In Culver City…
Edw
ard Cella Art & Architecture offers an art talk with Mara De Luca in conversation with writer and curator Kristine McKenna. The event takes place in conjunction with its current exhibition “Driving Sunset,” the gallery’s first solo exhibition of new works by Los Angeles-based painter Mara De Luca. An MFA graduate of CalArts, De Luca explores the conceptual and expressive potential of process-driven abstract painting.
Her works are informed by her study and re-appropriation of art historical conventions, her visual interpretation of literary sources, and the recurring visual tropes of contemporary high-end fashion advertising. Inspired by Los Angeles’ stark contrasts, a place where beautiful natural landscapes coexist alongside endless freeways and countless billboards, De Luca reveals a depth in the superficiality of surface, and an emotive complexity in formal concision.
The exhibition title, Driving Sunset, is a direct reference to Joan Didion’s novel Play it as it Lays, in which its protagonist, Maria, compulsively drives the freeways of Southern California in search of meditative psychological respite.
On view: March 12 – April 16, 2016
What: Art reception
Where: Edward Cella, 2754 S. La Cienega Blvd
When: 2:00pm – March 26
Phone: (323) 525-0053
Website: http://www.edwardcella.com/
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In Venice…
Shulamit Nazarian hosts a walk through of “Set in Stone,” a two-person exhibition by New York-based artist Theodore Boyer and San Francisco-based artist Jake Ziemann. An artist talk will follow with Jake Ziemann and new Senior Gallery Director Seth Curcio
Through their respective mediums, Boyer and Ziemann address personal and cultural narratives through the language of abstraction. Employing industrial materials and non-mechanical processes, “Set in Stone,” pairs Boyer’s recent series of paintings, JPL, alongside Ziemann’s ongoing series of sculptures, hold your ground.
On View: February 27 – April 9
What: Art Talk
Where: Shulamit Nazariam, 17 North Venice Boulevard, Venice 90292
When: 2:00pm – 4:00pm – March 26
Website: http://www.shulamitnazarian.com
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Downtown…
Chimento Contemporary features an art talk for its current exhibition, “See Through” featuring the art Roy Thurston. Artist Monique Prieto’s work will be featured in a solo show titled “Good Listening.”
Roy Thurston’s latest works in silicone, pigment, and metal expan
d in fresh new ways on his innovative manner of merging painting and sculpture into singular objects of curious power. His long-standing interest in activating experiential awareness of our architectural and environmental surroundings — as well as the pleasure he takes in all aspects of the industrial fabrication process — result in a suite of dimensional wall works in copper or aluminum, and either water- or silicone-based color that accomplish this in several unique ways.
Looking, listening, thinking of your next snack; all these can be part of a vivid painting experience as proposed by Monique Prieto in “Good Listening,” a dozen small paintings of ears (six pairs) will be on view in the Side Gallery Project space.
On view: February 27 – April 9, 2016
What: Opening recepton and Grand Opening
Where: CHIMENTO CONTEMPORARY, 622 South Andersen Street, Space 105, LA 90023
When: 5:00pm – 8:00pm – March 26
Phone: 310.433.0508
Website: http://www.chimentocontemporary.com
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In the Miracle Mile area…(in the same building as KP Projects/MKG -upstairs)
LAUNCH LA hosts an art talk…Shana Nys Dambrot leads Ryan McCann on a lively discourse on his current show, “Random Acts of Fire” and diverse art making practice.
See image: Ryan McCann, After That Night She Never Looked Back, 2016, Archival Pigment on Handmade Rice Paper, 21″ x 14″
Working in a wide array of mediums – from traditional painting to a pioneered technique known as pyrography – McCann draws influence from modern painters such as Baldessari and Ruscha to produce satirical commentaries on popular culture. These works demonstrate and embrace the narrative potential of images and the associative power of language within the boundaries of the work of art.
On view: March 5 – April 2
What: Art Talk
Where: Launch Gallery, 2nd floor170 S. La Brea Ave. (In the Art 170 Building), LA 90036
When: 4:00 pm – March 26
Phone: 323.933.4408
Website: http://www.launchla.org/
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In Pasadena …how bout’ some theater?
From four time Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein, the iconic playwright of the Broadway hits Torch Song Trilogy, La Cage Aux Folles, Newsies and Kinky Boots comes the West Coast
Premiere ofCasa Valentina, the recipient of four 2014 Tony Award nominations. Directed by nine-time Emmy Award-winner David Lee of NBC’s Frasier and director of the acclaimed Pasadena Playhouse productions ofCan-CanandArt, this moving and insightful play is nestled in the Catskills in 1962 – land of dirty dancing and borscht belt comedy. But an inconspicuous bungalow colony is more than a place to retire from the sweltering summer heat. For a group of heterosexual men it is a place to escape. Casa Valentinais based on real events and infused with Fierstein’s trademark wit.
The cast of nine features Christian Clemenson as Charlotte/Isadore (FX’s American Crime Story, The Big Lebowski); Nike Doukas as Eleanor (ABC’s Desperate Housewives); Raymond McAnally as Albert/Bessie (Off Broadway: Defending the Caveman; God’s Ear); Valerie Mahaffey as Rita (ABC’s Desperate Housewives, Lifetime’s Devious Maids); Robert Mammana as George/Valentina (Broadway: Les Misérables; Off Broadway: The Twentieth Century Way); Lawrence Pressman as Theodore/Terry (Amazon’s Transparent, CW’s Heart of Dixie); James Snyder as Jonathan/Miranda (Broadway: If/Then; Cry Baby); Mark Sullivan as Michael/Gloria (Mark Taper Forum: Immediate Family, The Old Globe: The Whipping Man); and John Vickery as The Judge/Amy (Broadway: The Lion King;The Sisters Rosensweig, The Real Thing).
(L-
R): James Snyder, Valerie Mahaffey, Raymond McAnally and Robert Mammana in “Casa Valentina” at The Pasadena Playhouse. Photo by: Jim Cox Photography
Tickets range from $25 – $125. Click Here to purchase tickets.
What: Performance
Where: Pasadena Playhouse, 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101
When: Two shows – 4pm (matinee) 8pm – March 26
Phone: 626-356-7529
Website: http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/
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At Bergamot Station (22525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica) host a few art parties.
Starting at 4 pm, enjoy a closing reception for “Julian Wasser : Duchamp in Pasadena Redux,” from at the ROBERT BERMAN GALLERY.
If you missed this exhibition be sure to get attend the closing event. It features rare, never seen before, vintage and contemporary photographs documenting one of the most significant moments in California’s art history. These will be on view alongside appropriations of many of the readymades and conceptual works of art by Marcel Duchamp displayed in the Pasadena Art Museum during the artist’s first major U.S. retrospective in 1963. Featured appropriations are by Los Angeles based artist Gregg Gibbs and others.
Fo
r more information on this exhibition visit our Upcoming Events Page. I also wrote a Huffington Post article about the exhibition.
See image: Julian Wasser, Chess Match with Eve Babitz and Marcel Duchamp at the Duchamp Retrospective Pasadena Art Museum, 1963
“Julian Wasser: Duchamp in Pasadena Redux” brings the quintessential photographs of Julian Wasser, together with an installation of appropriated works of art produced primarily by L.A. based artist Gregg Gibbs to create an exclusive experience of the 1963 Duchamp retrospective at the Pasadena Art Museum. Works on view originally produced by Duchamp and appropriated by Gibbs will include early works such as Bicycle Wheel, Nude Descending a Staircase, I.H.O.O.Q, 1919; With Hidden Noise, 1916, and one of Duchamp’s masterworks (The Large Glass) The Bride Stripped Bare of Her Bachelors, Even 1915-1923. The piece de resistance is a life-sized recreation of Wasser’s now-infamous photograph of Marcel Duchamp and Eve Babitz playing chess at the museum in 1963.
What: Opening reception
Where: THE ROBERT BERMAN GALLERY, Bergamot Station, (B-7) 2525 Michigan Ave., SM
When: 4:00pm – 6:00pm – March 26
Phone: (310) 315.1937
Website: http://www.robertbermangallery.com/
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A couple doors down…pop by Richard Heller Gallery (B-5A) for an art party and opening for a group show from 5-7pm.
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Head to the other side of Bergamot Station…
TA
G Gallery presents new exhibitions featuring artists Donn Delson, Christo Brock, and Gary Polonsky. The opening reception runs from 5-8pm.
Artists Donn Delson and Christo Brock both work in laser and abstract photography. Gary Polonsky utilizes styrofoam to create his mixed media works.
On view: March 22 – April 16, 2016
What: Opening reception
Where: TAG Gallery, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Avenue D3, SM 90404
When: 5-8pm
Phone: (310) 829-9556
Website: http://www.taggallery.net/
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Head to Hollywood…Tif Sigfrids (1507 Wilcox Ave., LA 90028), holds an artist reception from 4-6pm.
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Off the Beaten path…head to Frogtown…
The Erin Hanson Gallery features for a group exhibition of works from three popular LA-based artists. “Color in Motion” will show for a limited engagement opening tonight with an artist reception for Pomm, Ian Ely and Erin Hanson.
Pomm’s expressionist style presented in her oil work transcends the viewer into an emotionally heightened “outer world.” “ http://www.pommfineart.com/
IAN ELY is a landscape photographer. His fiery love for the outdoors was stoked at a very young age by wilderness camping, nature outings and road trips from California to visit family in the Midwest. https://www.ianely.com/
Erin’s Hanson’s vivid oil paintings are impressions, fleeting pictures stored within the mind’s eye. Exploring the outdoors since a young age, backpacking and rock climbing across the Western states, Erin Hanson transforms these dramatic landscapes into breathtaking mosaics of color and texture on the canvas. https://www.erinhanson.com/
Color in Motion will be available for viewing from 5pm – 10pm on Saturday,
What: Opening reception
Where: The Erin Hanson Gallery, 2732 Gilroy St, Los Angeles, CA 90039
When: 5:00pm – 10:00pm – March 26
Phone: 323-384-4593
Website: https://www.erinhanson.com/
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Lee & Lee Gallery (3130 Wilshire Blvd. #502, LA 90010), hosts an opening reception for a group show from 6-8pm. Artists include: Su Young Arnold, EunHee Lee, Jung I Chang, Robert Lee, Ryan Cho, Clara Park, Youl Ja Choi, Young Y Summer, In Ok Jeong, Soo Sung, Mihye Joy, and Tae Ja Yun.
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In Culver City…
MIM Gallery is very pleased to present GHOSTS, GATES, SPILLS, AND 
A FOG MACHINE, a solo exhibition by Berlin and Los Angeles-based artist Annette Weisser. This is the artist’s first show at MIM Gallery. Annette Weisser’s artistic work of recent years asks how specific historical constellations leave a lasting mark on attitudes and approaches to life without, however, being fully reflected upon or articulated.
Her work is a self-inquiry regarding her political socialization in West-Germany in the 1980s, as well as the enduring influence of National Socialism on German society. Weisser embarks on “terrain vague,” insecure ground, in order to research subjective impressions and to test the connection to socially effective forces.
Save the Date…April 2, 4–6 pm, Annette Weisser will discuss her recently published artist book MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE (Berlin: The Green Box, 2015) with Chris Kraus and Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer.
On view: March 26 – April 23, 2016
What: Opening reception
Where: mim Gallery, 2636 S La Cienega Blvd., 90034
When: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – March 26
Website: http://mim.gallery
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Downtown…where our Pick of the Week takes place…
Museum as Retail Space (MaRS) is pleased to present Access to Nameless Hazards, the first solo exhibition of German artist Linda Franke in the United States.
Linda Franke’s work engages with the constants of human life by staging situations in which our daily routines are being transformed into absurd Tableaux Vivants. Found materials, elaborately produced props, 3D animations and soundtracks, create a cinematographic set that serves as the environment for her performers and the resulting video.
On view: March 26 – April 23
What: Opening reception
Where: MUSEUM as RETAIL SPACE (MARS), 649 S Anderson St., LA, 90023
When: 7:00pm – 10:00pm – March 26
Phone: (323) 526-8097
Website: http://www.marsgallery.net/
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