There is a plethora of excellent art in downtown Los Angeles right now. It might, if you feel daring, even be possible to walk between them. Whether you go by foot, car, or public transport, here are some excellent shows that you simply should not miss.
At Luis De Jesus, two stunning solo shows use unique materials to create riveting, utterly original art. Hector Dionicio Mendoza Buscando Futuro / Searching for a Future, marks the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery, and it’s a splendid one. From wall art to giant sculptural forms, Mendoza shapes his figures from unusual materials, some of which he describes as “ethnic breads, ” as well as “wood, feathers, bark, and cardboard.” Monumental in size in some cases, and in meaning in every piece, Mendoza’s work is informed by his own personal experiences and the border politics of the U.S. and Mexico. His visualization of immigrant experience is richly moving, a series of browns and beiges and golds with the occasional splash of color from peacock feathers and recycled clothing. This is literally and figuratively colossal work.
Griselda Rosas‘ Donde pasó antes (Where it happened before) is equally passionate and glorious. Drawing from both personal memories and fairy tales, Rosas’ work is as vividly colorful as Mendoza’s is steeped in the brown of desert dust and southwestern landscapes.
Rosas creates mixed media collages from fabrics, cyanotypes, acrylic, watercolor, natural pigments and lush embroidery on linen and ostrich skin. Sculptural works represent ornamental slingshots. Her magical collages tell trenchant tales about colonization and resistance, while using skilled textile manipulation and fanciful figures. She blends mythic images and children’s stories, using a brilliant palette that vibrates with both color and meaning. Remarkable work.
Both solo exhibitions run through February 17th. Luis De Jesus is located at 1110 Matteo Street in the arts district.
Not far away, there’s a new kid in town, a small but well-curated art collective has shaped exhibition space for MAARLA members at Artbug. The opening show, A Mirror to the Sprawl features the brilliantly colored acrylic painting of Hagop Najarian; a riveting abstract utilizing found objects from Stephanie Sherwood; and a terrific series of diminutive vinyl cutout and acrylic flora from Surge Witron. Electronic timers animate a visually cool and thematically fascinating work from Carly Chubak providing apt social commentary on the cost paid for labor. Sean Cully offers a lovely, interactive wood rain stick sculpture, while josh vasquez exhibits a still life of a classic alcoholic beverage presented behind a thick wall of plexiglass, much as it would be on a shop shelf. Emily Babette Gross, Katie Shanks, and H. Leslie Foster II also offer beautifully wrought work.
The exhibition runs through the February 4 at Artbug, which is located at 441 Hunter Street, Unit B.
A short distance away, Vielmetter’s multiple galleries offer two separate solo exhibitions and one vividly delightful group show. London-based artist Celia Paul’s Life Painting in Gallery 1 offers a primarily pastel palette and soft focus on images that include the British Museum, a white rose, the Devon shore, and her “Standing Self Portrait.” Opalescent shadows and a gentle rhythm of brush strokes suffuse the quietly lustrous exhibition.
In the Greenhouse annex, a lively, vividly colorful group exhibition from artists Lavaughan Jenkins, Mario Joyce, Raffi Kalenderian, and Kiriakos Tompolidis showcases works of oil over foam and acrylic on wood panel from Jenkins that vibrate with color and texture; stained-glass-like collage and mixed media works from Joyce; cool and dream-like patterns in truly lovely work from Tompolidis created in acrylic, oil and photo transfer; and Kalenderian’s vivid and visceral images of everything from a ruby red cocktail to a burnished orange backdrop to a Glendale billiards hall. Both terrific shows are up until March 9th.
Closing soon, January 27th in Vielmetter Gallery 2, Todd Gray offers splendid 3D photo collages created from acrylic, oil and photo transfer in a tour de force solo exhibition Rome Work. Images convey thoughtful and startling takes on religion, colonialism, and outdated cultural tropes in a completely unique multiplicity of images.
Upstairs at Nicodim’s annex, a lustrous display of rich acrylic still-lifes glow with inner light from Massachusetts-based artist Nicole Duennebier, in her solo exhibition The Only Way Out is Through. suffused with radiance but dark, these dream-like yet intricately realistic images cast mysterious spells.
Down the hall at another Nicodim outpost, No Shortcuts to Aztlan, Christian Ruiz Berman’s multi-cultural kaleidoscopic images overlap with figurative, surreal, geometric, and abstract elements whose patterns are as supple and evocative as its layered subjects. Both shows are on exhibit through February 17th. Nicodim and Vielmetter are located at 1700 Santa Fe Ave.
A few blocks away at the Bendix building, Tiger Strikes Asteroid presents the vibrant palette of Sara Vanderbeek. The Austin native uses vivid fabric dyes to create images reminiscent of Gaugin figures on linen. Works are hung from the ceiling – including cut outs of legs and objects of clothing – as well as on the walls for an immersive exhibition of a passionate palette. From pregnancy to social violence, while some subjects may be dark, others are more whimsical, and all are celebrations of the glories, indignities, traumas, and triumphs of life itself. Above all else, the joyousness of creation is hanging on the figurative line in these textile works. This is a wow. On display through February 4th.
Adjacent gallery space Monte Vista displays the layered, glossy works of Olivia Booth, works so deep that the viewer feels as if diving into the glowing abstract images is a real possibility. Using a combination of diverse materials that include flashglass and borosillicate, plastic, melted mirror, oil and rubber, the images are both gorgeous and gritty, shining and disturbing. The works will also be on display through February 4th.
At 515, the group exhibition On Painting covers a wide range of creativity in a series of abstract works that include Carlos Beltran Arechiga’s futuristic standout, as well as stellar works by Surge Witrön, Crystal Michaelson, Pamela Taguinot, Peter Nagy and Sasha Mariyem. Sleek, supple, and all about the brush stroke, this show closes February 3rd.
Also in the Bendix, Durden and Ray offers a fascinating collaboration between the Los Angeles based collective and a collective in Arctic Norway, Small Projects. Titled Beyond Horizons, the exhibition was curated by Jet pascua, and featured artists Marsil Andjelov Al-Mahamid, Jojo Austria, Arezoo Bharthania, Tanya Busse, Joe Davidson, Dani Dodge, Eva Faché, Stein Henningsen, Ged Merino, Ina Otzko, Jet Pascua, and Stephanie Sherwood.
The show focuses on landscape – both geographic and political, with note made of climate change and border conflicts. Conceptually strong, exhibition images are primarily abstract, and visually absorbing. Images of golden Joshua trees from Dodge and wonderful geographic landscapes created from the improbable medium of Scotch tape from Davidson join a vertically hung urban forest of images from Barthania among other stellar works by the LA team, while images from their Nordic counterparts include beautiful textile works and sculptures. The exhibition is on exhibit until February 4th.
The Bendix Building is located at 1206 Maple Avenue in DTLA. Go downtown!
Genie Davis; photos by Genie Davis
