Currently at 356 Mission, Scott Reeder’s show consists of large abstract paintings, paintings consisting of humorous lists, and bizarre Star Trek like sets from Moon Dust, a movie described on IMDB as being about “a failing resort on the moon”.
This show is open until 3/16/14.
Samara Golden- Mass Murder
Jesse Mockrin- Midnight Sun
When you walk into Night Gallery it will take your eyes awhile to adjust. When they do you will see a car parked in the center of the gallery. The next room holds Jesse Mockrin’s paintings, styled after traditional master painters, lit with one light each. The next rooms are filled with odd aluminum covered furniture, a sunset projection on one wall, stuffed animals, pianos, keyboards and more. These objects (and the car) are all part of Samara Golden’s Mass Murder. What does it all mean?
Here’s a bit of the press release:
It’s Mass murder. It’s the world and then the reversal of the world. It’s trying to find the beautiful inside of a horrible world of hypocrisy and contradiction. It’s personal. It’s optimism and pessimism in a dead lock. It’s two stories. It’s bad blood. It’s a caged thought. It’s a purple light giving a performance. It’s our living room 1975-1988. It’s an airport convention room, it’s a bank, a hospital, a hotel. The wall, a dance club, a parking lot. It’s a flight simulator that makes you believe you’re in the sky when you’re actually crashing into nothing-miles away from real life. It’s the disillusionment of the Vietnam generation, it’s my parents. It’s keyboard lessons, gymnastics, those flowers my mom loves, Vivaldi the four seasons, Pink Floyd, The Ramones. It’s a room that was both my sister’s place and my grandma’s. It’s the records, the boom box, Detroit “wheelz” radio, the two cockatiel birds, Rudy, and heavy metal. It’s the black and white TV, the alcohol, the reading, the neon knitted Afghans, the curly grey hair, the heart problems, the smoke, and the cigarettes. It’s also the matchboxes, the taste, the piano, the white carpet, the abalone box in the ladies room, the jewelry. It’s a highway underpass. It’s sleeping in the street. It’s train hopping. It’s April, it’s her amputated leg. It’s a big mess, seriously. It’s a place to think about it. It’s the fog and the mist. It’s asking why-it’s hoping for a peaceful place. It’s a broken heart for the world.
Elias Hansen: I’m a long way from home and I don’t really know these roads.
Anat Ebgi gallery is showing Elias Hansen’s new sculptures until 2/22. There are numerous beakers and other glassware combined with natural materials in setups that look, especially when lit with colored lights, like bizarre science experiments, or possibly something more suspicious.
Also in Culver City and closing 2/22:
Patrick Wilson’s geometric paintings in “Steak Night” seem to move the longer you stare at them- at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects.
Tony de los Reyes’s show “Border Theory” at Angles Gallery paintings and lithographs are both abstract and political as the lines within them follow the natural border between the United States and Mexico created by the Rio Grande (or Rio Bravo).
Kevin Cooley and Phillip Andrew Lewis have a show called “Unexplored Territory” at Kopeikin Gallery that consists of video and photography that explores human’s desire to control natural elements like fire, and balances this concept with machines acting in ways that make them seem human. There is a video in the center room in which two fans on one power cord seem to be in a sort of dance/fight.
At LAXART, Brendan Fowler recreates photos with a commercial industrial embroidery machine creating a blend of photography and sculpture.
One room from Pet Shapes at China Art Objects Galleries
If you are in Culver City, tomorrow (12/14) is the last day for this group show. All the works are pet related, and there is even a purring chair (not shown). It’s worth checking out if you are in the area.
Joel Otterson- Bottoms Up #2
Joel Otterson’s current show is “Chandelier Queer” at Maloney Fine Art. This title references the slang term “chandelier queer” defined as- “a homosexual with exquisite and/or expensive taste” or a “self-spoiled fruit”(according to Urban Dictionary). The show consists of sculptures made from found glass wear. The chandeliers are beautiful and seemingly fragile creations which take take what most consider trashy objects, and turns them into something glorious.
Otterson is one of the artists selected to be in the Whitney Biennial 2014.
This is the last weekend for Arts ReSTORE LA: Westwood. There are several events planned for the weekend including Popup Arcade Extravaganza– a free event on Saturday with games designed by former and current UCLA students.
Fallen Fruit: Fruitique!
This art installation/ thrift store is part of Arts ReSTORE LA: Westwood. Everything is fruit themed within the space including the wallpaper, numerous thrift store finds and even the music playing (Cherry Bomb was on when I was there- although that may have been coincidence). They are also planning fruit related activities throughout the event.
Fallen Fruit is an art collaboration originally conceived by David Burns, Matias Viegener, and Austin Young.
They are also part of the Ojai Art Festival this weekend.
Clown by Marnie Weber
Mark Handforth
Halloween may be over but you can keep the spirit alive by checking out this terrifying (if you are scared of clowns) section of the show Room to Live currently at MOCA Grand Avenue. The show features works from MOCA’s permanent collection with an emphasis on recent acquisitions, including a room of photos by Nan Goldin and the second work pictured above- Desert Sun by Mark Handforth.
MOCA is free tonight (Thursday) and Marnie Weber is discussing her work. RSVP here.
Want to prepare yourself for the room of clowns- here’s a video of the installation.
Don’t forget to look behind the clown who has lost its dog.
Today is the last day for Exxopolis in Grand Park- go check it out!
The picture above was taken from the inside of one of the inflatable structures for Exxopolis created by UK artists Architects of Air.
