In Culver City…

start early…

The 4th Affair of the Arts takes place on May 30 & 31 in Downtown Culver City. The two-day event will be held next to the Culver City Hotel (9300 Culver Blvd).

Affair of the Arts features 60 of Southern California’s finest painters, ceramicists, sculptors, jewelry artists, photographers, wood workers and glass blowers, plus activities for kids, an interactive and participatory exhibit called “My Life Matters” (in response to the national turmoil taking place).

The event will feature several popular food trucks that augment the diverse offerings of Downtown Culver City’s restaurants.

What: Affair of the Arts in Downtown Culver City
Where: Downtown Culver City 9300 Culver Blvd.
When:  11am-7pm  Sun 11am – 6pm
Phone: 310-836-4600
Website: http://www.thewhole9.com

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Downtown…

Enjoy an art talk at CB1 GALLERY in conjunction with its current exhibition titled “Dystopia” featuring the work of artist Merion Estes.

See image: Left to right: Merion Estes, Constance Mallinson and Jay Belloli

Estes is a veteran artist of the Pattern and Decoration movement and will be discussing her work with artist and critic Constance Mallinson and curator Jay Belloli.

The discussion will focus on her history as a painter in downtown LA, her process as well as her place in the history of the Pattern & Decoration movement.

What: Art Talk
Where: CB1 GALLERY, 1923 S. Santa Fe Ave., Los Angeles. 90021
When: 2:00 pm
Website: http://www.cb1gallery.com

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In Santa Monica…

At Bergamot Station, (2525 Michigan Ave.) several galleries host art openings.

bG Gallery features a closing reception for a group exhibit, titled “New Nude.” The show spotlights contemporary and modern artists who have experimented with the nude subject or pushed it into new territory.

From sensual to impassive, passionate to cerebral, the naked human form continues to inspire.

See image: Daniel Catalano, Entwined No 3, Oil on Canvas

Artists include: Martin Eder, Helmut Newton, Henry Miller, Mark Ryden, Alex Schaefer, Shaun Berke, Simone Gad, Bob Branaman, Renée Jacobs, Steve Diet Goedde, Charley Gallay, Bob Moskowitz, Dan Busta, Darren Saravis, Teresa Flowers, Ed Freeman, Courtney Reid, Mara Zaslove, Daniel Catalano, Matthew Robertson, Arthur Giron, Allois, George Joaquim and more.

What: Opening reception
Where: bG Gallery (G8A), 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica
When: 4:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Website: http://santamonica.bgartdealings.com/

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FIG Gallery (G-6) also hosts an opening from 5-7:00 pm. http://www.figgallery.com
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TAG Gallery (at Bergamot Station, SM) celebrates the work of of Gary Polonsky, Katie Crown, Joan Ransohoff and Tom Wheeler.

Gary Polonsky features new works from his Food series. Breaking from the flat surface of traditional painting, Gary Polonsky brings three-dimensional painting to a new level of depth and focus as he revisits his food series.

Katie Crown’s new paintings of audiences are an extension of her earlier ceramic sculptures of audiences and her paintings of people in other group settings. She goes for humor in all these works, now with a palette from black to white.

Joan Ransohoff’s exhibit titled “Postcards from the Field” features original paintings which were created on location.

The works were inspired by the artist’s travels around the country, particularly California, Idaho, Utah, Washington, Connecticut, New York and the Hudson River Valley.

See image: Joan Ransohoff, Ojai Valley, Oil on Board, 8 x 10 in.

“Into the Night” features the work or Tom Wheeler. Wheeler likes to light things up, literally, and with flashlights.

That is probably a good thing, or maybe a necessity, because he is a landscape photographer who works in complete darkness.

Save the date, Saturday, June 6, 3 pm for an Artist Talk!

On view: May 19 – June 13
 
What: Opening reception
Where: TAG Gallery, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Avenue D3, SM 90404
When: May 30 – 5:00 pm 8:00 pm
Phone: (310) 829-9556
Website: http://www.taggallery.net

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Lora Schlesinger Gallery presents Ann Chamberlin’s Vaivén, New Paintings from Mexico. The show is the artist’s third solo exhibition with the gallery.

See image: Money Counter sin panama 2015 26×35

Vaivén, New Paintings from Mexico are inspired by places constantly in flux, where people are passing through. An airport, an airplane, a hotel lobby or an RV Park; she captures the energy of these environments by incorporating multiple points of view and vantage points in one picture plane. Within the work, there is no singular linear anecdote.

On view: May 30 – July 11

What: Opening reception
Where: Lora Schlesinger Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave. (B5b) Santa Monica, CA 90404
When: 5:00 pm- 7:00 pm
Phone: 310-828-1133
Website: http://www.loraschlesinger.com

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Santa Monica Auctions (A-5) 2525 Michigan Ave., SM features a preview from 6-8pm for it s auction tomorrow. http://www.smauctions.com/

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Copro Gallery throws an art party featuring the works of Anthony Ausgang and Geoffrey Gersten from 8-11:30pm. http://www.copronason.com/

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Gallery 169 is proud to announce the works of Bess Frelinghuysen Ratliff.

Bess has an MFA from Columbia University in film. She has worked in film, marble, and most enduringly, pastel, the medium of this show. Since her early days as an artist, she has enjoyed working with her hands (and not a paint brush), reveling in the vibrant color and textural depth pastels provide.

A Medieval and Renaissance Studies major at Vassar College, Bess has used this era to mine much inspiration, both of spirit and design.

On view: May 30th – August 2015

What: Opening Reception
Where: Gallery 169, 169 West Channel Road, Santa Monica, CA 90402
When: 5:00pm – 8:00 pm
Website: http://gallery169.com/

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Head to Hollywood…Tif Sigfrids (1507 Wilcox Ave., LA 90028) features an artist reception from 4-7pm. http://www.tifsigfrids.com

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Nearby…Meliksetian | Briggs (313 N. Fairfax Ave., LA 90036) throws an art party from 6-8pm.  http://www.meliksetianbriggs.com

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Artists Corner, (6585 Santa Monica Blvd. Hollywood, CA., 90038)  celebrates its new location with an artist reception from 6-10pm.  http://www.artistscorner.us/  RSVP to gallery@artistscorner.us

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Koplin Del Rio is pleased to announce its third solo exhibition of drawings by Melissa Cooke, “No Place Like Home.”

The show features a collection of drawings in powdered graphite applied with a brush, that incorporate a myriad of images and influences. In lieu of casting herself as the main subject as she did in her prior series, the artist looks to found images of recognizable historical figures and cultural icons, as well as being directly inspired by contemporary street art and coincidental urban still lifes.

On view: May 30 – July 11

What:  Opening reception
Where: Koplin Del Rio, 6031 Washington Blvd.
When: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Phone: 310 559 6300
Website: http://www.koplindelrio.com/

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George Billis Gallery LA (2716 S. La Cienega Blvd., LA, 90034) hosts a reception for three new exhibitions from 5-8pm. http://www.georgebillis.com/

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From 6-9pm Photographer Michael Wood opens in a new show at Bruce Lurie Gallery (2736 S La Cienega Blvd) to benefit Nepal Disaster Relief 6-9 pm. http://www.mbwoodphotography.com/

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Also Close by…

mim Gallery presents “Floating City” featuring new abstractions by Joshua Elias.

See image: Self Portrait, Orange

The paintings I make are specific structures that serve as maps. I see each of us with our own private architecture creating our own worlds comprised of Light and Vibration. I paint visual samplings of these worlds. The connection from the viewer to the painting is funneled through Light and identifiable Forms.  -Joshua Elias (2015)

On View: May 30 – July 05

What: Opening reception
Where: mim Gallery, 2636 S La Cienega Blvd.,  90034
When: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Website: http://mim.gallery

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