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
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Kate Carvellas
R.B. Cole
L. Crosky
Matt Dey
Jackson Dryden
Emek
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Jaq Frost
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Frank Gentile
Peter Greco
Patrick Haemmerlein
Mary Hanson
Shlome J. Hayun
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Bruce Horan
Cyrus Howlett
Iskar
Warren Jacobson
JSpot Jr.
Nagisa Kamae
Ahmed Khoko
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Jennifer Korsen
Hope Kroll
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Andrea LaHue
Margaret Larabel
Taylor Marvenko
Jason Mascow
Nichole McDaniel
Bobby Moore
Morley
Scott Moss
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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

 

Val Kilmer: His Latest Role as an Artist in Gabba Gallery Pop-Up

Posted on by Diversions LA

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Most people know Val Kilmer for his film and theater roles, but there’s a new part in Kilmer’s dramatic quiver that is less familiar to his fans – that of artist.

“I’ve developed strong and nuanced themes in my art from acting and performance that relate to iconic images or ideas – so there’s a thread of the icon and the Iconographic throughout the exhibition,” Kilmer said of his four day pop-up at Gabba Gallery in late July.

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While the artist’s renown certainly piqued interest in the exhibition, the power of his work more than stood for itself. In Icon Go On, I’ll Go On, Kilmer creates a series of icons – iconic characters he portrayed; icon-like abstract images with a strong spiritual bent, and words representing and directed at the icon that is “GOD.”

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The exhibition title itself refers to lines in Samuel Beckett’s 1953 novel, Unnamable — “I can’t go on. I’ll go on.” Kilmer, who resides and has a studio in New Mexico, is making his own existential declaration, having survived and healed from a run in with oral cancer. While healing, he created art.

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Divided into three main sections, the work was highly spiritual in nature. Using metal panels as canvas for his acrylics and laser cut works, some images are representational, some abstract. All in all, there were over 100 works on display, including sculptural pieces.

According to gallery owner Jason Ostro, “There is a lot of meaning to his work. Val is a very deep guy.  Super kind and extremely creative, it’s been a pleasure to work with him,” he notes.

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First up were a series of representational works with himself as a character  – Doc Holliday, Batman. Using stencils, he depicts these mythic images in an easily recognizable way, yet somehow the images are deeper than what we see on the surface. There is something otherworldly about them, as if the person who was portraying these figures were hovering just beyond the visual frame.

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Kilmer’s abstract works were beautifully colored, evoking images of the universe seen through a telescope, the stuff of ethereal, vivid dreams. Painted on metal with a black background, the shiny base of these layered, richly colored works pulls the eye deeper into the painting. Described as having a “blackhole” quality by Kilmer, there is the sense of seeing into another dimension. If the artist’s depiction of his character personas felt as if another being was hovering “off camera,” here, the viewer feels as if a different spiritual plane was floating just out of reach.

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The third section of the exhibition featured large laser-cut metal panels of the word “GOD.” Individual panels were grouped together, inviting viewers to viscerally see and connect with the word and the meaning of God. Groupings of some sixteen of these panels were paired with individual panels; others featured personal, handwritten thoughts, meditative exercises.
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There was even a neon piece created by Kilmer, a kindly commandment.
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Ostro relates that the show came about when a patron of the gallery who loved the energetic vibe of the space brought the gallery to the attention of Kilmer’s staff. “One of Val’s ‘people’ came to initially see the gallery, and after a few hours of talking and laughing, they loved it. I was told if Val was interested, he would be at the gallery sometime the next day.  I opened the doors at noon, and he was standing there eager to check out the space.  After talking for a few hours he said he’d get back to me, and a couple days later, we were planing his art show for July.”
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Above, gallerist Jason Ostro.

Kilmer fans and art lovers take note: the new exhibition opening Saturday August 12th at Gabba, Cratedigger 2, features several works by Kilmer in the second iteration of a terrific show that pays homage to the art of the record sleeve. Over a hundred international and local artists will be exhibiting.

Ostro adds that a smaller, solo show of Kilmer’s is already being planned for 2018.

  • Genie Davis; photos: courtesy of Gabba Gallery and by Genie Davis

 

Jason Ostro and Andrea LaHue: Twinned Beauty

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It would be hard not to love the lush and vibrant paintings of Jason Ostro and Andrea LaHue. The pair presented both solo works and collaborative pieces at Art on Scene in May, works that evoke stained glass.

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Above, the pair pose by two of LaHue’s floral works.

LaHue’s florals and Ostro’s mosaic-like, geometric patterns are stunners alone and in combination; both cutting edge and traditionally beautiful at the same time. Their show at the Sunset Blvd. gallery offered an exuberant chance to see both artists’ take on the natural world physically and emotionally.

Titled Flower & Flow, the exhibition touched on both elements with grace – flowing floral paintings by LaHue, flowering patterns in Ostro’s flowy abstract patterns.

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Above, Ostro’s work captures a stunning pattern and sensibility of leaves and petals. Below, LaHue’s irises dazzle with impressionistic brush strokes that evoke the texture of the flowers themselves.

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With a rich palette that created a kind of art garden, the two artists played off of one another’s subjects, colors, and styles; the several collaborative pieces worked a visual magic with their layered approach.

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The love both artists feel for their subjects, and for working together is quite literally palpable. Such a sense of respect for and immersion in the natural world, and each other’s diverse yet complimentary styles is visually delicious and emotionally satisfying.

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Above and below, a wall of Ostro’s work is like a series of mosaics fused with stained glass.

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The collaborative work below says it all: the tiled and petaled look of Ostro’s background is a perfect compliment to LaHue’s delicate blossoms.

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In a world in which there is often these days too little that is delicate, beautiful, and blissful, the two artists both together and separately have created a body of work that resonates with the heart as well as the mind.

  • Genie Davis, photos: Genie Davis

 

Yes, Curate This 2, Too

Posted on by Diversions LA

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Always a treat, the group shows at The Gabba Gallery seem to pulse with more excitement every time. Curate This Part Deaux is no exception, with art -works created by some of Los Angeles’ top curators. Featuring something for virtually every artistic taste, the show takes viewers through a panopoly of vibrant, quintessentially LA art. There was a look and feel to the show that could absolutely only happen in SoCal, and only at Gabba, and only if including the work of artists whose taste aesthetics have been sharply honed as curators.

Below, book designer, collage and mixed-media artist David Brady pulls viewers into an astonishing visual quilt with his “Esperanza.”

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Highly detailed, frieze-like sculptural paintings by Nathan Cartwright tell detailed, fantastical stories. Cartwright is an LA-based mixed media artist and founder/curator of The Hive Gallery and Studios in DTLA. Feel the buzz.

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Dicapria’s glowing mixed media mandala’s are crafted from gummy bears and resin in a light box. Her back story: she travels the U.S. in a 1971 bus.

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Mitchelito Orquiola was born in the Philipines, and resides in LA. His self-taught works create a mosaic of color and line.F23C8702

So what could be more a part of the City of Angeles than Kristine Schomaker’s beautiful little convertible? The Ideal Sex (The Little Pink Corvette) drives us into the SoCal sunset on a road dotted with the sign posts of gender roles, power, and the healing community of art itself. Schomaker also runs Shoebox PR, promoting art and artists throughout the Southland.F23C8703

Baby, you can drive Schomaker’s other cool ride, too.

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Photographer Osceola Refetoff’s ethereal, sun-drenched desert and urban visions haunt and inspire. The artist takes viewers down a road not just less traveled, but one most people have never experienced before.

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Below, the delicate, precise images photographed by Shana Nys Dambrot reflect an intimate thoughtfulness. Dambrot recently curated the stellar Painting by Scott Trimble, Photography by Osceola Refetoff show at Chungking Studios in Chinatown.

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Ted Meyer’s beautiful acryllic “Woman Napping with Cat,” holds all the golden light, curves, and angles, of a Hollywood summer, kissed with expressionist flavor. Meyer is currently curating Scar Stories at Muzeumm.

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Performance and installation artist Dani Dodge creates compelling, often autobiographical and catharctic works. As a former journalist and war correspondent, she tells stories that vibrate with humanity. Collage, assemblage, and video are components of her works, below.

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Up close, these layered fragments of wallpaper compel viewers to look beneath the surface layers of life itself.

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Phil Santos co-curates Gabba Gallery with Jason Ostro. His beautifully detailed watercolor pencil rendering of Pasadena City Hall transports the image to something that could exist in Venice or Paris. Santos is currently at work on a triptych mural for Angel City Brewery. F23C8718

Gabba Gallery owner, director, and co-curator Jason Ostro contributed this brilliantly blue, intrinsically floral, and kaleidoscopic piece to the exhibition.

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Below, Juri Koll’s mixed media paper on board evoke water, light, and an unheard aural component in their patterns and colors. Koll is founder, director, and often curator at The Venice Institute of Contemporary Art, and the producer of the Fine Arts Film Festival.F23C8724

Venice artist Mark Satterlee is a self-taught traditional and digital artist working primarily in fiberglass and pigmented resin. His work below uses an assemblage of Poloroid portraits.F23C8725

Skye Amber Sweet’s pink fish float off the canvas. Love, kindness, and self-expression are the driving forces of her emotional and emotive art.

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Daniel Rolnik curated at the self-owned Daniel Rolnik Gallery, and recently hosted one of the most enjoyable booths at the LA Art Fair,  the “Kilduff’s Bakery” art installation.  Below, some of Rolnik’s cheerful, fun, and vibrant work. F23C8732

Even at the end of the night, Gabba drew appreciative viewers.

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Below, another piece by Gabba’s co-curator Phil Santos. His classic dog portraits are much sought after by collectors. F23C8742

Artist Radhika Hersey creates stunning art fantasies  based on meditation, dreams, and folklore. Her spiritually magical paintings are closely aligned with her curatorial works at Temple of Visions and the Do Art Foundation,among other venues.F23C8747

Ever versatile, Phil Santos dishes up a plate of mixed media zombie spaghetti.

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Curate This 2 runs until February 28th. The Gabba Gallery is located at 3126 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles.

F23C8751– Genie Davis; all photos by Jack Burke