air.”

Undoubtedly, that will be the case.

And in the meantime, plan to attend this weekend’s show, or visit the gallery during the exhibition’s run for a fond and fun farewell. Wish List 11 opens Saturday, October 21st, running 6 to 10 p.m. with DJ and complimentary beverages; the exhibition, located 3126 Beverly in Fillipinotown mid-city, appropriately enough, closes November 11th. Don’t miss!

  • Genie Davis; photos provided by the gallery

 

Stay On It Never Stays Still

Posted on by Diversions LA

Stay On It, curated by Heather Lowe at Keystone Art Projects, is awash in motion, kinetic, lenticular, video, neon crackle – and bright with color and light.

Fierce pink feathered leaves hang from Sung-Hee Son’s “Unbearable Lightness,” a towering fantasy tree with a spinning, motorized bust revolving at its heart, making the work at once flora and fauna. Lowe’s own “Silent Fargelli,” “Carousel Animales,” “Water Wheel” and the titular “Stay On It” are joy filled Ferris Wheel, carousel,  sea scape and toddler blocks. They are simply brilliant lenticular works, several featuring collaborative elements from Robert Stevens and Martin Van Diest. Lowe’s work here enchants and meditatively hypnotizes – it is both easy and exciting to watch them as they shift or spin or turn.

Van Diest himself offers programmable LED sculptures, the meditative, brilliantly colored “Chichen Itza” and “Nested Pyramids.” These vivid, involving pieces looked fresh from every angle.

Adele Mills’ untitled mixed media works, as well as her “My Face Is In Your Hands” and “How Soon is Now” are created from mixed media and fabric, and not technically moving. Nonetheless they appear to be, as wavering and transformative, depending on where the viewer casts an eye, as if they were a lenticular works. Nancy Ivanhoe’s mixed media pieces, including the evocative “Moonlight Over Inglewood,” “Ocean Wave,” and three works from her Color Waves series are created from acrylic paint and metal screen mesh, but appear like wind caught in time, ready to start blowing onward.

Ray Chang’s interactive and charming “Into the Night” and “Animated Peephole Cinema,” are both witty and sharp. Neon artist Linda Sue Price’s “Critacy” offers a stunning and surreal form of plant life with its neon crackles in perpetual motion, as if the plant was growing before our eyes. Robert Costanza’s mysterious alchemy pulses from “Dopamine” and “Untitled,” two entirely different pieces aptly paired by Lowe, a mixed media sculpture that involves pump-activated water-flow and an acryllic and graphite painting which indicts commercialism and speaks to magic.

“Kili Vara (bird drawings)” from Sandeep K. Das and Franklin Londin’s “Evermorphs” are video presentations both kaleidoscopic and soaring. Last but not least, Melanie Mandl’s oil on wood “Same Same” evokes a brilliant sense of barely contained, ever evolving movement and sense of peril.

Lowe  reveals herself once again as a compelling curator, as well as creator of some of the most innovative, satisfying art around. For the exhibition’s closing event, she brought the lush, lovely flamenco movements of dance artist Cicely Nelson Tong to create a moving, elegiac performance. Nelson Tong’s grace and fierceness flowed over the gathered audience.

While you may have missed this exceptional exhibition live, it will have future iterations, and for now you can view this treasure-packed art show online here. You must look.

  • Genie Davis; photos by Genie Davis

 

The Park to Playa Trail: Stellar Views, Art, and a Perfect Place to Get Fit

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Los Angeles is awash in arts and culture, fine dining, and sunny skies – the latter makes it all the better to enjoy some time outdoors. And the wide range of spots to experience nature close to home may surprise you no matter how long you’ve lived in SoCal.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

One of the best ways to experience the outdoors is along the Park to Playa Trail. This 13-mile regional trail connects a vast network of trails, parks, and open spaces for hiking, biking, dog walking – you name it. While some of sections of the trail have been around for decades, the entire trail wasn’t completed until 2020. It now makes an ideal destination for iconic views along with great exercise.

Credit: Genie Davis

The Park to Playa Trail stretches from city to ocean. It starts with the Stocker Corridor, where you can make your way through greenspace and neighborhoods before entering the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area,  a 400-acre park known for its stunning city views of LA.

After you cross the La Cienega Pedestrian Bridge, spend a peaceful moment at at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. Next up: Culver City Park, rife with native plants and wildlife and a set of steep railroad tie stairs that take you down to ground level and back should you want to indulge in some particularly vigorous exercise. Staying on the trail, the Ballona Creek Bike Path is your next stop; from there, you can head straight to Playa del Rey to take in those Pacific blue waves and welcoming ocean breeze.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Kim Abeles Citizen Seeds, photo credit Ken Marchiono

On the way, you can enjoy sculptural art along with those views. Kim Abeles created seven beautiful, immersive sculptures on the Park to Playa Trail route. Her ecologically rich artworks first appear along the Stocker Corridor and Kenneth Hahn Park starting from the east, with the final piece located near the Stoneview Overlook to the west. The sculptures celebrate the flora of the trail, representing the seed pods of trees located along it. Created from concrete, terrazo, and metal, the lovely, highly tactile works reveal maps of locations, viewpoints and activities on the trail revealed in the interior of the pods.

Photo credit: Genie Davis

Besides the sweeping views of city skyline and sea and the delightfully textural sculptures by Abeles, the Park to Playa Trail offers numerous opportunities for hiking, cycling, running and just exploring. The trail provides the perfect urban fitness journey, too, with the long but pleasure-filled path a terrific starting point to lose weight naturally.  After all, movement is a big part of wellness and weight loss, and even by walking just a mile or so,  the trail is a pretty wonderful way to benefit your health.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Of course, the health benefits of walking the trail are more than physical. Despite its easily accessible proximity to the city, the trail provides plenty of areas to escape the tumult of urban life and just relax. Both exercise and time spent in nature can improve overall well-being, and combining the two can definitely increase the advantages.  Brain function is boosted by physical activities outdoors, as well as by the spiritual health boost of nature.

All in all, the Park to Playa Trail is an excellent trail for anyone who loves the outdoors, is looking out for their health, or simply seeking a little respite from urban life.  And best of all, you don’t even have to leave town to find it. That said, if you’re looking for a quick escape with a mountain vibe, Big Bear Lake is just two hours away.

Boney Island Exudes – and Exhumes – Spooky Charm

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Skeletons tell your fortune…clever video card tricks invite you to play…optical illusions of disappearing blackbirds and mysterious snake-like rope tricks fascinate, while charming, yes charming displays of the recently departed depict fishing trips and pirate lore, cowboy life, and strange gardens.

Such is the world of Boney Island, returning after a 3-year hiatus due to Covid and relocation. Now happily positioned outdoors near the Exposition Park Rose Garden on the Natural History Museum grounds, this enchanting Halloween world is immersive, interactive, and alight with eerie illumination now through October 31.

We walked through the museum’s garden pathways at dusk and into a world that includes skeleton dinosaurs, carnival barkers, and even carnivorous plants. Both witty, amusing, and properly spooky, the attraction was originally created by Rick Polizzi, producer of The Simpsons, for his family. It was designed as a riff on the Coney Island amusement park, and over the course of 20 years, expanded from a front yard exhibit to a large-scale attraction in Griffith Park. And now, it’s found what appears to be its rightful bones – or rather, home at NHM.

The museum’s nature gardens are a great setting, allowing visitors to wind their way through various themed areas. The carnival barker/Coney Island-themed skeletal attractions are the first portion of Boney Island visitors will enjoy, and it would be just about impossible to walk through it without laughing delightedly at the illusions and tricks offered here. In a small clearing, a compact stage offers a lively information from museum staff about fiendish-looking fossils and creatures from the distant past, as well as magic shows.

Attendees will stroll among the skeleton horses and cowboys, pirates and their buried treasures in Deadwood Forest, view a skeleton orchestra in performance and the somewhat carnivorous appearing plants in Hauntington Gardens, and watch skeletal Teradactyls fishing for boney fish among the other prehistoric creatures in Prime Evil pass.

There’s also a Haunted Halloween Light Trail, and at the far end of the attraction, a large stage featuring a Haunted Mansion water and light show with musical amusements ranging from the classical to the Adams Family theme song conducted by a delightfully snarky skeleton host. And don’t forget your camera! Set pieces such as a Dias de la Muertes skull, massive pumpkins, and a tilted quarter moon are also on hand for photo ops that are perfect for the whole family.

In fact, the entire event is not only family-friendly, its adult-friendly, too. Kids will love the tricks and amusements, adults will revel in the old-time flavor, smart artisanry, and lively quips that abound.

Additionally, there are pop-up demonstrations conducted by the Natural History Museum’s Live Animals team, and a rotating selection of local food trucks and food vendors as well as the museum’s café, the Neighborhood Grill from Post & Beam, as well as both Boney Island and NHM-branded merchandise and light up toys for take-home fun.

This unique and super fun Halloween spooktacular is ticketed at $25 per person; $20 for NHM members. The event runs Thursday–Sunday, and on October 30 and 31st. Entry times are at 6 and 8 p.m.; doors open at 6 and guests are invited to stay until closing. Allow two hours to enjoy all the tricks and treats.

  • Genie Davis; photos by Genie Davis