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February 20, 2019:
The student-curated Social Icing exhibition is a psychologically engaging experience, with loud and lusty arrangements.

Shelley Heffler, from the series Rescued Refuse, Torn, twist, tuck 20″ x 28″ x 3″ Acrylic, enamel, canvas, vinyl, wood, cork

The displayed works communicate an array of societal issues in their individual aesthetic, while pulling the viewer in with an alluring façade, or “icing.” Artists include: Kenny Scharf, Shelley Heffler, Edgar Arceneaus, Phil Anderson Blythe, Marisa Humphrey, Emily Mast. On view: February 20 – March 15, 2019; Art Party: 4-6pm; Sam Francis Gallery, Peter Boxenbaum Arts Education Centre Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences 1714 21st St., Santa Monica, CA 90404; http://www.samfrancisgallery.org/

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February 21, 2019:
Join filmmaker MATT OGENS and cinematographer JOHN TIPTON for their documentary Home + Away, following students who cross the border each day to commute from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico to their school in El Paso, Texas. Event runs: 6:30pm – 8:30pm; Venice Arts, 13445 Beach Ave. Venice, CA 90291; https://www.venicearts.org/

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February 22, 2019:
Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles hosts an opening for “Mulan, Make Up! Queer Art.” Curated by Yu Cheng-Ta, Mulan, Make Up! is a multidisciplinary exhibition combining film screenings, a visual arts exhibition. On view: February 22 – April 6 2019. Art Party: 7:00 pm – 9:00pm; Taiwan Academy Los Angeles, 1137 Westwood Blvd, LA, 90024; 

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February 22, 2019:
Pete & Susan Barrett Art Gallery presents “Textured Environments” featuring work by Kelly Berg and Caroline Larsen. The gallery states: “Kelly Berg and Caroline Larsen’s mixed media relief paintings occupy the territory between painting and sculpture. Using unconventional materials and processes their work depicts both natural phenomena and magical surfaces. In unexpected ways, their abstract and textural reliefs often frame or morph into mysterious cataclysmic scenes and sculpted tactile landscapes.” On view: February 12 – March 23, 2019; Art Party: 6 – 8pm; Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, Pete and Susan Barrett Art Gallery, 1310 11th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401; http://www.smc.edu

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February 23, 2019:
The Venice Institute of Contemporary Art (ViCA) presents the second and final Art Talk for “Intangible in Paint” moderated by curator Juri Koll. Read the full Event Feature on the Upcoming Events Page, under the Features drop-down).

Artists featured on this second panels will be Jeanne Dunn, Barbara Kolo, Uschi Lüdemann, Gay Summer Rick, Roxene Rockwell, Jae Hwa Yoo. The show features all new works by 11 artists from Southern California known for their command of their chosen medium. On view through February 28; Art Talk: 1-3pm; The Venice Institute of Contemporary Art is located in the Loft Art Studios & Galleries, 401 S. Mesa Street, San Pedro, CA 90731, right off the 110 Fwy – a surprisingly short drive. https://www.veniceica.org/

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February 23, 2019:
In Santa Monica…dnj Gallery hosts an opening reception for “Shadow: Sunlight” from 2-4pm; Curran exhibits two bodies of photographic work: solar photograms – SUN, and color prints – SHADOW. Read more this exhibition and others currently on exhibit at the gallery on the Event Feature drop-down (on the Upcoming Events Page) On view: February 19th – March 2nd, 2019’Art Party: 2-4pm; dnj Gallery, 3015 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica,90405; 310.315.3551; www.dnjgallery.net

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February 23, 2019:
18th Street Arts Center celebrates Los Angeles-based artist Clarissa Tossin, who will present a new body of work centered on her ongoing research into US collections of pre-Columbian artifacts, and their relationship to appropriated pre-Columbian artifacts and motifs. In the Atrium Gallery, Danish visiting artist Maj Hasager presents “Iterations,” a project based on the Pico neighborhood of Santa Monica, where she is immersed for six months as an artist in residence at 18th Street Arts Center. Resident artists will also be opening their studios at this event, including visiting Danish artists Jeannette Ehlers, Nikolaj Recke, and Marie Markman. Local artist residents including Marcus Kuiland-Nazario, Debra Disman, Jeff Beall, Luciana Abait, Arzu Arda Kosar, Post Mango Studio, David McDonald, and Yvette Gellis will also be showing new work in their studios.

Clarissa Tossin, 21st Century Wisdom: Healing Frank Lloyd Wright’s Textile Block Houses 

On view: January 22 – March 29, 2019; Art Party: 5 – 8pm; RSVP for Clarissa Tossin event Here or Maj Hasager event Here. 18th Street Arts Center, 1639 18th Street, Santa Monica, 90404; https://18thstreet.org/

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February 23, 2019:
Culver City hosts some events tonight…one is a Top Ten event Stuart Kusher and his son (Brandon Kusher) will be featured at Fabrik Projects Gallery.

Here are a couple other openings…

George Billis Gallery LA presents three new exhibitions. “Raymond Logan: Everyday Icons” is the gallery’s first exhibition of oil paintings by the Los Angeles-based artist. Also celebrated tonight..sculptor, Miles Jaffe offers new paint tube sculptures from his “Artist’s Color Series.” And finally, enjoy a new body of work by Iris Kufert-Rivo. This exhibition features the artist’s new geometric paintings from her “Structure Series.” On view: February 23 – March 30, 2019; Art Party: 5-8pm; George Billis Gallery LA, 2716 S. La Cienega Blvd., LA 90034; http://www.georgebillis.com/los-angeles

Also on La Cienega, (just across the street)…
In Culver City…Von Lintel Gallery hosts its final reception at the gallery – it is moving downtown to the Bendix building. Enjoy one final look at the exhibition “Farrah Karapetian Collective Memory.” Art Party 6-10pm; Von Lintel Gallery, 2685 S. La Cienega Blvd., LA 90034; http://www.vonlintel.com/

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February 23, 2019: 
Mixed-media artist Chelsea Dean and photographer Osceola Refetoff were paired for Paradox California because of their mutual enthusiasm for the deserts of Southern California.  They collaborated on the title, which addresses the contradiction between the promise of paradise to be found in the “Golden State,” and the harsh realities of much of its terrain and opportunities.  Though different in style and medium, their bodies of work complement one another.  Each finds beauty and looks for truth in landscapes transformed by weather, time, circumstance, and evanescent traces of civilization. The works suggest both impermanence and timelessness.

L: Chelsea Dean, “Within the Present III,” hand-cut photograph, 24k gold leaf, washi tape, and found objects, 2019; R: Osceola Refetoff, “Remains of the Fruitland Fire – Dawn – Thermal California” (archival pigment print, 2016, first printed 2017)

On view: February 23 – March 23, 2019; Art Party: 6-9pm; RSVP to rsvp@launchla.org; Launch LA (in same building as KP Projects), 170 S. La Brea Avenue, LA, 90036; https://www.launchla.org/

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February 23, 2019:
In El Segundo…” Art Exhibit opens at Artlife Gallery throws an art party to celebrate “Love.” The group exhibition features ten artists working with various media such as painting, sculpture, mixed media, and photography. On view: February 1 – February 28, 2019; Art Party: 6-9pm; Artlife Gallery, 720 C S. Allied Way. Plaza El Segundo; 

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February 23, 2019: 
Corey Helford Gallery presents a group show titled Psychedelia in the Main Gallery. Humphry Osmond (the British psychologist and inventor of the term “psychedelic”) once stated, “To fathom Hell or soar angelic, just take a pinch of psychedelic,” referring to the ingestion of LSD and psilocybin. Also being celebrated….Junko Mizuno (Japanese manga artist), Mayuka Yamamoto (Japanese artist known for her works depicting children sporting animal features and enigmatic expressions), and/or Travis Lampe (Chicago-based artist, illustrator and toy maker). Camille Rose Garcia will be featured in gallery 3. On view: Feb. 23 through Mar. 30, 2019; Art Party: 7-11pm; Corey Helford, Gallery, 571 South Anderson St., LA; https://www.coreyhelfordgallery.com

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February 23, 2019
In Venice…Theater of the Mind opens at the Electric Lodge tonight. Enjoy an exciting evening of theater, music, and dance—all with one thing in common: the journey toward psychological healing and growth. Read the full Event Feature on the Upcoming Page.

Admission ranges from $20 – $25 per person. Click Here for a full list of performances or to purchase tickets. Event runs: 7:30pm – 9:30pm; The Electric Lodge, 1416 Electric Avenue, Venice, CA 90291; 

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February 24, 2019:
Enjoy a solo exhibition titled “STREET SWEET” by artist Kathi Flood. The title of this show, Sweet Street, refers to her observations and responses to the way people treat each other. Event runs: 1:00pm – 3:00pm; National Council Jewish Women LA (NCJWLA), 543 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036-1715; https://ncjwla.org/

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February 27 through March 3, 2019:
Every evening from February 27 through March 3, a group of contemporary artists have been invited to project their work onto the landscape of Los Angeles’ most beloved public gardens as part of Digital Nature 2019. Curated by Shirley Alexandra Watts, the themes range from butterfly camouflage, to botanical colonialism, bird songs & heavy metal and inter-active digital wildflowers. Participating artists: John Carpenter, Adam Donnelly, Tim Durfee, Mia Feuer, Ellie Irons, David Janesko, Richard Johnson, Chris Kallmyer, Jenny Kendler, William Lamson, Deborah Oropallo, Andy Rappaport, Timothy Roy, Justin Shrake, Nami Yamamoto, Andrew Yang, Brigitte Zieger. Event runs from 6-9pm; Admission runs from $14-16 per person. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets. LA County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia; https://www.arboretum.org

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February 28, 2019:
Multimedia artist Shlome J. Hayun will be showcasing a new exhibition, “The Fallen Legends Series which honors legendary cultural icons like Ray Charles, Bob Marley, Tom Petty, Marilyn Monroe and other greats who have since passed but have left a living legacy with their art and music. On View: Feb. 28 – March 15, 2019; The exhibition is open to the public all day March 1-15, 2019; Event begins 8pm; The Hollywood Palladium, 6215 Sunset Blvd., LA, 90028 (The exhibition will be on the windows at the corner of Sunset Blvd.) 424.653.6063;
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February 28, 2019: 
The Fahey/Klein Gallery presents “Nick Brandt: This Empty World,” an exhibition of new works addressing the escalating environmental and ecological destruction of the natural world at the hands of man. In this series Brandt directs our attention to a world where, overwhelmed by runaway human development, there is no longer space for animals to survive. The humans in the photographs are also often helplessly swept along by the relentless tide of “progress.”

Nick Brandt, River of People with Elephants, 2018

Save the date: March 2, 2019 for an Artist Talk & Book Signing; On view: February 28 – April 27, 2019; Art Party: 7-9pm; Fahey/Klein Gallery, 148 N. La Brea Avenue, LA 90036; http://www.faheykleingallery.com

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Check back for our March Top Ten Events List and an additional post of art parties, which will be up by February 28, 2019.