Happy New Year to all…The staff at LAArtParty.com is excited to be back refreshed and ready to list and review your events….

Our pick of the week takes place at George Billis Gallery. I have always been fond of this gallery. This Saturday, three solo exhibitions will be celebrated …”Bonita Helmer: Observed,” “Nina Tichava: Weavings,” and “Kai Mansur: New Works.”

“Observed” feature Helmer’s abstract paintings and will be her fifth exhibition at the gallery. Helmer combines her attraction to science and the universe with her first love and preferred medium…painting. She is currently a teacher at Otis College Art and Design where she has been teaching art since 1998. 

See image: Bonita Helmer, Suspension IV, 2015, Acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 38×38 inches

As a teacher, the artist recognizes the importance of learning, and has studied the origins of the universe via physics and astronomy at UCLA. In 2014 Exploration Institute invited Helmer (the sole visual artist) to be on the board. The Exploration Institute brings together astronauts, physicists, underwater researchers and more. 

Helmer’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Exhibitions include: MOCA, Beijing; a solo show at L’Espace Bateau Lavoir,  L’Ecole des Arts Decoratifs in Paris; an official adjunct show as part of the MOCA Los Angeles, Whack retrospective of Women in Art; International Space Conference in Washington, DC.; Newport Harbor Art Museum (Orange County Museum of Art); Gallery Q, Tokyo; French Consulate/Alliance Francaise, Los Angeles; UCLA Dortort Center for the Arts, HUC Museum, NYU campus; Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA). Helmer has also done paintings as set design for performance pieces, one co-produced by CalArts and the other in part by an NEA grant.

Weavings” is the gallery’ s fourth exhibition featuring the abtract art of Nina Tichava. The artist intertwines conceptually eclectic media, allowing the viewer to acknowledge the relationship between them.

See image: Nina Tichava, Weaving 1423 (Chevron), 2014, acrylic, ink, paper on panel, 24 x 48 inches (diptych)
Color and alignment both play a part in her abstract paintings. Tichava utilizes both painting and printmaking techniques along with collage in her work. She also adds environmental objects (leaves, branches), as well as every day items and structures such as buildings, windows, lights and more. She describes her work as “abstract painting with botanical and architectural references.”

The art of Kal Mansur will also be on view. The visual artist specializes in acrylic/plexiglas construction. Inspired by geometric forms in architecture, Mansur’s innovative use of light and materiels sets him apart.

See image: Kal Mansur, Ivory Murmur 6, 2015, acrylic glass construction, 24 x 24 x 3 inches

Mansur has been influenced by artists Donald Judd, Anish Kapoor and Mark Rothko. His work consists of compelling juxtapositions of blurred, lyrical color fields with aerodynamic forms and precise lines.

On view: January 8 – February 13