Tag: Betzi Stein

Betzi Stein celebrates nothing short of love in her solo exhibition now at TAG Gallery, “Art World Friends and Strangers.” Creating brilliantly colorful figurative representations of members of the Los Angeles art community, Stein offers everything from a glowing self-portrait in a tie-dyed rainbow shirt to happy groups of friends, computer-obsessed gallerists, and her show’s centerpiece, an astonishing three-panel work that encompasses the entire scene of viewers and artists.

Her inspiration represents and was inspired by her own photographs, from selfies to those she’s taken of her subjects. They are real people, many she cares about, and it shows. Her work, created in acrylic on canvas, vibrates with a feeling of pleasure and sometimes wry amusement.

There are three colorfully dressed and bejeweled Art Ladies (three Very Accomplished Artists of a Certain Age), the waterfall of an artist’s hair in April’s Hair, the slightly bemused look of well-known artist Ai Weiwei in a meet-and-greet Assembly Line Selfie.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is Art World Friends and Strangers, composed of three 36 x 48 panels. The word reveals artists, art lovers, and friends at a variety of exhibitions. Some smile for selfies, others pose with backs to the viewer while someone else takes a photo, some take photographs of art, text on their phones, smile at one another’s company. This work uses multiple photographs from different locations – indicated in part, along with the names of many depicted, in a black and white Quarter Size Mock Up for Triptych with IDs.

In the 15 works on exhibit, Stein captures both intensely realistic details, from expressions to postures, from clothing to hairstyles, and something less palpably observed: emotion. In Oblivious, we can almost sense the air of boredom and self-containment in gallerists more interested in their computer screens than the social scene or art unfolding in front of them. There is the high-energy interest, excitement, companionship, and art-party-fun of the triptych. In each work, the artist revels in the power of creative work and energy, and the connection between people, art, and self.

TAG is located at 5458 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles. “Art World Friends and Strangers” is on exhibit through December 11th.