As a lover of paintings incorporating bold figure and narrative, I was excited to see Anja Salonen’s new series for her show "Lagomorph Labyrinth" at Sade Gallery. Salonen’s work tends to merge conventional figurative form with the unexpected, resulting in...
Rosa Loy
Rosa Loy's paintings in "So Near and Yet So Far" at Kohn Gallery delineate a mysterious fairytale world desolately populated only by women. Initially, the women appear to be engaged in habitual activities such as farming or playing; but the more you look at them, the...
The Underground Museum: : Deana Lawson
Poetically conveying clues to her photographs' complex themes, "Planes," the title of the Deana Lawson show at The Underground Museum, connotes levels of existence; walls of rooms; and images' physical flatness. Most of the Rochester-born, New York-based artist's...
Shot By Both Sides
The primary icon of Low Brow Art is also unfortunately one of the most corrupting and dangerous icons of mainstream culture. It should by all rights and agreement be stuck on the business end of a spear and left out to rot in the streets for the amusement of the...
Dancing Cowboy Junkies
While the majority of the art world appeared caught in the Art Basel craze last week, we were happy to brave the storm on a rare rainy night here in LA. We ventured to the Gagosian in Beverly Hills for the performances by Dan Colen with choreographer Dimitri Chamblas...
Max Hooper Schneider
Cleverly titled "Tryouts for the Human Race," Max Hooper Schneider's show features only four works, each of which exists as a wondrous self-contained realm inside Jenny's, a diminutive Silver Lake gallery whose absence of outward signage makes the sight inside all the...
Shulamit Nazarian: : Reuven Israel
Reuven Israel's compelling exhibition at Shulamit Nazarian, titled "In Four Acts," is concerned with variation and transformation. His beautifully crafted floor-based sculptures are amalgamations of pieces of painted oak of approximately 6 to 12 inches in length by 1...
Bernardo Bertolucci (1941-2018) as miracle-master: The Conformist
We generally think of chance or random selection, in opposition to composition, certainly in opposition to mise-en-scène; but there are moments and circumstances that bring these very different conditions into dynamic interplay. I had occasion to consider this...
A Festive Month in Art Begins
The holidays are starting, and so is a festive month in Los Angeles art. Two strong shows took the stage at Torrance Art Museum: performance and mixed media of all kinds. In the main gallery, Forum 1 included a wide selection of artists exciting a packed-house crowd....
Meleko Mokgosi
"Objects of Desire: Reflections on the African Still Life" is a tour de force of technical versatility, showcasing Meleko Mokgosi's multifarious painting skills alongside written testaments of his art's heady conceptual foundations. Mokgosi's paintings and sculptures...
Hammer Museum: : Victor Hugo
When in 1851 the French writer Victor Hugo rose up against the coup d'état initiated by Napoleon III, the police were looking for him. Hugo had to flee Paris, the city in which his first child Leopold passed away in infancy and his beloved nineteen-year old daughter...
Imaginary Worlds
Last Saturday night the LA arts scene was in full swing and we gladly joined the frenzy. Our first stop was Wilding Cran Gallery, which immersed us in installations by Vikky Alexander for her show Vertical Dreams, and Jen Stark’s opening, Multiplicity. After entrance...
Ghebaly Gallery & M + B: : Aaron Fowler
Ostensibly a presentation of individual large-scale mixed media sculptural works, Aaron Fowler’s current exhibition is more like a series of pocket universes. Occupying the entireties of two art galleries on opposite sides of the city, Fowler presents these monumental...
Kimberly Brooks
Calling all Kimberly Brooks fans: A short time remains to catch "Fever Dreams," her mid-career survey at Mt. San Antonio College Art Gallery. More than 20 pieces, from small studies to watercolors on paper to large-scale oil paintings, sketch Brooks' artistic...
Danvy Pham: The Woman Within
When my dear artist friend Danvy Pham texted photos of her works in progress for her upcoming solo show, I replied, "Klimt! But from a feminine perspective." Danvy draws from many such inspirations — Schiele and Picasso also come to mind — but the result is one...
Art Aplenty to be Thankful for
As we approach Thanksgiving, it’s pretty awesome to be living in Los Angeles where the art scene gives us plenty to be thankful for besides cornbread stuffing and candied yams. Art at the Rendon: "Stories" took attendees into the lives of multiple characters in an...
Susu Attar at The Mistake Room
Iraqi-born, Los Angeles artist Susu Attar opened an expansive exhibition on October 20th filling LA’s very own The Mistake Room with dynamic paintings made on long scrolls of white paper. Entitled Isthmus, TMR Deputy Director Kris Kuramitsu curated the wonderfully...
Jo Ann Callis
Uneasy undercurrents seep from Jo Ann Callis' delusively simple images. Her versatile talent for finding eeriness in the everyday is amply demonstrated in "Now and Then" at ROSEGALLERY. This manifold selection of paintings, sculptures and photographs from the 1970's...