I have to say that I picked the right weekend to spend all three days going to openings. Starting Friday with Christine Nguyen at the HB Art Center and finishing today at Angels Gate it has been a solid weekend of stand-out art, and I did not have to go to L.A. to see any of it.
The grand finale of the weekend was the work of Camilo Cruz. Cruz's day job is working for the court system in downtown L.A., He has a unique position serving as witness to the many people who are at the mercy, or make a living off, the system. The show, consisting of six large scale prints, is the most exciting photography work I have seen in quite a while. We are all familiar with the edgy documentary photography that pushes for a reaction, well Cruz's work actually has a vein of anxiety running through it, made more apparent by the artist's restraint. Cruz does a fantastic job of piecing together his subjects sympathetic portraits, the ominous background of the sterile legal corridors, and the absent but always implied hand of power that sits heavily on all his subjects. I was surprised to find out he has no gallery representation at this time. Someone needs to snap him up quick.
The strong Angels Gate show was rounded out by the artist portraits of Slobodan Dimitrov and the military portraits of Nicholas Grider. If you be a photography fan, you won't be disappointed in making the excursion to Angels Gate to see three photographers hit their mark.
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