Our Pick of the week takes place this SUNDAY….VENICE ARTBLOCK Open Studios has grown into an incredibly fun event. Come on out and support local artists.

I can personally tell you, I have attended each ARTBLOCK event to date, and It has been an honor to watch the event blossom from something that started as a controversy to a celebratory event honoring local artists. LA ART Party is proud to be a sponsor for this emerging event.

See my article in this week’s Argonaut Newspaper. Its also featured on our Upcoming Events page.

The hub of the action will be on Sunset (bet 3rd & 4th)…where you can find a cluster of art studios and pick up a map. This cross-generational group of Venice artists includes painters, sculptors, ceramicists, glass artists, street artists, conceptual artists and photographers.

Remember to wear good shoes…there are over 40 studios to visit.

Pamela Wier-Quinton has had her Venice Beach studio for 40 years and was one of the primary people who helped create the bi-annual event. She explained, at the last ARTBLOCK she met a man who grew up playing on her Wooden Tiger Playground. “He was blown away to be reunited with his childhood friends.”

See photo of Pamela Wier-Quinton with the TIGER PLAYGROUND in the studio gallery.

She will be unveiling a new series “HEARTBLOCKS” made from scraps of exotic hardwoods.

Ara Bevacqua has been involved with the event since inception and helps to run the website. “It is really uplifting to see the simple concept of artists showing whoever is interested in the art they create, spiced with the personalities, music, and minds of the neighborhood, becoming a free and fun event for everyone who wants to show up.”

Bevacqua will be showing his work at 334 Sunset Avenue, at the same studio with his Dad, well-known Venice artist Alberto Bevacqua. Here you will also find the VERY talented artist Ellwood Risk and right next door…the prominent ceramicist Attaway.

This year, the Lantern House will be part of the ARTBLOCK. The well-known Venice property is owned by Scott Mayer and was built in the early 1900s. The eclectic venue is a perfect fit for this event…with all its sculptures and antinques, and gargoyles strewn throughout a garden setting and four funky Venice style bungalows.

“I have lived in Venice since the early 70’s, said Mayer. The Lantern House is an eclectic evolution. It has been on The Venice Art Walk, The Venice Garden Tour – as well as being featured in books, magazines, TV shows and movies.”

See image: Venice Selfie by Marybeth Fama

Here, the work of Aurelia Dumont, Marybeth Fama, Leonardo Ibanez, and Jens Lucking will be on display.

Marybeth Fama was part of the initial ARTBLOCK team and has continued to stay active in planning the event. She said that when the group was first created many artists did not even know each other…and that its developed into a truly supportive event. “By the third event I had gotten a lot more involved in trying to organize things, but we still approach it with the intention of keeping it informal,” said Fama.

Here is the mission statement Fama wrote: “Venice ArtBlock is a grassroots collective organized by artists for artists to create a greater sense of community, our own independent relationship to the public and to increase our city’s awareness of the vitality and importance of the arts in Venice, a unique, diverse neighborhood undergoing an extremely rapid gentrification that is eliminating our studios.”

Sandy Bleifer, is another active participant in the event and will be showing works on paper. “I am featuring my “Concealed Passageways” pieces, a seminal series of an 10 year fascination with the potential of paper to express the surfaces of walls. Since moving to Venice 20 years ago, I began documenting Venice graffiti onto my walls pieces.”

Flavio Bsiciotti said he’s excited to do the event for the third time. Biciotti said “I think ARTBLOCK is important, to preserve its artistic face of Venice.  It is important to all the artists because we have the opportunity to open our studio to the public and collectors can visit studios all in one day.”

See image Paris by Flavio Bisciotti

Bisciotti has agreed to present two annual shows at his studio Gallery in Santa Monica “FABstudio Gallery” to showcase ARTBLCOK artists. The show titled “VENICE MADE” will take place some time around the end of November.

So come on out this Sunday, October 12, 2014, from 11am – 6pm. Pick up a map at Fourth Street and Sunset Avenue. Flags will mark the participating studios. People are encouraged to walk or bike. Support local artists!  http://www.veniceartblock.com/