Start your day off early…in Santa Monica….

The City of Santa Monica celebrates Day of the Dead at Woodlawn Cemetery. The community is invited to join this traditional celebration of Día de los Muertos featuring an opening procession. There will also be a workshop to create offerings for loved ones that have passed, a blessing with traditional music and dance, self-guided tours of the gravesites of famous locals, and musicians performing throughout the cemetery in remembrance of those who have passed. Fresh tamales and pan de muerto will be available for purchase.

Woodlawn Cemetery is situated on 26 acres and has views of the Santa Monica mountains and ocean. Free parking available at Santa Monica College lot located between 16th and 17th Streets on Pico Blvd., and along 14th St. A shuttle service will be available from SMC Lot to cemetery entrance between 10:30am – 3:30pm. Parking at SMC is made possible by SMC/Workforce & Economic Development Department.

Free Admission, Bike Valet & Parking

What: Day of the Dead
Where: Woodlawn Cemetery, 1847 14th Street,
When: 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Phone: 310-458-8688
Website: Santa Monica Gov

In Hollywood…

The Dia de Los Muertos festival at Hollywood Forever Cemetery takes place to today.

Now in its 15th year, it’s the largest celebration of it’s kind in California. If you’ve never been to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery be sure to visit the graves of Hollywood celebrities.

Tickets are $20
Children 8 and under FREE until 4pm
Seniors 65 and over FREE until 4pm

Purchase Tickets HERE.  Be sure to check their website for more info.

What: Dia de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Where: Hollywood Foreve Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd. LA 90038
When:  Noon till Midnight (SEE ABOVE FOR ADMISSION TIMES)
Phone: (323) 447-0999
Website: www.ladayofthedead.com

In Beverly Hills…

In collaboration with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Gagosian Beverly Hills is pleased to announce an exhibition of Robert Rauschenberg’s works on metal of the 1980s and 1990s.

Robert Rauschenberg, Aqua Fanfare (Urban Bourbon), 1993, acrylic on copper and mirrored aluminum, 72 13/16 x 48 13/16 inches (184.9 x 124 cm)

This will be the first major presentation of his work on the West Coast since MOCA’s acclaimed traveling exhibition of the Combines in 2006.

On view: November 1 – December 13

What: Opening reception
Where: Gagosian Gallery – Beverly Hills, 456 N. Camden Dr. Beverly Hills, 90210
When: 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Phone: 310.271.9400
Website: http://www.gagosian.com/

In Santa Monica…Bergamot Station (2525 Michigan Ave.) offers a few art parties…

TAG Gallery celebrates artists Peter Kempson, Diane Rudnick Mann, and Gary Polonsky with an opening reception…always a fun art party here.

Artist Peter Kempson passed away while working in preparation for this show. “Peter Kempson: 1947-2014” is a celebration of the artist’s life and a retrospective look at the Los Angeles landscapes and multimedia collage works that defined Kempson’s point of view.

In her latest body of work, artist Diane Rudnick Mann continues to highlight beautiful detail in the everyday.

See image: Diane Rudnick Mann, 8 or 9 Bowls, Pastel, 27 x 32 in.

Using photorealistic techniques with pastel, Mann transforms ordinary, overlooked, and unseen objects into the extraordinary in her new series, “Everything Glass.”

In his current exhibition, artist Gary Polonsky furthers his experimentation with various mixed media to create dynamic three dimensional works. The artist casts a wider net in his new series, transitioning from previous explorations in food and sweet confections to a botanical inspired collection.

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

Stop into (before 5:30pm) Leslie Sacks Contemporary’s opening of “Andy Warhol: Drawings and Editions.” Shoshana Wayne Gallery (B1) also features new works by Jeanne Silverthorn from 5-7pm. http://www.shoshanawayne.com/

bG Gallery is pleased to present Phase 2 Reception for “Reconstructions.” This is the closing reception for this one week exhibit. This is the final day…so be sure to pop in!

This group exhibit features artists that reform and restructure objects and concepts in ways beyond their original intentions.

See image: by Gus Harper

Gus Harper just enjoyed a successful solo show titled “Suspended Pillars.” Harper has been creating art all of his life. His work has been shown across North America…New Orleans, San Francisco, New York, Mexico city, Puerto Vallarta, Denver. He enjoyed a solo exhibition at LOCZIdesign in San Francisco. For more info on the artists see his website at http://gusharperart.com/

Additional artists include: Brian Cooper, Hadiya Finley, Thomas Whittaker Kidd, Barbara Kolo, Ralph Allen Massey, Organa Meets, Susan Moss, Gay Summer Rick, Suzanne Unrein and more to be announced.

On view: October 24 – November 1

What: Closing reception
Where: bG Gallery, 2525 Michigan Avenue, # G8A, Santa Monica, CA 90404
When:  6:00 pm 8:00 pm
Phone: (310) 906 4211
Website: http://www.bGartGalleries.com

In Culver City…

Anat Ebgi is pleased to announce the first Los Angeles exhibition of New York based artist Luke Diiorio.

See image: Luke Diiorio, TTylenol (Three), 2014. Pigment, bleach, peroxide on hand-folded canvas and linen, 60 x 48 inches.

Luke Diiorio’s paintings are minimal compositions made of canvas and linen, methodically and repeatedly folded in a linear pattern.

On view: November 1 – December 20

What: Opening reception
Where: Anat Ebgi, 2660 La Cienega Blvd.
When: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Website:http://www.thecompanyart.com/

Cherry Martin, 2712 S. La Cienega Blvd.) also offers an opening 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm. http://www.cherryandmartin.com/

Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects is excited to announce, “ANACHRONIC,” the gallery’s first solo exhibition of paintings by Angel Otero.

Each of Otero’s paintings starts with an image already existing in the canon of art history to which the artist has a personal connection. These found images are re-interpreted through his process-based approach to painting, which involves reproducing and obscuring the initial image. The resulting work bears a trace of this reproduction beneath the surface.

This transformation from concrete image into abstraction has a metaphorical relationship to the way that memory changes over time.

On view: November 1 – December 20

What: Opening reception
Where: Susanne Vielmetter Gallery, 6006 Washington Blvd., Culver City, 90232
When: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Phone: 310-837-2117
Website: http://www.vielmetter.com

Also on Washington Roberts & Tilton (5801 Washington Blvd. Culver City, 90232), hosts a reception from 6-8pm. http://www.robertsandtilton.com/

FP Contemporary is pleased to announce the opening reception for their solo show “Polka Dots for Holly Solomon” featuring work by Phoenix-based painter and sculptor John Randall Nelson.

“Polka Dots for Holly Solomon” is inspired by the late New York art dealer Holly Solomon, who nurtured the Pattern and Decoration movement. Nelson draws on Pattern and Decoration to create a visual narrative of polka dots, symbols and texts.

Nelson’s anachronistic works are layered with things that might not make any literal sense but which play on subconscious associations while suggesting a metaphor for the tension and anxiety of the times.

On view: November 1 – January 17

What: Opening reception
Where: FP Contemporary, 5835 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
When: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Website: http://fpcontemporary.com/

Or in Hollywood…Young Art (5658 Hollywood Blvd., LA 90028), hosts a reception from 7-10pm. http://www.youngartgallery.com  Nearby…in Mid Wilshire area, Richard Telles Fine Art (7380 Beverly Blvd., LA 90036), presents an artist reception from 5-7pm. http://www.tellesfineart.com   Dysonna City Art Gallery (5373 Wilshire Blvd. LA 90036), throws an art party from 7-9pm. www.dysonnacityartgallery.com/

In West Hollywood…Matthew Marks Gallery, (1062 North Orange Grove, LA 90046) holds a reception from 3-5pm. http://www.matthewmarks.com/los-angeles/ Louis Stern Fine Arts (9002 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, CA 90069) offers an opening from 5-8pm. http://www.louissternfinearts.com 

Leica Gallery presents “Susan Barnett: Not in your Face” with “Matthew Miller: Judy’s Interruption.”

Susan Barnett’s love of t-shirts began in the Seventies when she was known for silk-screening t-shirts and posters to protest the Vietnam War. “NOT IN YOUR FACE” was born by photographing in the streets with her Leica Camera “only to find I was oftentimes standing at a corner with those who chose to wear a message on their back willing to advertise their affiliations and likes and dislikes.”

If you drive enough in rural America you see it: Purple Mountains Majesty and Amber Waves of Grain marred by a disconcerting foreground: junked cars and old tires; rotting window frames and discarded toilets. In short: Trash. For Matthew Miller, it became personal when his father and he bought an old farmhouse in Idaho as a getaway. Matthew saw the background: the old farmhouse with the landscape of rolling hills and rivers, even views of the Tetons. “It is a gorgeous, stunning property.”

On view: November 1st – December 7th, 2014

What: Artist reception
Where: Leica Gallery Los Angeles is located at 8783 Beverly Blvd. West Hollywood
When: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Phone: 424.777.0341
Website: http://www.leicagalleryla.com/

Thomas Duncan Gallery (6109 Melrose Ave., LA 90028), offers an artist reception from 6-8pm. http://thomasduncangallery.com/

Also nearby…

Ivan Gallery hosts an opening reception and champagne gala.

Two exhibits, “the annex rooms” wil feature the skilled and ironic oils by BEN HUMPHREY of an interesting group of women, and “VIEWFINDER” featuring work by Fine art, Astro, and Time-lapse photographer AARON KEIGHER.

Tonight’s opening reception and champagne gala will run a bit later from 7:30 to 11:00 PM!

On view: November 1 to December 7, 2014.

What: Opening reception
Where: IVAN Gallery 2701 S. Robertson Blvd. L.A. 90034
When: 7:30 pm – 11:00 pm
Website: https://www.facebook.com/IVANartgallery

The Los Angeles County Psychological Association (LACPA) presents “Mirrors of the Mind 3:The Psychotherapist as Artist.”

The annual exhibition honors the creative side of professional psychologists, psychotherapists, psychology professors, and psychology graduate students. Each year, the selection process for the exhibition relies on a jury of established artists and psychologists.

Now in its third year, the event will feature painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, ceramics, woodwork, textiles, as well as 3-D pieces.

See image: by Alisa Dennis

Co-founder and curator, Terry Marks-Tarlow has been creating art her entire life. “Everything inspires me to create these days,” she explained. “I believe that people reach their fullest potential through their creativity, whether that is formally expressed in art or informally expressed in things like clever conversation or finding novel ways to do clean the house.”

Artist Terry Marks Tarlow, founder and curator for the show talks about how life affects her art. Personally as a wife, mother, and friend, as well as professionally as a psychotherapist, I am attracted to bare essences. I like to get under the surface of people and relationships. I try not to mince words or make small talk. I want to strip away illusion, dismantle false pretense, and soften defense. I yearn to know what is really going on, what lives at the heart of things. That is where I feel most satisfied.

Image: by Terry Marks-Tarlow

The artist describes her inspiration for her piece (which is part of the exhibit)….Bare Essences. “This diptych seeks the bare essence of parenthood—the zone where the personal touches upon the universal. My aim was to capture the minimal line that harmonizes mother and child (left) and father and child (right). Even after the baby emerges from inside mother’s body, I remember the feeling of wanting to enfold the tiny, vulnerable being back inside my heart—such a strong instinct to protect from harm, soothe distress, and ease discomfort. Meanwhile, like yin and yang, my husband so often had the opposite impulse. He wanted to draw the baby out, to play, to be stimulating, to launch his pride and joy into the world, to help the baby move upwards, both literally and figuratively.” www.markstarlow.com

On view: November 1 – November 8

What: Opening reception
Where: Artshare LA, 801 E 4th Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90013
When: 5:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Phone: (213) 687-4278
Website: http://artsharela.org/ http://www.lapsych.org/

Also downtown…

Charlie James Gallery presents the second gallery solo exhibition of LA-based artist Michelle Andrade titled “Kind of Blue.”

See image: “The Michelle Andrade Story” Catalog Cove

In conjunction with the gallery exhibition, the gallery will be celebrating the launch of The Michelle Andrade Story, the artist’s first full catalog release, featuring an essay by LA-based artist and professor Annetta Kapon.

Also opening tonight…”Push Me Pull You; The Horse with No Ass,” a group show curated by Los Angeles-based artistAlice Clements. The comedy of the Pushmi-pullyu in the children’s story of Dr. Doolittle is built in – the animal has two front ends and no back end. This is a show that explores physical comedy–comedy that is of and about the body, extending to the “body” of materials and the physical context of the art world – its white cubes and formal conventions. The show features work by Josh Callaghan, Roger Dickes, Amy Green, Kristi Lippire, Christopher Michlig, Stephanie Taylor and Matt Wardell.

On view: November 1 – December 20

What: Opening reception
Where: Charlie James Gallery, 969 Chung King Road, Los Angeles CA 90012
When: 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Phone: 213.687.0844
Website http://www.cjamesgallery.com/

In Orange Country…

OCCCA (Orange County Center for Contemporary Art) presents “You Should Not Be Here – Usted No Deberia Estar Aqui” – Do you Belong? Do they Belong?

We are often made to feel unwelcome or invisible either by borders, race, gender, social status, politics, beliefs, our own mind etc. This exhibition will explore these provocative themes.

The event is Free; Wine and non-alcoholic drinks will be offered.

On view: November 1st thru December 13th

What: Opening Reception
Where: Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, 117 North Sycamore, Santa Ana, CA 92701
When: 6:00 pm -10:00 pm
Phone: 714.667.1517
Website: http://www.occca.org/