Saturday night marked the opening of another stand-out show at The Gabba Gallery, “Four View,” four separate solo shows, one roof. The Westlake district gallery is fast becoming a hot spot for cutting edge art with a strong emphasis on street talent. Curated by Jason Ostro, artists Michael Christy, Phobik, Jeffrey Gillette, and CANTSTOPGOODBOY were the four views on display. Music: DJ Ale of dublab.
Michael Christy’s exhibition, “Genre Paintings” takes viewers into a surreal world, vivid colors pulling into scenes whose depth have a 3D feel. The worlds depicted may be imaginary, but the lifeforms present are real and grounded. The juxtaposition of heightened reality and different time-frames and realms keeps eyes riveted to the details on every inch of canvas.
“I work in multiple directions at the same time, revealing the past, present, future. I like this type of color palette. When I switched from oil to acrylic paints, I wanted an artificial looking landscape that was still reflective of the world. I created a sense of happiness and hope in the colors and smiling figures, even though the landscapes are strange.”
Michael Christy, right
“The images can be construed as people ignoring crises of bio-diversity, or that overall, perhaps we are happy in the greater scheme of things, despite the crises,” Christy explains. “I use a figurative mythology that’s very allegorical, even though it suggests specific scenes.” His illustration is a kind of visual poetry.
Jeffrey Gillette
Jeffrey Gillette, one of Banksy’s DISMALAND artists, also depicts another world: this one featuring detailed slums and iconic ruins, both as paintings and sculpted forms. “Dread” is an exhibition intertwining these intense visions of loss with pop culture icons from Goofy to the Minions. This isn’t your four-year-old’s cartoon world.
“I travel to India every year, the houses here are based on what I observe there. I also lived in Nepal which is a strong influence. My wife said the work would be too oppressive, harsh, too real – without an avenue for access for the viewer. That’s where the iconic figures like Mickey, and other characters come in,” Gillette says.
Phobik and his alternative universe.
Phobik has painted a mind bending, comic-book-centric exhibition of pieces centered around The Phobik God. Titled “Figments and Particles,” the dimensions he depicts are not of this planet – at least not yet.
“Each piece is a part of a story I’m trying to tell in my own comic book that I’m creating. From murals to canvases, each piece tells a story like a panel in a comic book,” Phobik relates. “My own icon is a monocle, representing thoughts, different dimensions or portals between dimensions, and it appears repeatedly in the works.”
CANTSTOPGOODBOY presents “realfake: UNKNOWN” a world of superheroes, All-American icons, and repeated images that pulse with intensity. “Overall this room, this show, is designed in museum-style, with minimal pieces. Jason (Jason Ostro, curator) and I collaborated on redoing the room with new lights, paint, and floor.” The artist described several of the pieces included in the show.
The striking piece “Color into Thin Air: Inside Out” is an example of one of the artist’s repeated images. 60 x 17 here, there is a more massive version of the image in the painting at the San Francisco museum Mu Mu. “While the images are similar – I repeat images a lot – each one has unique attributes,” he says. “I repeat images throughout my work, but with slight variations of color or layers.”
CANTSTOPGOODBOY’s color pallet is vivid. “The colors are inspired by the Malibu mountains outside my studio. They’re the colors of nature and flowers.”
“Realfake is the name of my design studio. Here I’m illustrating it in neon.”
Missed the opening? Catch this exhibition through October 24th. The Gabba Gallery is located at 3126 Beverly Blvd LA, CA 90057
- Genie Davis, all photos: Jack Burke