It’s a busy weekend…let’s not forget the \24th annual photo la takes place this weekend.

The international photographic arts exposition will present the broadest showcase of contemporary and classic photography and photo-based art west of New York City. See our Upcoming Events Page for info. The event takes place at The Reef (L.A. Mart) in Downtown LA.  www.photola.com

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And of course, our PICK OF THE WEEK…the LA Art Show continues.

If you have never been, I highly suggest you pop in for a day to both of these shows. If you are an art lover, you can find an eclectic array of genres and styles.

The LA Art Show, the largest and most successful platform for contemporary and traditional art in the West, will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the upcoming January 2015 edition. See our Pick of the Week for full hours and admission.

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In Santa Monica…Bergamot Station located at 2525 Michigan Ave also hosts several art parties…

Peter Fetterman Gallery hosts an early reception (starting at 4pm) for its newest exhibition of photographic prints from Russian artist Gregori Maiofis.

See image: Gregori Maiofis, Lenin’s Science makes one’s hands and mind stronger, 2006, Bromoil print

The exhibition is the first for the artist at the gallery and includes a curated selection of large-scale Bromoil prints from the series Proverbs and the debut of several new works.

On view: January 17th – March 14th

What: Opening reception
Where: Peter Fetterman Gallery (A-1), Bergamot Station 2525 Michigan Ave. LA 90404
When: 4:00 pm – 7:00 pmPhone: 310.453-6463 
Website: http://www.peterfetterman.com
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Here are a couple more at Bergamot: Santa Monica Museum of Art 4-6pm. http://www.smmoa.org/  Shoshana Wayne Gallery (B-1) 5-7pm  http://www.shoshanawayne.com/ dnj Gallery (J-1) 6-8pm. http://www.dnjgallery.net/
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TAG Gallery presents a new exhibition for 2015 featuring all 42 TAG Artists!

For this show, TAG Gallery is supporting its local community by donating 25% of sales proceeds to the non-¬profit organization, Chrysalis.

Chrysalis creates a pathway to self-¬sufficiency for homeless and low-¬income individuals by providing resources to find and retain employment.

For more information on Chrysalis, visit http://www.changelives.org/

On view: January 6 – January 24, 2015

What: Exhibition
Where: TAG Gallery, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Avenue D3, SM 90404
When: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Phone: (310) 829-9556
Website: www.taggallery.net

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bG Gallery is happy to announce a reunion of David Gorman’s 144 exhibit, originally curated in collaboration with the Blue Five Art Space in 2011.

Featuring over 60 works created on 12×12 inch wood panels, the exhibit will include the artists from the original show as well as artists who have not been shown in the gallery before.

See image: Barbara Kolo, Transition VI 12 x 12 in Acrylic on Panel

Artists include: Airom, Simone Gad, Stephen Anderson, Daniel Rolnik, Amber Trueblood, Tina Tammaro, Miles Regis, Jill Sykes, Susan Lizotte, Linda Jacobson, Michael Maas, Aline Mare, LaraDann, Snow Mack, Zachary Aronson, Douglas Alvarez, Ted Meyer, Hill & Stump (Daphne Hill and Anna Stump), Gay Summer Rick and others.

What: Opening reception
Where: bG Gallery G8A, 2525 Michigan Ave, LA
When: 5:00 pm  – 9:30 pm
Website: http://www.bGartGalleries.com

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The William Turner Gallery presents Ethereal, a group exhibition that brings together a collection of other-worldly works that explore the myriad ways in which we interpret and experience the intangible.

Exhibiting artists include Peter Alexander, Dawn Arrowsmith, Larry Bell, Kelly Berg, Casper Brindle, Fred Eversley, Jimi Gleason, Jay Mark Johnson, Andy Moses, Ed Moses, Steven Salzman, Michel Tabori and Eric Zammitt.

Defined as “seeming to belong to another world”, ethereal describes a state of being that is elusive and often fleeting, like the glow from a hazy sunrise or the shimmering light of a distant star. The notion of light comes to mind, when one contemplates the ethereal. Light can call to mind energy, warmth, color, weightlessness, it can be captivating or transformative, it has the ability to reveal or obscure. It is these dichotomies that have fascinated and inspired centuries of artists – from Titian’s turbulent depictions of classical mythology to Richard Diebenkorn’s spatially explorative Ocean Park series to James Turrell’s immersive perceptual cells.

On view: January 17 – February 21

What: Opening reception
Where: William Turner Gallery, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave, E1, SM
When: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Phone: 310 453 0909
Website: http://www.williamturnergallery.com/

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Also in Santa Monica…

Join Tara Gallery for “Echoes in Blue,” its LAST exhibition. The gallery will be moving at the end of February and will become a pop-up and online gallery.

“Echoes in Blue” is a personal project held very dear to the gallery, celebrating some of our selected artists and art works we have exhibited in the past. This final celebration is for the gallery’s supporters who have always been there to inspire and allow Tara Gallery to share its love for the arts.

The opening reception runs from 5-9 p.m. with an Art Talk from Homa Taraji (owner/director of Tara Gallery and co-founder and president of the American Foundation for Contemporary Iranian Art).

On view: January 17 – February 18, 2015

What: Opening reception
Where: Tara Gallery, 1202 Montana Avenue, Suite B, Santa Monica, CA 90403 (entrance on 12th street)
When: 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Phone: 310.451.2417
Website: http://taragallery.org

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Christopher Grimes Gallery is very pleased announce an exhibition of new work by Carlos Bunga and Olivier Mosset.

This exhibition highlights the juxtaposition of two divergent artistic approaches to painting and challenges the viewer to examine their understanding of the medium: from Mosset’s two dimensional wall murals to Bunga’s three dimensional cardboard constructions; from Mosset’s seeming self-sufficiency and “authorlessness” to Bunga’s tactile originality and authenticity; to the monumentality of Mosset’s installation and the intimacy of Bunga’s paintings.

A conversation between the artists, led by Mark Lee of Johnston Marklee, will be held at the gallery on Saturday, January 17, from 5:00 – 6:00 pm. Seating is limited, please RSVP here

On view: : January 17 – March 14, 2015

What: Opening
Where: Christopher Grimes Gallery, 916 Colorado Ave.,Santa Monica, CA 90401
When: 6:00pm – 8:00 pm
Phone: 310.587.3373
Website: http://www.cgrimes.com/

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In Venice…

Venice Arts presents “One Person Crying: Women and War,” an exhibition by Pultizer Prize winning photojournalist Marissa Roth.

Shot on film over the course of 29 years and covering twelve conflicts, this global photo essay addresses the immediate and lingering effects of war on women.

See image: Afghan Women and Children Refugees Thal, Pakistan 1988 © Marissa Roth

The exhibition is accompanied by an artist-led gallery talk, a documentary film screening series, and a documentary photography workshop taught by Roth which will be held tomorrow. See Sunday’s Event Page, as well as the Venice Arts website for more info.

The exhibition was curated by Howard Spector, Los Angeles, CA, co-director of the South Pasadena Arts Council (SPARC), an NGO consultant, and panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and the US Dept. of Education.

On view: January 15 – March 12, 2015

What: Opening reception
Where: Venice Arts Gallery, 1702 Lincoln Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
When: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Phone: 310-392-0846
Website: www.venicearts.org

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The G2 Gallery will premiere another show in its ongoing Nature LA series with award-winning photographer Cheryl Medow in Nature LA: Cheryl Medow. See image (left)

Medow has exhibited her photographic collages before at G2 in 2012, which garnered attention for their unique style inspired by dioramas from the Natural History Museum. This Nature LA show will feature new collages from her Envisioning Habitat series, which portrays various birds surreally set against paradisiacal habitats.

Also on view..Nature OC will run through June 7, 2015 with three separate, unique exhibitions all showcasing artists that have previously shown at Forest & Ocean, the first being from ethnographic and landscape photography master Tom Lamb. The G2 Gallery selected Forest & Ocean as a partner because of their shared commitment to use photography as a tool for environmental change.

In 2012, photographer Jasmine Swope and three colleagues went on a journey down the Grand Canyon, taking pictures along the way. Their inspiring experience led them to hold a benefit exhibition at Venice Arts and subsequently create the Young Explorer’s Campaign. In 2013, the Campaign raised funds to send four students on a similar journey – their experience is documented in 224 Miles.

Leocadio Martinez (see image, right), Zinnia Moreno, Chelsea Ramirez and Mark Tomilin all had profound experiences on their Grand Canyon trip, and through Venice Arts and Grand Canyon Youth, they were able to create art reflective of their time there.

All of the profits from sales will be donated to Venice Arts, where they will fund the next iteration of this Grand Canyon trip in 2015.

Admission is $10 at the door and includes wine, hors d’oeuvres and complimentary valet in front of the gallery. All proceeds from admissions will be donated to Venice Arts to fund their Youth Explorers Campaign. RSVP to rsvp@theg2gallery.com

On view: January 13 – June 7, 2015

What: Opening reception
Where: The G2 Gallery, 1503 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice,90291
When: 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Phone: 310 452-2842
Website: http://www.theg2gallery.com

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In Culver City…

Von Lintel Gallery is pleased to announce Stagecraft, an exhibition of new works by Farrah Karapetian.

This will be the artist’s first solo show with the gallery. Comprised of photograms and the band of sculptur al negatives built to produce them, Karapetian’s latest series challenges the stability of the photographic image through analogy with staged musical performance and sound.

On view: January 17 – February 28

What: Opening reception
Where: Von Lintel Gallery, 2685 S. La Cienega Blvd., LA 90034
When: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Phone: 310.559.5700
Website: www.vonlintel.com

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Also in Culver City…

In conjunction with its current exhibition, Gilke Gallery hosts a poetry reading featuring Steve Abee, Gloria Enedina Alvarez, Peter J. Harris, Karineh Mahdessian, and Abel Salas.

See image: Roberto Chavez, “Self-Portrait with Beard,” 1979, oil on canvas, 20 x 16″

If you missed the opening, pop in to see the work of Chicano artist Roberto Chavez, who explored painting for decades while being an educator and organizer of Chicano studies at East Los Angeles University. This concise survey will focus on important portrait paintings.

On view: January 10 – February 22

What: Opening reception
Where: Glike Gallery,5890 Blackwelder Street, Suite B, Culver City, CA, 90230
When: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Phone: (626) 310-2887
Website is down as of April 20 23

Downtown…

“GRIT Exploring the Urban Cityscape” opens at the Downtown Playground.

See image: Brooke Harker,  Taxi 213, Medium: ink, acrylic and oil on canvas, Dimensions: 36″ x 48″

The group exhibit will feature paintings by: Ricardo Garcia, Rency Punnoose, Matt Aston, Anyes Galleani, April Raber, Stephen Wright, Wayne Chang, Brooke Harker.

From the Underpasses and Alleyways to People and Places Familiar to L.A, the exhibition will feature a broad array of talent.

Artist Brooke Harker will be showing her work as well. “Taxi 213 is based on Hollywood Blvd, a place of dreams and disenchantment,” said Harker. “This painting is a result of time spent with a child who inspired me to see the city with the enthusiasm of a tourist and a filter for beauty despite obvious despair.”

On view through February 10th by chance or appointment

What: Opening reception
Where: The Downtown Playground, 1720 E. 14th Street, LA 90021
When: 6-9 pm
Website: http://www.thewolffineart.com

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Also nearby From 7-9pm, “White Noise” opens at PØST (1904 East 7th Place, LA 90021). www.postlosangeles.org www.post-la.com

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The Gabba Gallery presents Kool Layed, an exhibition exploring the art of collage and layered painting by filling this almost 2000 sq. ft. gallery with layered images and artistic translations as they take on the transformation of the deluge of visual and experiential imput we receive daily.

The group show is curated by Jason Ostro and Phil Santos. The artists included in “Kool Layed” are contemporary collage artists hand-picked by curator Ostro as an homage to collage, and are as follows: Amy Smith, Anyes Galleani’ Brad Reyes, CANTSTOPGOODBOY, Cody Bayne, Essi Zimm, Gianni Arone, HERO, Hope Kroll, Jaime Becker, James Johnson, Jeff Gillette, Jennifer Verge, Jimmy Ray Flynn, Keith Dugas, Karl Jungquist, L. Croskey, Lauren Mendelsohn-Bass, Len Davis, Mary Hanson, Michele Waterman, Natasha Carovska, Patrick Haemmerlein, Rafael Delgado Jr., Steve Janssen, Teodor Dumitrescu, LOUDLABS, Toshee.

Artist Jennifer Verge said she’s looking forward to the opening. “Im excited to be one of the artists showing at the Gabba Gallery, Jason always chooses great art which draws in a fun crowd. Its a guaranteed good time.”

See image: Jennifer Verge, Kiss Me, mixed media on panel

The artist has successfully developed her own signature style by combining elements such as wood, stain, metal, plaster, found objects, colors and statements. Jennifer wants her art to “affect people at the gut level”. This is what she feels makes the whole art experience exciting. http://jenniferverge.com/

The event is sponsored by 7/11, Hubert’s and Perrier. DJ Sharper Image will be spinning.

On view: January 17 – February 7

What: Opening reception
Where: The Gabba Gallery, 3126 Beverly Blvd. 90057
When: 7 – 11 pm
Phone: 310-498-2697
Website: www.thegabbagallery.com

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In Topanga…

ROAM creative presents Kinski Gallo: An extraordinary visual and musical artist both near and far … Kinski’s work has sold to Robin Williams, Bett Midler, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Jessi Camichael, Maroon 5 and others.

His iconic provocative visuals lends insights to a plethora of symbols surrounding his personal studies of well known images from Audrey Hepburn to Bob Dylan… Kinski as the mystic, weaves the personal thoughts and alchemical essence of each person into a enlightening story … Other visuals include exquisite furniture designs which fuse both nature and period piece’s.

Along with being a prolific visual artist – Kinski is also a powerful musician who brings Cumbia, Techno, Dance, Rock beats together to expose the true feel of groove … Kinski will be Performing under EDM project = M.O.M Music of Mars – Electronica Beats – Yes – He is also a DJ!

Join ROAM creative tonight, for the opening gala – along with ROAMS resident DJ and cohort Fahmina
Live Painting: Michael Pukac
for a hot night in the canyon of Topanga ..

Opening Reception @ ROAM creative – then wander over to Abuelitas Mexican Restaurant for our after hour festivities where Kinski will rock the house – along with DJ Fahmina … Live Painting: Michael Pukac … Show begins @ 10pm …

On view: January 17 – January 31st

ROAM creative where you can find limited addition paintings, wearables, music and more.

What: Art Party
Where: 115 South Topanga Canyon, Studio E,
When: 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
FB Page:  https://www.facebook.com/ROAMcreativespace