Halfway through the selection of videos by LA artist Ulysses Jenkins, I was sweaty and sticking to my seat in the crowded upstairs cinema room of ltd los angeles gallery. Still, it was little of a deterrent to my enjoyment. The gallery provided beverages along with...
Neon Lights, Big Poodles and Flowers
The heat goes on—and so does the beat of pulsating great art in Los Angeles. On Thursday, Laurie Shapiro offered a DTLA studio preview of her about-to-open gallery installation at Da Plume, "All Yoni is Love." The immersive lush psychedelic installation was draped...
Off With Their Heads
There is a new queen in town. Last Saturday the Tanya Bonakdar matriarchy entered Hollywood in the most appropriate of ways—with the 12th solo presentation of gallery SoCal artist Charles Long. The exhibition “husbands, sons, fathers, brothers” provides context; it is...
More Cool Art in a Hot City
Temperatures might have cooled slightly—just slightly—this week, but the art scene remains hot and happening. Saturday evening at SoLA, a packed house of art lovers and exhibiting artists mingled over two strong shows. Pulse of LA in the main gallery, a juried...
Mixed Media and Lively Openings
It’s summer, so the art scene is easy—with a wide range of cool openings that help beat the heat. It was a hot, steamy evening at PØST gallery in the Bendix Building last night, but that didn’t stop an excited and engaged crowd from enjoying the wide array of...
Craft Beer, Art & Science
Last week I took the trek out to Long Beach to the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) to check out their Craft Beer fest, just in time for Artillery’s food issue. While the amount of vendors was modest—15 or so small tents were scattered across the sculpture...
Summer Feast of Art
This past weekend brought a summer feast of art exhibitions all over town, some with potent topical messages. The 11th annual "Diverted Destruction" exhibition at Loft at Liz’s featured works made of found, discarded or recycled items, and a found-object giveaway...
A Bountiful Garden Party
The annual garden party fundraiser for SASSAS (Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound) had most things one would expect in a swanky fundraiser. The event took place in the private residence of Mary Blodgett and Carlton Calvin in the painfully...
A Tribute to Female and LGBTQ Silent Filmmakers
Last Saturday I attended "Silent Salute: Women Directors of Silent Film" at Small Green Door in East LA; the event was a tribute to female and LGBTQ directors of silent film, both historical and contemporary. The space is a creative studio by day and gallery by night....
Museum of Mirth: Hammer’s Made in L.A. Opening
Where were you last Saturday night? Did you try to make it to the Hammer’s Made in L.A. reception? We heard a lot of people aborted their plans as the crowds were insane, and forget parking! Fortunately we arrived on the early side to attend the Director’s Reception...
Feminist Latinx Performance Art
On Thursday, May 24, the Broad Museum was infiltrated by a coven of four Latinx she-monsters wearing wigs on their faces, jeans tossed around their shoulders, and topless fake-hair onesies. In the Broad’s foyer, they appeared in the midst of a luxuriously-dressed LA...
Lively Openings & Arty Haircuts
A wide range of lively openings dotted the city this past weekend, including openings at Launch and KP Projects on La Brea, the closing of a terrific exhibition at Keystone Art Space, and the intensely beautiful "Carbon" at Fellows of Contemporary Art in Chinatown...
After Henry – or Thanks Be to Mark
As Karen Finley wisely counseled me some years ago, an excess of gratitude can strike you dumb (or simply annoyed speechless), which is never a good place to be, especially if you’re on a podium and expected to render judgment, offer smart advice or commentary, or...
Vision Valley, An Effortless Cool Factor
I was going to make fun of The Pit’s group show “Vision Valley” at the Brand Library for being a "biennial," since everything is a biennial these days, until I actually read the press release (whoops) and realized that they were making fun of this exact thing...
A Feast For Your Eyes
Tasty art offered a feast for viewers’ eyes everywhere in LA this weekend. At the Korean Cultural Center, art collective Durden and Ray offered a terrific 23-artist group show, "Odd Convergences: Steps/Missteps." The expansive upstairs gallery featured a wide range of...
An Evening with Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson strolled onstage in a flowing orange cloak over black jacket and skinny pants—perhaps a character out of Harry Potter? “I’m sorry I’m wearing my bathrobe,” the multi-media artist quickly apologized as she sat down. “I caught the flu, and I’m still...
David Hockney’s Loved Ones
Walking around the gallery it was impossible to escape a slightly ‘déjà vu all over again’ sort of feeling. No sooner had you passed a portrait in the new exhibition by David Hockney, then the same person would be passing by in the flesh—often attired in exactly the...
Blast from the Past
It was a celebratory evening at the Underground Museum benefit auction, My Kid Could Do That, on Friday evening. The benefit was in support of ProjectArt’s mission for arts education for children…and we all know how important that is for human beings, and society in...