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Here are a few good art shows closing on 10/31/15 in Culver City worth checking out:

Robb Putnam’s impressive animal sculptures (above image) are at Walter Maciel Gallery for the exhibition Loiterers.

From the press release-

Putnam continues to create whimsical sculptures made out of fabrics, detritus and a plethora of disregarded items that explore memory and recollections of childhood storybook characters and imaginary friends.  His animal subjects take on the moods and emotions of the human experience with specific gesturing of posture and bodily expression.  Using this thoughtful process and personal reflection to execute the work, Putnam himself becomes a loiterer delving into his youth with his learned emotional maturity perhaps mimicking his own apprehension as a young boy circling the sidelines of the playground where he felt unwelcome. The work in Loiterers sparks ideas of what gives a living being or object its status and value while questioning the many notions of human empathy.

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Michael Waugh’s drawings at Von Lintel Gallery are even more incredible up close when you see they are created from tiny handwritten text. (images via their website)

From the gallery website-

Waugh transcribes texts—such as government commissions and theoretical books about power and capitalism—into portraits and landscapes.  To Waugh, the selection of texts and images and the relationship between the two are the conceptual heart of the work.  “These are worlds made of words that draw upon a historical quest for knowledge and for political progress—a quest often at odds with social reality,” he explains. Waugh also explores these themes through mixed-media installations, performances, and videos, as in “The Wealth of Nations” project (2009-) for which he has staged (and documented) public readings from Adam Smith’s seminal economic text.

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Joel Otterson’s Needleworks at Maloney Fine Art -“explores two new bodies of work; two-dimensional beaded “paintings” and three-dimensional hand-blown glass “flesh cups” which serve as a homage to the diversity, dexterity and tradition of sewing, stitching and embroidery.”

Oct 242014
 

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Oliver Jones Love the Skin You’re In at Gusford Gallery (images via their site)

Plastic surgery is popular topic, especially in Los Angeles, and even more so this week, after a famous actress reappeared looking different enough to cause a flurry of media and public speculation.

British artist Oliver Jones’ photorealist drawings, created in colored chalk pastel, look at and question the beauty industry and our appearance obsessed world. In many of the images the subject is looking directly into the eyes of the viewer. Are we judging them, relating to them, questioning them? Is it possible to love the skin you’re in? And if so, for how long?

This exhibition closes 10/25.

Jul 102014
 

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This mural was created by Jean André for his exhibition Gauloise at HVW8 Gallery.

Feb 222014
 

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Yassi Mazandi– The Sacred Wheel

Currently at Maloney Fine Art, Yassi Mazandi has created intricate ceramic flower-like sculptures (seen above) as well as a larger impeller made of geo-polymer stone. Also on view are a series of 72 colorful watercolor paintings, (one is pictured above- Albaloo Pollo) all named after foods.

This show closes 2/22/14.

Dec 212013
 

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Jordi Alcaraz- Ideas of Sculpture

The works in Altered States, Jordi Alcaraz’s current show at Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, consistently challenge viewers perceptions. The glass frames surrounding drawings, paintings and sculptures are often broken or warped, where objects may have tried to get in or out. In others, it is the object itself that is being altered.  The works get more intriguing as you progress through the gallery.

The show closes 12/21/13.