los angeles art publications
SIGHTS UNSCENE
Art Brief Trump and the Triumph of Trash Culture
Donald Trump is a figure out of commedia dell’arte—a puffed-up clown who thinks he’s brilliant but is, in fact, an ignorant fool. His televised commentaries with the Coronavirus Task Force could have been uttered word-for-word by Il Dottore, the ridiculous “expert”...
Berlin’s Bundestag What Does it Mean for a Building to be ‘To the People?’
After German reunification the remains of the famously incinerated Reichstag were first Norman Fosterized, then draped by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and finally repurposed as the Bundestag—the lower legislative body of German government roughly equivalent to the U.S....
Everything is Terrible! Bunker Vision
In July 2019 a new art space opened in Los Angeles. This wasn’t a neat minimal white cube for showing expensive art. At first glance one might be reminded of a vintage video store. If the space was on your radar, you would have probably noticed that it hosted...
Shoptalk: LA Art News R.I.P. Luchita Hurtado; COLA 2020 online; Carmen Argote's pandemic
COLA 2020 Sadly, so many art events, exhibitions, and performances have had to be canceled during Q time—too many to mention. Here I give a nod to the annual show for the COLA (City of LA) award winners from the previous year. They are each given $10,000 to create new...
Book Review: Set the Night on Fire "Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties" By Mike Davis and Jon Wiener
In this passionate, lovingly detailed historical account of the struggle for social justice from multiple sectors of society in Los Angeles during an epic American decade, Mike Davis and Jon Wiener have written a history of activists who believed in democracy and...
COMICS Christo and His Bag
POEMS "The Swan Motel" By Alan Yuch; "Say You Love Me" By John Tottenham
The Swan Motel By Alan Yuch The hot nights, the swelter, even the walls would sweat. Sweet Marcy in the same cotton dress, patterned with red, white and blue balloons. The windowless room, matching walls, the air-flooded neon. This room was meant for sleeping,...
ASK BABS Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Dear Babs, If Trump gets another term in office I think I will leave the US. Where’s the best place to go for an artist who wants to flee America? —Expat Patty Dear Expat Patty, I remember getting a question like this back when Trump first came into office, so it...
Reconnoiter: Alison De La Cruz
Alison De La Cruz is a multidisciplinary theater artist, community-based facilitator, producer and cultural space cultivator who has spent over 20 years building intersectionally with Black, Latinx, Indigenous, queer and immigrant communities towards community-based...
Materia Medica François Ghebaly
“Materia Medica,” the summer group show at François Ghebaly, curated by Kelly Akashi, is more than a call to reconsider the relationship between humans and the natural world. The show pointedly issues a rallying cry of refusal against relentlessly destructive human...
Alec Egan Anat Ebgi Gallery
Since 2017, Alec Egan has created paintings that depict the interior rooms of imagined dwellings. These spaces are often decorated with competing floral patterns so ornate they become claustrophobic. In August, he presents 14 paintings of varying sizes that center...
Nancy Buchanan Charlie James Gallery
The hair of human beings has a significant amount of lore associated with it throughout time because it is such a highly symbolic part of the body. Hair has had great social, cultural, and economic meaning and in every moment of that history the visual arts have...
Fallen Monuments EPOCH
As a virtual reality artist-run space (blessedly, no goggles are required) EPOCH is the quarantine-induced experimental project of its founder Peter Wu, an acclaimed artist whose own work has pushed the boundaries and applications of futuristic tech in fine art for...
Lauren Quin ‘Clutches’ Real Pain Fine Arts
At a time when abstract painting seems mired in self-reference, I itch for shows like "Clutches," Lauren Quin's second solo show in Los Angeles. Quin's paintings are impressively complex. They feel like the orchestrated chaos of Albert Oehlen, but with an affinity for...
Riders of the Red Horse The Pit
The eclectic group show, Riders of the Red Horse, at the Pit marks the re-opening the gallery after four months of closure due to the pandemic. The show features works by Diana Yesenia Alvarado, Amy Bessone, Keith Boadwee, Elana Bowsher, Canyon Castator, John de...
‘Semblance | Sunshine’ and ‘Music to My Eyes’ at Torrance Art Museum
Two lush summer shows are blossoming online at Torrance Art Museum. Both exhibitions are visual stunners; and they continue the museum’s ongoing aesthetic for cutting edge, culturally resonating art. Semblance | Sunshine co-curated by Josh Hashemzadeh and the Torrance...
Quarantined Visions: Part Two (Italy) A Close Look at Quarantine Art from COVID's Past Mecca
“Quarantined Visions” continues with a selection of work from artists locked down in Italy. The first installment of this series exposed artwork from China, the country that suffered through the original outbreak and quarantine brought on by COVID-19. Part Duo takes...
