OC Art Blog

American Gothic @ Gallery C

Although this show is taking place outside of the OC, I wanted to mention it because it is being curated by Orange County's triple threat atist/curator/nice guy Tyler Stallings and will feature a couple of artists I believe are on the fast track specifically Sherie' Franssen and Lisa Tucker.

As an added bonus I hear that the openings at Gallery C are quite an event with plenty of food and the red carpet treatment. So be sure not to miss the opening this Thursday. More details can be found here.

A group exhibition of twenty California-based artists whose works share traits of the uncanny, mysterious, and the gothic that explores the dark underside of American culture. Drawings, paintings, sculpture, photo-based work and installations allude to horror, to biology gone wrong, to dark forces, to conspiracy, to madness, to monsters, to disease, to being afraid to fall asleep, to anxiety over losing control, to bumping into one’s own secret fears in hidden rooms and behind locked doors, to decay and decomposition, to an afterlife that brings us back to this life and to nothing beyond, and finally to shadowy, strange, wicked and perverse bodies.

The exhibition focuses on the body as a site where the personal and the public domains intersect. It is a return to a subject matter that was explored by artists in the late 1980s and early 1990s during changing cultural times, exemplified by the rise in the AIDS epidemic and the culture wars sparked by the NEA controversy over Robert Mapplethorpe’s and Andre Serrano’s artwork. Today, the cultural atmosphere reflects some of the same chilling effects.

The title plays off artist Grant Wood’s 1930 painting, American Gothic, which has come to symbolize down-home, small-town conservative values. It has become a talisman to protect the American way of life against a chaotic outer world.


The twenty artists in the exhibiton include:

Jane Callister
Clayton Campbell
Jennifer Celio
Lee Clarke
Brian Cooper
David Early
Sherié Franssen
Michael Hanson
Laurie Hassold
Joseph Kearby
Jeff Koegel
Adam Mars
Thomas McGovern
Rebecca Niederlander
Naida Osline
Jim Ovelmen
Victoria Reynolds
Clayton Spada
Lisa Tucker
Yasuko

Guest curated by Tyler Stallings, chief curator at Laguna Art Museum.

Gallery C
1225 Hermosa Ave.
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
310-798-0102
info@galleryc.com
www.galleryc.com

Tues-Sat, 11-6
Thurs, 11-8
Sun, 12-5

Why I'm not an Art Writer

Why I'm not an art writer

My take on Matthew Greene’s show at Peres Projects: “Very Good”

Brian Sholis’ take on ArtForum.com:

In his solo debut, Matthew Greene outlines the contours of a world devoid of hierarchy and false dichotomies, populated by an idiosyncratic amalgam of mushrooms and redwoods, guitars and Marshall amps, and armies of louche figures (often hermaphrodites) based on 1970s-era pornographic magazines. His landscape paintings, as large as twelve by ten feet, and black ink drawings, as small as seven inches square, are sensoriums skeptical of an Enlightenment conception of logic, developing instead by the nonlinear momentum of highly adaptable plants and animals. Regression is not inimical to progress, as it can reverse erroneous steps already taken, and Greene's paintings often look far back into history; 19th century Symbolism is only a way station (albeit an important one) for an artist whose sources stretch all the way to Stonehenge. How to see that far back and encompass such vast swaths of knowledge? Perhaps by use of a psychedelic gaze, alluded to by blushes of pink, green, blue, and orange peeking through his wide washes of black, and accessible via the heavy music referenced by his titles and the hallucinogenic fungi depicted. It takes a visionary's confidence to scrutinize, through painting, big subjects like gender, sexuality, how we come to possess knowledge, and how we measure time, yet in each work Greene does so convincingly. As the space of his paintings recedes before us, it is awfully tempting to try and step across the divide.

What the ????     inimical!?!?!?!

Put the Thesaurus down……now.

artLA

Wanted to let everybody know that The Office will be participating in artLA in Jan. 2005. Confirmed exhibitors and participating museums can be found here.

I've been to a few Photo LA's and San Francisco's and Stephen Cohen has always done a very nice job in my opinion so I really think the new LA art fair is in the right hands. It also won't hurt that it's at the Santa Monica Civic where it will be easy to find and there will be plenty of parking.

I'm very hopeful that this will be a great event and it will give The Office and some of our favorite artists more exposure. A list and information of our participating artists will be coming.

Saturday in Chinatown

Ran up to Downtown LA yesterday to shoot some photo's with George and Adam, the two artists in the Ulteriora show. It seems NPR is going to tag along with them next weekend on one of their explorations and do an audio piece. I'll keep you posted.

After we walked the dirty streets of LA, I talked them in to heading over to Chinatown to catch a few shows before the openings that night.

Please somebody help me understand this. The last time I was in Chinatown, at a gallery that will remain nameless (pictured), I asked for a price of a piece and never ended up getting it and eventually left after waiting fifteen minutes. I buy art. I may not look like I buy art, but I buy art. This visit wasn't much different. It would seem that gallerists try really hard not to sell you art. Is that the rub?? If they make it harder for you to buy it you'll want it more?? Please help me. Because I run The Office down here in the OC, I am now wondering if I need to just start ignoring people and sales will double.

Anyway, there were a couple of exceptions, 4-F was one. I had an opportunity to meet Brienne who runs the place and she was very nice and had one of the better shows up that day.

A couple of other highlights were the Jon Pylypchuk and Adrian Williams show at China Art Objects (although I don't think I have ever seen anyone working here all the times I've been there) and the Matthew Greene (pictured) show at Peres Projects looked very good. We didn't get in because they were doing an installation of some sort.

It was good to see that Chinatown had put together a map of all the local galleries and good eateries. With competition from Wilshire, Covina and now Gallery Row it seems they are attempting to get a little more organized. Now they just need to start coordinating their openings again.

OsCene Review in The Weekly

Rebecca Schoenkopf's review of the OsCene show at the Laguna Art Museum can be found in this week's OC Weekly and here.

I have always respected Rebecca's writing in the weekly. She writes often about the local scene and even when she doesn't like something, and I might disagree, I have always found her to be fair and not mean spirited....funny.....but not mean spirited. Something I can't say about a lot of other art writers.

Shopping @ The Orange Lounge

Because I know everybody will be hitting the malls this week to get an early jump on the x-mas shopping. I thought it would be wise to remind everybody that if they do their shopping over at South Coast Plaza they can mix in an Art Break while picking something up for Junior.

OCMA's new media satellite space is now open and showing four video, sound and new media artists who are included in the California Biennial.

Details can be found here.

In my opinion (i never thought I'd say this) the video works in the California Biennial are the best of the show.

And be sure that your local neighborhood blogger is included on that x-mas list of yours.

Keeping it Real??

Just A thought.

The old punk rocker in me has always looked at a lot of this street art being appropriated by the rich white kids coming out of local institutions....such as Art Center....with a little bit of cynicism.

Whatever happened to originality??

Whatever happened to keeping it real, finding your own voice, not following the herd, marching to the beat of your own drum, this is what's wrong with this country,we're all a bunch of sheep....ETC. ETC. ETC.

There's a great interview of Coop in this month's Juxtapoz where he talks about how the kids these days seem to be making art in accordance with what is showing in the galleries rather than doing their own thing. I think he offers some sound advice for any young artist. Read it if you can.

Saturday Night in HB

ULTERIORA

Everybody should make plans to be in Huntington Beach this Saturday night for two big events. First off of course is the Ulteriora opening at The Office.

MONICA FURMANSKI

But if you have a chance before or after you come to the opening at The Office be sure to head over to the HB Art Center and catch Monica Furmanski's new photo installation Land and Sea. Monica was in the first exhibit here at The Office, so needless to say I'm a big fan. Don't miss it.

Out of the Streets

This Saturday night Out of the Streets presents another of their monthly warehouse art shows, w/music. Details Follow:

“Best of the Guests: OOTS Guest Artists from the Past Year”
In the month of November, we give thanks to the many talented guests artists who have graced our walls over the past year. OOTS is proud to showcase some of the finest up and coming artists in the Southern California Art Community. An array of the best DJs from our shows will provide the audio artistry your ears crave. Sunday the Gallery will be available for viewing, by appointment only. The local art scene is only as good as those who support it, so let’s keep making it the best there is to offer!

OOTS Guests are (in random order):

Randy Ulrey, Santi Sandara, Jesse Thomas, Aaron Kraten, Jason Maloney,Sergio Machado, Maria V. Decurgez, Hiro Tekka, Chris Kette, RobMestas, Mathew Graner, Robert Begley, Wendy Crittenden, Perri Nguyen,Travis Collinson, Ryan Ward, Domenico Foschi, and Megan Ford.

…and back by popular demand, dj's pops and deps will be providing thespace with rhythm on the decks…also rumor has it that Dave Lexin will be bringing his mike for an mc session later in the evening

Saturday November 20th 7pm-12am Sunday by appointment only

OOTS is located at:

701 S. State College

Unit 707"I"

Fullerton, CA 92831

(714) 447-9086

Coming Saturday Night

More info to follow...