James Whistler, LA County Museum of Art

James Whistler, USA - A Review by Kris Westreich

 Nocturne - Palaces, etching, 1879

The prints in this exhibition were wonderful. They allowed the viewer to trace his artistic development through his etchings. At the beginning, things were tightly rendered and detail-filled. Towards the end, the prints tend to describe through suggestion rather than detail. One thing I saw that I never considered was the way Whistler used the plate tone to establish value. He will leave more plate tone in an area that he wants to be darker and wipe out others that he wants to be lighter. In this way he challenges the idea of a print having to be exactly the same each time. My two favorites of the exhibition were “Nocturne: Palaces” and “Weary.” They both tend to put more detail in certain parts of the print, and leave others as merely outlines or as indications rather than full-blown descriptions.  Some of them almost approach an abstract emptiness, such as in “Old Battersea” bridge. Of course, the draftsmanship present is also very accomplished in these etchings.

Under Old Battersea Bridge, etching and drypoint, 1879

The German Woodcut: Renaissance and Expressionist Revival

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Geramny, 1909, Woodcut, Bathers Tossing Reeds


May 5, 2012–September 9, 2012, LA County Museum of Art
A Review by Kris Westreich

I thought this exhibition was particularly successful. Not only was the quality of the work superb, but also the way they displayed it demonstrated the distinctly German characteristics of these modern artists. By displaying those prints next to German Renaissance artists, the exhibition links together the traditions of the medium across generations. I was particularly taken with Kirchner's prints Bathers Tossing Reeds and Portrait of Ludwig Schames as well as the Kollwitz prints.

Hans Baldung Grien, Germany, Woodcut, 1534, Stallion and Kicking Mare with Wild Horses

Technically, it was interesting to note the difference between the modern and renaissance artists. The old master prints tend to lean more towards chiaroscuro and graduated value distribution. In order to achieve that, the artists had to work on minute details, such as in Stallion and Kicking Mare with Wild Horses by Hans Baldung Grien.

Character and Crisis - Printmaking in America: 1920 - 1950

Reginald Marsh, USA, 1932, Etching, Bread Line

This historical exhibition is running at the San Diego Museum of Art, 5998 Alcalá Park, until 12/14/12. Located in the Robert and Karen Hoehn Family Galleries, the exhibition is free of charge, and also features the work of Edward Hopper. Call 619/260-4545 for hours of operation and other information.

Photo of Alex Gardner's ink drawing by Mariya Suzuki

Alex Petty is currently using skin as a canvas in San Francisco, as may be deduced from this drawing.

Barefeet - A Drawing Show is currently up in Long Beach at the laid back vino bar, 4th Street Vine, 2142 East 4th Street. The exhibition, curated by my former student Mariya Suzuki, features a roster of other artists, & includes her drawings of area stores & their respective merchandise. I've included photos of work by Alex Gardner & Alex Petty, who I was also fortunate enough to have had in my class/es. The work will grace the brick walls until 10/18, but I imagine that the venue doesn't open until later in the day.

Santa Monica Auctions, located currently in the B-7 & C-2 spaces in Bergamot Station allegedly has some handsome James Rosenquist prints currently on view. I'm not certain of the screenprint above, titled For the Young Artist (1991), being one of them, but word in the studio is that there are some impressively large prints on display. The phone number to call for further information is: 310/586-9128, & the address is 2525 Michigan Avenue.
I've included one of the past highlights from the last auction, Andy Warhol's Mao, a screenprint from 1972. Apparently, the auction coming up on 11/12 will be their last one in this space, as the "C" building is being demolished to make way for the Metro train line.

Above image - Helen Frankenthaler, Tales of Genji VI, woodcut, 1997

Several prints are currently on display in New Acquisitions, a show at Leslie Sacks Fine Arts, 11640 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles. Along with Helen Frankenthaler, at least a couple of David Hockney works are also on display. One is a highly chromatic lithograph - "depicting a hotel he stopped at in Mexico, Hotel Acatlan: Second Day, that’s housed in a hand-made frame designed by the artist; and another of his muse Celia Birtwell, Big Celia Print #1. " The latter print can also be seen by appt., in the Special Collections room of the CSULB library.
This exhibition closes in just a few days (on 9/24), and is open from 10 - 6PM, Monday through Saturday. For more info, call 310/820-9448.

"Zarina - Paper Like Skin," opens at The Hammer Museum, 9/30

Above, a relief print from 1970, matrix collaged wood

Zarina: Paper Like Skin is the first retrospective of the Indian-born American artist Zarina, featuring approximately 60 works dating from 1961 to the present. Paper is central to Zarina’s practice, both as a surface to print on and as a material with its own properties and history. Works in the exhibition include woodcuts as well as three-dimensional casts in paper pulp. Zarina’s vocabulary is minimal yet rich in associations with her life and the themes of displacement and exile. The concept of home—whether personal, geographic, national, spiritual, or familial—resonates throughout her oeuvre. Organized by Allegra Pesenti, curator, Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts.

This exhibition of prints & works made of paper will continue at the Hammer until 12/30/12, with "A Conversation with Zarina" to take place at 2:00 PM in the gallery on the day of the opening, 9/30. Free to students with an ID, the Hammer is located in Westwood, at 10899 Wilshire Blvd., 310/443-7000. Hours are Tues. - Fri., 11 - 8PM & weekends, 11 - 5PM.