Jun 212023
 

Center work by Laura De Valencia

Morean Arts Center in St. Pete, Florida, is currently showing Fresh Squeezed 7, their annual exhibition of emerging artists in Florida. It’s a great opportunity to see some of the best artwork being done by local artists. The exhibition closes 6/22/23.

From the the Morean Arts Center’s press release-

As always, our selection panel culled over 120 applications from across the state, narrowing the exhibition down to the six artists featured here. It’s always a joyful and heartbreaking process, seeing so much inspiring good work and only having a limited amount of space in which to show it all.We were looking for diversity in medium, in ideas, and in geographical location, all of which somehow comes together to form a delightful, cohesive whole.

While we don’t necessarily plan it that way, themes and commonalities do emerge among the artists selected for the exhibition. We’re happy to announce this is the first year that we have an ALL FEMALE line up. And due to the inclusive interpretation we use to define an emerging artist (no previous solo shows in Florida), you’ll find artists here who are still pursuing their MFAs (KJ Skidmore and Leeann Rae) AND artists who are returning to their first love of art after finding fulfillment in decades of other related careers (Latonya Hicks and Deborah W. Perlman).

Other themes you may notice as you peruse the galleries are the inventive (and exuberant!) use of materials. Denise Treizman and Latonya Hicks both incorporate cast off, recycled and vintage materials in their dimensional wall work. While Denise’s process is more spontaneous and Latonya’s is deliberate and measured, they both create joyful works of art that invite contemplation and perhaps a spark of recognition from the viewer.

KJ Skidmore and Laura De Valencia both deal with contemporary issues and pop culture in their work, though to wildly different effect. KJ’s humorous mixed media paintings address the notion of the male gaze, and the women who must endure it. Laura’s installations use fashion culture as a jumping off point to raise questions about international stereotypes and the borders (both visible and not) that immigrants have to experience on a daily basis.

Both Leeann Rae and Deborah W. Perlman create work that challenge the viewer to look longer, and to think deeper. With their disparate materials (Leeann with soft pastel and Deborah with cut paper), they raise notions of space, whether physical or mental, real or imagined, in the present or a memory from the past.

KJ Skidmore “Squeeze ‘n’ Block”, Acrylic and coffee

KJ Skidmore

KJ Skidmore “Angel’s Bar”, Acrylic, fabric, trim, paste and wood paper

The work above is by Tampa based artist KJ Skidmore.

Morean Arts Center’s information about the artist-

KJ’s current work is based in painting/drawing that extends into3-D space through multimedia installation. Her immersive spaces are chaotic and aggressive, but at the same time alluring. She works within her own bizarre and disjointed narratives and themes containing warped textual elements, strange cartoon characters, and color palettes that are both grimy and fluorescent. Her material use is variable and may include masses of hair clumped together with canned beets, pink stained carpet, fabrics, wood, plaster, teeth, rain jackets, and Smurf-themed objects.

KJ’s painted series Burger Time caricatures leering male clientele as flat, monster-like cartoons that interact with a staring waitress to explore gendered tropes and forms of voyeurism. This series reconstructs reality in relation to being female by presenting experiences like getting stared at or groped within a hokey themed attraction called “Burger Time” restaurant. Her series is meant to revolt the viewer through acknowledging the male gaze, while also celebrating its trashiness and the culture surrounding it. She uses humor to poke fun at this harmful and uneven power dynamic. The series presents this sickening concept through more palatable presentation such as expressive cartoon figures and bright colors.

KJ is from Gainesville, FL, but was living on the West Coast until recently. She is back in Florida pursuing an MFA at USF in Tampa.

For more of the artists in the show, continue to the next page.

Apr 252019
 

Bass Drum of Death- Just Business

Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (4/24-4/27/19)-

Thursday

For MOCA’s 40th Anniversary they are hosting a series of exhibitions organized by LA based artists and MOCA curators with work drawn from their permanent collection. Tonight multimedia artist Elliott Hundley will lead a walkthrough of his exhibition Open House: Elliott Hundley at the Grand Avenue location (free tonight and every Thursday evening)

At Art+Practice, multidisciplinary artists Alima Lee and Kya Lou will be discussing their individual practices as well as their process and experiences documenting black life in Los Angeles. This talk is part of the programming for the exhibition Time is Running Out of Time: Experimental Film and Video from the L.A. Rebellion and Today.

Olden Yolk and The Lentils are opening for Chris Cohen at Lodge Room

Feels are playing with Ex Hex at the Teragram Ballroom

Artist Stan Douglas will be speaking at Hammer Museum

Local Natives are playing a free show at Amoeba Records in Hollywood

Artist and director Marie Voignier will be at LAXART to discuss her film Tinselwood, currently on view at the gallery

 

Friday

Bass Drum of Death are playing at Lodge Room with Jimmy Whispers opening

Hand Habits are playing at the Bootleg Theater with Lomelda and Tasha opening

The Dodgers are playing the Pittsburgh Pirates at Dodger Stadium with fireworks to follow

Bikini Kill are playing at the Hollywood Palladium

Slick Rick will be at Amoeba Records in Hollywood to celebrate and sign copies of The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick for its 30th Anniversary

 

Friday through Sunday

For the first time Photoville, the free annual photo festival with galleries built from repurposed shipping containers, is heading to Los Angeles. It will be taking place at the Annenberg Space for Photography this weekend and next with programming that includes nighttime projections, talks, workshops, family activities and a beer garden. At the same time the exhibition CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hop, which showcases the work of hip hop photographers, will open at Annenberg Space for Photography with special hours to coincide with the festival.

 

Saturday

Artist Lia Halloran will be at Luis de Jesus Los Angeles at 2pm to discuss her exhibition Double Horizon

Dream Phases and Franky Flowers are playing at The House of Machines

The artists of Keystone Art Space are having an open studio night from 6-10pm

White Denim are playing at the Teragram Ballroom

Automatic and Gomme are playing at The Monty Bar

Arcana Books is hosting a launch party from 4-6pm for issue 2 of Creative Director Alexander McWhirter’s thematic annual art and fashion journal, Public.

Compltr is playing at All Star Lanes with Sheer, Trends, and June Swoon

 

Saturday and Sunday

Grand Park is hosting the free two day festival, Grand Park’s Our L.A. Voices- a Pop-up Arts+Culture Fest, featuring short film, dance, music, spoken word and theatre performances, and visual art, created by L.A. artists. There will also be a marketplace with artwork for sale.

Jackalope are bringing their free local artisan Spring Fair to Old Pasadena’s Central Park

 

Sunday

Celebrate the Thai New Year all day at the Songkran Festival in Thai Town which includes a parade, beauty pageant, live music, dance performances, food, and more

Emily Wells is playing the Bootleg Theater with KERA opening

Zebulon has a free screening of Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man

Telekinesis are playing at the Moroccan Lounge with SONTALK and The Pretty Flowers

Big Red Machine (Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and Aaron Dessner of The National) are performing at the Hollywood Palladium