Our Pick of the Week takes place at CB1 Gallery.

The gallery features three exhibitions on view this weekend…Two will be opening on Saturday – “Pure Pretty Fever” spotlights the art of Nathan Haydan and a group show titled “Tight Ass: Labor Intensive Drawing and Realism.” 

Also “Rediscovered Masters: The Cuatrecasas Discovery,” which has been garnering lots of attention has been extended through March 6. See below for more info.

“We first exhibited Nathan Hayden’s work in a three-person show, ‘Phantom Color,’ in the summer of 2014, which lead to his first CB1 Gallery solo show, ‘Pure Pretty Fever,'” explained gallery owner, Clyde Beswick. “‘Pure Pretty Fever’ presents the artist’s optimistic visions of a utopian oasis and wild desert homestead along with the ecstatic nature of a vision’s production, like hallucinations in a fever dream.

See image: Nathan Hayden, Pure Pretty Fever, 2015, ink and pigment on industrial wool felt, 80″ x 60″

More info from the gallery: Hayden dances each day to induce visions that he draws on small pieces of thick torn paper referred to as “the cards”. The shapes and geometric patterns he derives from inner and outer landscapes bounce between abstraction and figurative representation, resulting in drawings that explore personal mythologies and hallucinations. On the backs of the cards he writes poetry by gathering bits of imagined or overheard text that have great rhythm or elicit multiple meanings. It is out of these cards that Hayden develops his large-scale works.

“Tight Ass: Labor Intensive Drawing and Realism,” a group exhibition curated by Brett Reichman features a variety of talented artists.

“Realism… the mere word is enough to send shivers down many a curatorial spine. If art is to manifest from its own era, then isn’t a practice rooted in the hand-drawn retrogressive, counter to technology-based virtual realities and the elimination of the artist’s hand in contemporary art production?” —Brett Reichman

Artists include: DL Alvarez, Tom Betthauser, Kira Nam Greene, Jacob Kincheloe, Katharine Kuharic, Peter, Mitchell-Dayton, Dane Patterson, Eric Petitti, Sarah Ratchye, Daniel Samaniego, Josephine Taylor, Ileana Tejada, Katherine Vetne, and Scott Welsh.

Realism is thought to be incompatible with contemporary culture. However, each artist with his or her distinct approach proves the thought wrong. The labor-intensive commitment with the hand drawn image is twofold: a serious deliberation with the subject and a personal obsession that causes anxiety. Both create an emotional impact on the viewer, necessitating an equivalent time-based immersion that runs counter to the premise that realism is essentially superficial and populist.

Finally, be sure to stop take in “Rediscovered Masters: The Cuatrecasas Discovery,” which is on view for its final week. Discovered works of the late Spanish artist Gil Cuatrecasas (unearthed by his brother) have found its way into this stirring solo exhibition. Organized by Peter Hastings Falk, art historian, author and founder of Rediscovered Masters, Artnet.com, the exhibition pays tribute to this master colorist.

A beautiful show, not to be missed. Here is a quote from the curator direct from the LA Times review by Jessica Gelt. 

“I want to shake up museum curators to think outside the box — to hold something up to the world and say, ‘Look what you’ve missed all this time!’” – Peter Hastings Falk, founder of Rediscovered Masters

See image: Pedro Cuatrecasas, left, contacted Peter Hastings Falk after finding the paintings of his brother Gil Cuatrecasas. The works are at CB1-G gallery in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The first two exhibitions run February 27 – April 9, 2016; the latter exhibition closes March 6

What: Opening reception
Where: CB1 Gallery, 1923 S Santa Fe Ave, LA, 90021
When: 3-6pm
Phone: (213) 806-7889
Website: http://cb1gallery.com