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Los Angeles Art Shows- “Giant Robot Biennale 5” at the Japanese American National Museum

Art, Art Shows by Location, Artists, California Art Shows, Drawing, Installation Art, Los Angeles Art Shows, Mixed Media, Painting / Painters, Sculptors / Sculpture

Jan 042025

Work by James Jean

Work by Luke Chueh

Work by Giorgiko, moniker of husband and wife duo Darren and Trisha Inouye. These works are an homage to Darren’s family as Japanese Americans that experienced the WWII era.

Work by Mike Shinoda

Work by Yoskay Yamamoto

Work by Yoskay Yamamoto

Giant Robot Biennale 5 at the Japanese American National Museum features artwork from Sean Chao, Felicia Chiao, Luke Chueh, Giorgiko, James Jean, Taylor Lee, Mike Shinoda, Rain Szeto, and Yoskay Yamamoto.

From the museum about the exhibition and Giant Robot–

Giant Robot launched in 1994 as a hand-assembled zine in Los Angeles and grew into a staple of Asian American alternative pop culture. Since 2007, JANM has partnered with Eric Nakamura, founder of Giant Robot, to produce the biennale that is dedicated to showcasing the diverse and creative works brought together by the Giant Robot ethos.

This year marks Giant Robot’s thirtieth anniversary. While the zine and magazine are no longer published, its legacy and influence are indelible parts of our culture. The shop and gallery continue to thrive in Sawtelle’s Japantown and reflect the independent spirit of its origins. Giant Robot continues to be a highly influential brand encompassing many aspects of Asian and Asian American popular culture. These galleries contain a cross section of Giant Robot’s stalwart artists, emerging talents, and friends.

The video below from PBS Artbound is a great documentary about the Giant Robot project.

This exhibition closes Sunday, 1/5/25. On the same day the museum is free and hosting the 2025 Oshogatsu Family Festival- Year of the Snake event which will include cultural performances, crafts and other activities.

Apr 262024

This tribute to artist Margaret Kilgallen was spotted in Los Angeles in 2014. The quote is paraphrasing what she said during an interview for the PBS program Art21. The full quote reads- “I do spend a lot of time trying to perfect my line work… when you get close up, you can always see the line waver. And I think that’s where the beauty is.” Kilgallen died of cancer in 2001, at only 33, but left behind a remarkable body of work.

You can currently see one of these works at Cantor Arts Center’s as part of the group exhibition, Day Jobs, on view until 7/21/24. The exhibition examines the impact of day jobs in the lives and work of several famous artists.

Image courtesy of Cantor Arts Center: Margaret Kilgallen, “Money to Loan (Paintings for the San Francisco Bus Shelter Posters)” [detail], 2000. Mixed media on paper and fabric, sheet 68 × 48½ inches Courtesy of the Margaret Kilgallen Estate, photo by Tony Prikryl

You can learn more about Kilgallen, her husband and fellow artist Barry McGee, and several other artists including Shepard Fairey, Mike Mills, Ed Templeton and Harmony Korine in Aaron Rose’s film Beautiful Losers.

Los Angeles Art Shows- Kehinde Wiley at Roberts & Tilton

Art, Artists, Los Angeles Art Shows, Los Angeles Art Shows, Painting / Painters

Oct 252014

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Kehinde Wiley The World Stage: Haiti at Roberts & Tilton

Today (10/25) is the last day to see Kehinde Wiley‘s The World Stage:Haiti, the latest in his series of global portraits. For this exhibition he altered his usual process for finding subjects.

From the press release:

…Kehinde Wiley found beauty in Haiti bringing it to the forefront by creating his own beauty pageants, in the long tradition of pageant culture native to the region. In previous World Stage iterations, Wiley conducted his castings on the streets. With The World Stage:Haiti, he employed a different approach specific to the culture: open calls on the radio, posters around the streets of Jacmel, Jalouise and Port-au-Prince culminating in beauty pageants. Across the Caribbean, pageants serve as mass entertainment events, allowing locals to do more than exhibit poise, talent and physical beauty; pageants are a manifestation of collective cultural values. Wiley’s pageant winners were chosen randomly rather than through a judging process. By showing the pageant contestants paintings of European masters on which the new works would be based, Wiley deepened the connection between both place and era.

For a really fascinating look at his previous work and process, I recommend watching the recent PBS documentary Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace, available on their website (free).