Exhibition by Christi Jay & Cheryl Louise Humphreys, 'Bring Into Being'

September 6th, 2013 - October 11th, 2013

*Gallery Hours by appointment.

This is a two-person show by Christi Jay and Cheryl Louise Humphreys. The exhibition features Cheryl Humphreys' prints, and Jay's sculptures and textile pieces. Humphreys' prints are called 'blind embossings' (some combined with monotype) — where plates or objects are printed through a press without being inked up. Visit http://thepopstudio.com/gallery/show/bring-into-being/ for more info. 

Cheryl Louise Humphreys' blog:

http://cheryllouisehumphreys.tumblr.com/ 

"Through the exploration of surrendering control to their mediums, Christi Jay & Cheryl Louise Humphreys come together as a single force for Bring Into Being... Just as everything in the natural world does, their works and process have both yin and yang aspects, for instance shadow cannot exist without light, surrender cannot exist without control." (excerpt from the gallery website)

Pop Gallery

3505 Helms Ave.
Culver City, CA 90232
Tel.1.310.558.2080

*Images taken from Humphreys' blog.

SALON: small works on paper
Opening Reception September 14, 2013 7–9pm
September 14 – October 9

A Group Show Featuring works by:

Mark Allen | Courtney Arwin | Nicola Atkinson/nadfly | James Boulton | Nathan Danilowicz | Amanda Gordon Dunn | Shea M. Gauer | Karolyn Gehrig | John Kannenberg | Caleb Jones Lyons | Lucas Murgida | Dave Paco | Jeremy Rocine | Justin Schaefer | Camilla Taylor

Curated by J. Frede
*Names in white should be linked to their website, for your convenience.

As the title says, the show will feature works on paper, so you should definitely get to see lots of drawings and prints. As I looked up the artists quickly, I grew a feeling that this was going to be filled with a lot of exciting works. Plus, some of the artists are CSULB alumni, so there is no reason not to go and support them! 

facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/213958435437084/

POPUP PROJECTS GALLERY
@ Namaste Highland Park
5118 York Blvd, Highland Park, 90042
namastehighlandpark.com

work by Amanda Gordon Dunn

work by Camilla Taylor

work by Nicola Atkinson.Does Fly

work by James Boulton

work by John Kannenberg

work by James Boulton

Jamie Sweetman's Exhibition - "Symmetries" at the Stone Rose Gallery

Jamie Sweetman's exhibition Symmetries opened on Saturday evening at the Stone Rose Gallery in downtown Long Beach, California.  Located at 342 East 4th Street, it will run until October 5th, 2013. Gallery hours are Wednesdays & Thursdays, from noon - 6 PM, & Fridays & Saturdays, from noon - 7 PM.  

I feel such an intense artistic connection to these works...even down to the fact that we share some of the same titles (Bleeding Heart comes immediately to mind). Like Jamie, I'm also preoccupied with making visible that which lies beneath the flesh's surface, & although our mediums are quite different, I completely relate to her assured handling of simple drawing materials. In her competent hands, colored pencils, water soluble crayon, & gouache layer together on Mylar to create poetic amalgams of bone, synapse, & muscle that often combine with floral or pelagic entities. Symmetry is of course inherent, but beyond that, Jamie's work is (as theorist James Elkins elegantly phrases it) pure "visceral seeing."

 

                           

Dirk Hagner: Deep Cuts

A review by Bevis Hari

The exhibition runs until 5/28/2013

Dirk Hagner: Deep Cuts, found inside Biola University’s library, features breath-taking prints done by artist Dirk Hagner. Walking inside the library for the first time, one is greeted with large-scale woodcuts  mounted on the walls. Beautiful prints over twenty by forty inches in size are framed, while the original wood block used in the process hangs next to them.

The artist’s main subject is portraying prominent people known throughout the course of history. Although most of his prints depict simply faces, Hagner successfully gives a dramatic look and pose to each. For instance, Hagner’s Tilman Riemenschneider (2002) shows the prolific German woodcarver curiously looking off into the distance. It is apparent that this was done using the suicide cut method. One side of the composition is dominated by shadow, and the background is composed by a vertical textured pattern that mimics the look of etched marks. In fact, what I find to be my favorite feature amongst the prints by Hagner is the obvious display of "chatter" marks. Its as if he intended not to be too careful about his mark making, however still keeping every details with the different width of the various gouges. One can also recognize that Hagner paid attention to light, as each of his prints assumes one light source that directs the lighting and shading. All these elements combine to create successful and dramatic composition within each print.

I have seen a few woodcut prints that are magnificent, but not as iconic as Dirk Hagner’s. The consistency in style and subject matter amongst his prints makes him a successful printmaking artist. There is no doubt that Biola University chose the right artist to represent art in printmaking.

Ed Ruscha: "Standard," at The Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Ed Ruscha, USA, Standard Station, 1966, Screenprint 

Ed Ruscha, USA, Hollywood, 1968, Screenprint

"Ed Ruscha's influence can be seen in graphic design, cinema, architectural theory, and urban history. His art depicts everyday objects – gas stations, street signs, billboards, commercial packaging – yet often triggers philosophical reflection about the relationship between words, things, and ideas. The word “standard” is a case in point: it can be a banner or rallying point, an established level of quality, and an oil company’s brand name. In his depictions of Standard stations, Ruscha points to each of these definitions and more. LACMA's collection includes more than 300 works by Ruscha." LA County Museum Website

This current exhibition will run until 1/21/2013, with a film & a lecture about the show happening on Friday, 10/26 in LACMA's Bing Theater at 7:30 PM. Titled, The Intersection of Art & Film, the lecture includes Mad Men creator Matt Weiner, film historian, critic & curator Elvis Mitchell, and Britt Salvesen, LACMA curator and department head of prints and drawings, for a discussion about the interplay of art and film in conjunction with the exhibition. A screening of Ed Ruscha’s short films Premium (1971/24 min.) and Miracle (1975/28 min.) will follow.

The cost is $14 for students with valid student ID's; for tickets call: 323 857-6010 or purchase online from the Museum's website.

Dirk Hagner at the L.A. Print Fair

“Dirk Hagner’s large scale woodcuts have long addressed his interest in artists, poets, writers, and actors – always with some very personal fascination. These people are celebrities – although, some are rather obscure. There is inherent romanticism in Hagner’s work, which, perhaps, is not surprising for an heir of German expressionism: Hagner believes in magic. He subscribes to the moment of illumination – or transcendence – when a work of art gets inside of you, and you feel euphoric. It would be a mistake to perceive Hagner’s homage’s as analogous to Warhol’s celebrity worship. One of Hagner’s portraits in this show is of German printmaker Horst Janssen; Hagner’s interest as an artist is akin to a man’s interest in his forebears.” - Christopher Michno

Area artist Dirk Hagner will be both presenting his work and giving two talks about his imagery at the LA Printers Fair, in the International Printing Museum's Front Gallery at 11am and 2pm on October 6, 2012. Other work may also be seen at his booth, #B50. The address is 315 West Torrance Blvd., Carson, CA. The phone number (should you need further information on the fair) is: 310/515-7166.

You can purchase tickets on-line for the fair, by using Paypal & going to www.printmuseum.org/printersfair/. The fair will run from 9 - 5 PM, & is a one day only affair, and tickets cost $6.00. Their web-site recommends parking across the street in the K-Mart shopping center lot. Hopefully, they've worked this out in advance with K-Mart.

Oscar Cueto - "Solitude," Walter Maciel Gallery

This exhibition closes on 10/27/12. The Maciel Gallery is located at 2642 South La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. Hours of operation are from 11 - 6 PM, Tuesday - Saturday, call 310/839-1840 for further information. I've included a description of the watercolor color drawings by Mexico City based artist Oscar Cueto from the official Press Release.

"Oscar Cueto will present 18 small format drawings executed in watercolor and based on different symmetrical patterns and shapes found in the Rorschach psychological tests.  The stains are cleverly placed within landscapes taken from photographs of Cueto’s travels including city streets, urban parks and the ocean.  The mysterious blots become monstrous creatures that create a fantasy of terror for the impending peaceful scenery.  In one drawing a young boy is shown walking down a curvy path of a public park only to be greeted by the perfectly placed Rorschach monster.  Depending on how the blot is interpreted, it looks both like a tree (in keeping with the surrounding forest) and a grotesque beast with flailing arms and feet.  In another drawing the Rorschach stain is placed above the horizon line of the ocean appearing like a bat flying into the moody sky.  In all of the drawings, the psychology of the ink blot forms is reversed as they themselves become the horror that impends on the otherwise serene and peaceful quality of each landscape.  The series continues Cueto’s morose fascination with American horror films and their celebrity subjects as well as the demented capabilities of the human mind all within a humorous intent."