Enjoy some art early in Beverly Hills…

“The Hats Off to Dr. Seuss!” Beverly Hills exhibition will feature Dr. Seuss’s never-before-seen hat collection alongside his little-known Secret Art, a series of Estate authorized works adapted and reproduced from Ted Geisel’s original drawings, paintings, and sculpture. This historic collection has opened the world’s eyes to the extraordinary artistic talent of Dr. Seuss and will be available for viewing and purchase through the run of the exhibition.

The Hats Off to Dr. Seuss! Exhibition delivers a unique opportunity to view Dr. Seuss’s superb hat collection and view their direct impact on his works of art. Traveling in a specially retrofitted old fashioned steamer trunk, this exhibition premiered at the New York Public Library, and was the first of a handful of stops across the country. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a selection of hats from Dr. Seuss’s private collection.

On view: April 25 – May 10

What: Public viewing
Where: EC Gallery, 229 South Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Where: 12 pm – 6 pm
Phone: 310.278.7117
Website: http://www.ecgallery.com

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In Santa Monica….Bergamot Station offers several art openings tonight plus…a very special kick off.

Gypsy Trails Gallery and Venice Institute of Contemporary Art (ViCA) present “The Southern California Museum Tour.” Today is the first day of a two day pop-up exhibition.

See image: WH 58, 2015, Pigment and resin on paper, 21.5 X 11.5 inches

Launching their first year-long tour, the mobile art gallery Gypsy Trails Gallery, has teamed up with Venice Institute of Contemporary Art (ViCA), which is promoting the establishment of an art museum in Venice through the exhibitions of internationally recognized Southern California artists.

From April 2015 through April 2016, shows will take place outside 12 Southern California Museums and close with a month-long group show at Studio FIVE08 in Santa Monica. Twelve contemporary artists, all important artists, many who have exhibited in museums and part of prestigious collections, in varying styles and mediums, will be featured in weekend solo-exhibitions. Each show is unique and not to be missed.

What: The Southern California Museum Tour
Where: Outside Santa Monica Museum of Art, Bergamot Station 2525 Michigan Ave., SM
When: 10:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Website: http://www.gypsytrailsgallery.com/   http://www.veniceica.org/

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Craig Krull Gallery presents three concurrent exhibitions on the subject of the California Coast.

See image: by Connie Jenkins

“Connie Jenkins: Spring Tides” is a series large-scale paintings of tide pools in the Channel Islands, “Jasmine Swope: Our Ocean’s Edge” is an environmentally sensitive photographic project focusing on the Marine Protected Areas of California, and “Matthew Chase-Daniel: Monterey Littoral” consists of photo-assemblage grids of the Monterey Bay Wildlife Refuge.

On view: April 18

What: Opening reception
Where: Craig Krull Gallery (B-3) Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave, Santa Monica, 90404
When: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm.
Phone: 310.828.6410
Website: http://www.craigkrullgallery.com

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bG Gallery hosts a closing event for it’s MOPLA exhibit titled “As Above, So Below,” which opened on April 11. Gallery director and co-owner Om Bleicher said “I bounced off the general MOPLA theme of Reality and Concept to come up with the idea. The saying has its roots in mysticism and embraces the idea that our earthly actions paralleling those of heaven’s, or the micro cosmos echoes the cosmos.”

See image: Scott Tansey, with his work at the opening

The photography of Scott Tansey will also be on view in the group exhibition. Tansey has had the chance to travel extensively and was able to capture some incredible photography. Both shots that are in the show were taken on the same trip. He visited historic locations such as London, Bruges, Amsterdam, the Kiel Canal, Berlin, Copenhagen, Riga, Tallin, St. Petersburg, Helsinki and Stockholm.

On his last day in London, Tansey decided to take the London Eye for a bird’s eye view of London. “The view was amazing,” said Tansey. “While waiting in line, I just noticed the view and took the image.” Another image from the show was taken at St. Petersburg at the Church on the Spilled Blood, where Alexander II was assassinated. The photograph was shot from a straight up angle. http://www.scotttanseyphoto.com/

Bleicher chose two of Marco Gualtieri’s works, a detail of the Buontalenti Grotto in the Boboli Gardens of Florence and the other from the Marina di Pisa waterfront in Tuscany. “Marco has a great talent for capturing the extraordinary in the ordinary in a non-glorified way,” said Bleicher. “His work is very grounded and the work in the exhibit shows the earthly reality of religious idols.”

“As Above, So Below” also includes: Berenice Abbott, Gwen Adler, Diane Arbus, Tatiana Botton, Dan Busta, Theresa Flowers, Susie Loucks, Moby, Leonard Monje, Patrick Nagatani, Ryan Schude, Nick Veasey, and many more.

What: Closing reception
Where: bG Gallery, 2525 Michigan Avenue, # G8A, Santa Monica, CA 90404
When: 4:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Phone: (310) 906 4211
Website: http://www.bGartGalleries.com

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TAG Gallery (at Bergamot Station, SM) presents three new exhibitions featuring the art of Ellen Starr, Anne M Bray, and Michael Knight. The opening reception takes place on Saturday, April 25, 2015.

See image: Anne M Bray

Anne M Bray’s core subject is the American landscape as seen from the highway. It’s a modern take on the Hudson River School’s devotion to the sublime beauty of nature. The most recent body of work, “Southwestern Sojourn,” is a compilation of more than 20 years of work.

“Pecarious,” features the art of artist Michael Knight. In this exhibition, it is also about the subject matter. He creates imagery to match our realities. The work forces us to evaluate how we deal with the intricacies of our lives. Michael Knight works in a wide range of media to create art that questions and challenges perception of society, culture and the individual.

In her latest exhibition, “Back to Nature,” Ellen Starr explores the endless possibilities of subject matter presented to us in the natural world. Using acrylic paint on canvas, she strives to clarify the visual intricacies of every-day subjects, primarily landscapes.

On view: April 21 – May 16, 2015
 
What: Opening reception
Where: TAG Gallery, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Avenue D3, SM 90404
When: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Phone: (310) 829-9556
Website: http://www.taggallery.net

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FIG (First Independent Gallery) (G6) debuts a new exhibit from 5-7pm.  

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Head to the B side of Bergamot to pop in Shoshana Wayne Gallery (B1) to enjoy its newest exhibit from 5-7pm.

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Leslie Sacks Contemporary (B6) also features a new exhibition opening from 5-7pm.

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Patrick Painter, Inc. hosts an opening reception for “Altered States.”

The group exhibition featuring artwork by Justin Bower, VALIE EXPORT, Mike Kelley, Martin Kippenberger and Rinus Van de Velde. The exhibition will showcase each of the five artists’ unique visions of altered reality.

On view: April 25 – May 23

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Also taking place at Bergamot…a bit later…

BRITWEEK is here.

Copro Gallery presents an opening reception for artist RYCA (in conjunction with BRITTWEEK)! This will be RYCA first solo show with Copro and and unlike his recent previous exhibitions in Europe and Japan it fuses his Star Wars Iconography with lyrical subverted pub sign style works.

For his L.A. debut he presents his most visually exciting exhibit to date and showing in the entire gallery. U.K based artist RYCA will be present and will be giving away a free gifts to the first 50 people that show up at 8:00 PM.