9/9: Brian McCarty “Art Toys” book release and signing party at La Luz de Jesus

Brian McCarty “Art Toys”
Book release and signing party

Featuring DJ Aubrey

Thursday, Sept. 9th, 6-9PM

La Luz de Jesus Gallery
(Wacko / Soap Plant)
4633 Hollywood Blvd.,
Los Angeles CA 90027
323-666-7667
www.laluzdejesus.com
www.soapplant.com

Make no mistake about it: the art world, the traditional art world is over. – Douglas Rushkoff

ART-TOYS is a massive collection of Brian McCarty’s meticulously composed photographs that uniquely chronicle the Art-Toy movement. For six years, McCarty worked alongside a host of international artists, photographing their toy characters in actual locations ranging from the Grand Canyon to Times Square. The resulting photos are sometimes dark, often funny, and always hinting at a deeper story. The moments that McCarty manufactures in front of the camera feel real, as if he’s simply documenting the day-to-day lives of toys.

Each of the over 100 photographs stand alone on a page, allowing viewers an unfettered look at the world from McCarty’s toy-based perspective. An extensive behind the scenes section is included at the back of the book, providing a narrative glimpse at McCarty’s methods and the artists with whom he collaborates. Snapshots taken on set reveal the brilliantly simple techniques behind some of his most magical and iconic images.

Because the toys that McCarty photographs are simultaneously art objects and consumer goods, many of his images were created to serve both creative and commercial goals. As such, they provide a unique perspective on the art and commerce of the Designer Toy / Urban Vinyl movement. A number of books have explored the content of the Art-Toy movement before, but this is the only collection that captures the energy and the attitude of a new era in Pop Art from the perspective of a fellow artist.

Artists with toy work included: Alex Pardee, Amanda Visell, Andrew Bell, Ashley Wood, Attaboy, Bob Dob, Brandt Peters, Craig Anthony Perkins, Frank Kozik, FriendsWithYou, Gama-Go, Gary Baseman, Greg “Craola” Simkins, James Jarvis, Jeremy Fish, Jermaine Rogers, Joe Ledbetter, Kathie Olivas, Lili Chin, Luke Chueh, Mario “MARS-1” Martinez, Mark Mothersbaugh, Mark Nagata, Mark Ryden, Meredith Dittmar, Michelle Valigura, mr clement, Noferin, Patrick Ma, Ralph Cosentino, Roy Miles, Sam Flores, Santa Inoue, Sara Antoinette Martin, Sebastien Roux, Sergey Safonov, Scott Musgrove, Scott Tolleson, Simone Legno, Tim Biskup, Wilfrid Wood, Yoskay Yamamoto, and others.

The special, limited edition of ART-TOYS features an alternate cover free of text, packaged in a vinyl slipcase. Each book is individually numbered and signed by Brian McCarty and eighteen world-known artists whose work is showcased inside. Included are Attaboy, Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Hugh Brown, Luke Chueh, Lili Chin, Bob Dob, Frank Kozik, Joe Ledbetter, Patrick Ma, Mark Nagata, Craig Perkins, Mark Ryden, Greg “Craola” Simkins, Scott Tolleson, Michelle Valigura, Amanda Visell, and Yoskay Yamamoto. Mario “MARS-1″ Martinez and Sam Flores are also included in a rare number of “chase” books.

We have been living for too long in the wake of Walter Benjamin’s prescient but ultimately depressing essay, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” He correctly demonstrated how photographs of art remove works from their original contexts – the media successfully diminishing a painting’s original “aura” of context and place. Now, and thanks to the Art-Toy movement, we may actually be entering an era when a work of art’s aura is not diminished but enhanced or even *created* by the media supporting it. – Douglas Rushkoff

Hard cover, 240 Pages, 10.5″ x 9″, Published by Baby Tattoo Books, Los Angeles

Brian McCarty

Brian McCarty (mccartyphotoworks.com, brianmccarty.com) is a Memphis-born photographer currently living and working in Los Angeles. McCarty studyed at the Parsons School of Design in New York City and the Benetton-supported creative research center Fabrica in Treviso, Italy. According to McCarty, “About the time I was supposed to grow up and stop playing with toys, they transitioned into subjects for my photography.” In the twenty years since, his toy photography has been exhibited internationally and seen via commissioned projects for clients such as Rockstar Games, Cartoon Network, MTV, and Kidrobot. In addition, McCarty spent nearly four years as in-house photographer at Mattel.

McCarty’s postmodern integration of concept and character has earned his photography a prominent position in the growing Urban Vinyl / Art-Toy movement. McCarty is featured in several books chronicling the artistic movement such as Vinyl Will Kill, Dot Dot Dash, and Toys: New Designs from the Art-Toy Revolution. McCarty’s work has earned notable praise from such places as Bizarre Magazine (July, 2010), L’Uomo Vogue (February, 2007), ABC World News(October 31st, 2006), FHM Germany (April, 2010), and XLR8R Magazine (January, 2009). In addition to his still photography work, McCarty recently co-created, produced, and art-directed an animated series based upon his photography that went into development for Nickelodeon.

Continuing to expand his work, Brian is currently developing a documentary film and photo essay on children’s experiences of war as expressed by principles of play and art therapy.

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8/6: Christopher Ulrich “Illuminator: The Royal Wedding” at La Luz de Jesus Gallery

Christopher Ulrich
“Illuminator: The Royal Wedding”

August 6 – 29, 2010
Reception for the artist: Friday, August 6, 2010, 8pm – 11pm
Print Release & Signing will precede, from 7-8 pm

La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90232
323-666-7667
info@laluzdejesus.com
www.laluzdejesus.com



Choice
Oil on canvas
36″ x 48″ in 44″ x 71.5″ frame

This is Christopher Ulrich’s second show with Billy Shire. The first was “The Fourth Enochian Key,” which debuted on June 13, 2009. This next chapter is a continuance of the “Demoneater” series recently catalogued and exhibited at the Grand Central Art Center Museum at CSUF. “Illuminator: The Royal Wedding” is the second chapter of three in Ulrich’s ongoing journey. It was on this very day 38 years ago that Ulrich was born.  Each piece in the series is designed to be its own portable temple marked and charged by the number 8. There are 16 paintings with 16 illustrated studies, 1 additional drawing, hidden, conceptual notes and 16 print editions that complete the show.

“Illuminator: The Royal Wedding” is a merger, a multi-faceted view of the crystal. Light and dark begin to dance within the circle. As the black continues it’s metamorphic process, the heat and flame of experience (and a time-crunching deadline) increase and the whitening begins. The white aspect of the alchemical process is the manifestation of a deep healing process. What happens is it gives birth to axioms.  These insights form the images, which create personalized alchemical recipes. Various figures from history -both real and imagined- have folded with cross-cultural counterparts significant to the artist. This manifested array marks the interior witnesses that revolve around the axis of the third part, that which has yet to be. All the works can be viewed simultaneously, as if they are all happening at the same time in different places and dimensions. Poetic conception is the moment in which a certain resonance rings out throughout the universe; dark beacons echoing across the depths of space and time. As the piper plays his hypnotic melodies so, too, the aspirant chooses his card. As the Promethean hare reveals nuclear magic to primates so, too, St. Margaret rises from the belly of the dragon. These moments capture a singular message. And that is an awakening with the white and black truly integrated. The red man and the white woman merge and not only give birth to the divine child but absorb its golden aura, which is the backdrop of the whole show. The entire universe spirals above, below, and within. The Royal Wedding heals all wounds, and establishes treaties amongst all houses; a rekindling of friendship; truce between enemies; the harvesting of fruits of labor; the newborn gifts between lovers; a new manifestation between father and son, god and warrior, mother, sister and friend. :Illuminator: The Royal Wedding” has revealed that there are no mistakes, no regrets and no lies. All parts of the greater whole bear witness that life is a magical process with “magic” defined as the transforming agent. The ability to make the unreal reality, to make impossibility possible, to bring a sense of inspiration, joy and insight is your birthright. We live in abundance, not scarcity. Everyone is invited to experience his or her own inner awakening by witnessing the call that the artist has truthfully labored to answer.


Grace
Graphite on strathmore
12″ x 17.5″ (plus 3″ matte & frame)
Also available as a proof edition lithograph  (1/16)


There is a great wedding occurring. The bride and groom could be myth and reality or science and religion. Seeming opposites come together. You have to choose: there are four paths with four different directions all going to the same place. All who attend this show will see various paths revealed.
The Universe will be drawn back to its singularity. There is no expansion without contraction. Each guest is invited to contribute and share their own gifts within the court. May the masks come off and the archetypes dance. Who knows what they will bring forth. Amen, Glory, Peace, and Triumph!

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Contact the Gallery Director for availability and purchase info: (323) 666-7667

La Luz de Jesus Gallery is located in the Soap Plant/Wacko building, in Los Feliz at 4633 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027. Gallery hours are Monday – Wednesday: 11am – 7pm, Thursday – Saturday: 11am – 9pm and Sunday 12-6pm.  For high resolution jpegs, interview requests and more information contact: Lee Joseph Publicity, leejemail@gmail.com, p (818) 848-269, f (818) 848-2699.

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8/8: Lotus Light Arts fundraiser w/ The Dick and Jane Family Orchestra

Lotus Light Arts fundraiser

August 8 at 6:00 pm 2:00am

Tony’s Downtown Saloon
2017 East 7th Street
Los Angeles, CA

Lotus Light Arts wishes to raise $2000 for the amazing curriculum that will help them bring yoga and art to at-risk teen women. Your $5 donation at the door will be a much appreciated contribution to helping us bring much needed healing and healthy life tools to the under-served in our LA community. Tony’s is also being gracious enough to give Lotis Light Arts a percentage of liquor sales, so please have a good time – but of course, drink responsibly!

3 FANTASTIC BANDS:

7:00 Neil Morrow in Memphis 54 (with our dear friend Ronnie Mendoza on guitar!)
8:00 The Dick and Jane Family Orchestra (with our dear friend Lee Joseph on bass!)
9:00 The Jane Doe’s

Tony’s is a full bar with a wide selection of whiskey, great atmosphere and FREE PARKING!!!

There will be RAFFLES for some great pieces of ART from local artists, gift baskets, GIFT CERTIFICATES from places such as Malo, Wacko / Soap Plant …and more…

A few art, yoga clothing and t-shirt VENDORS will also be there!

$50 gift certificate from Malo
$25 gift certificate from Wacko / Soap Plant
Aveda gift basket
Mosaic art pieces from artist Leigh Adams
Watercolors from artist, Kara Hamer
A vintage condom machine from the ’50′s
2 cds by fantastic Runyan Canyon Yoga teacher, Daniel Overberger

The Dick and Jane Family Orchestra

Other Ways to Help:
*Pass this invite along to everyone!
*Pass along our website info: http://www.lotuslightarts.org
*Volunteer as a yoga or art instructor for us! (contact info@lotuslightarts.org)
*Donate yoga or art supplies
*Donate something for the raffle
*Sell your art, jewlery, crafts, etc. at the fundraiser

Most importantly, PLEASE ATTEND! Your presence and support mean the world to me. Plus, it will be lots of fun!!!

Hope to see you!
♥ Gina &
Lotus Light Arts

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8/20 – 8/22: Keep A Breast Benefit Art Show at Tiki Oasis

Keep A Breast Art Show
at Tiki Oasis 10
Benefiting the Keep A Breast Foundation

Reception for the Artists:
1:00PM – 2:30PM, Saturday Aug. 21

The Keep A Breast Gallery will be open 11 AM – 4 PM on Friday – Sunday, August 20 – 22 – Free and open to the public

Artists and castees will be in attendance at the reception. Live music provided by Project Pimento

Artist: Isabel Samaras

Crowne Plaza Hotel, Lahaina Room

2270 Hotel Circle North
San Diego, CA 92108
1-619-297-1101

www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hotel/sancp

Event website

Tiki Oasis announces an exclusive art show in conjunction with the event’s 10th anniversary:The Keep A Breast Art Show is curated by Tiki Oasis co-organizer Baby Doe Strohiem and features 25 noteworthy tiki artists who have combined sculpture, philanthropy and symbolic artistry creating one-of-a-kind plaster forms made from the female torso of 25 celebrity castees.

Artist: Heather Watts

The Keep A Breast Foundation Breast Casts™ are part of Keep A Breast’s unique campaigns to use art and artistic expression to inform young people about methods of prevention, early detection, coping and support. This awareness campaign is like no other, harnessing the power of art to communicate complex feelings and thoughts about health, the female form and ultimately about breast cancer.

The breast casts will be sold at the exhibition to raise funds for Keep A Breast’s early detection,prevention, and support programs. Through these programs Keep A Breast strives to eradicate breast cancer by inspiring young people to adopt lifestyle choices that have long-term health benefits. www.keep-a-breast.org

Artist: Claudette Barjoud

Artists: Atomikitty , Bosko, Claudette Barjoud aka Miss Fluff, Crazy Al Evans , Danny Gallardo, Dave “Squid” Cohen, Dave Krys, David C. Wong, Dawn Frasier Sophista-Tiki, Derek Yaniger, Eric October, Erin Joy, Heather Watts, Isabel Samaras, Jason Rodgers, Ken Ruzic/Little Lost Tiki, Mark Mothersbaugh, Maya Rodgers, Michael Fleming aka Tweedlebop, Mitch O’Connell, MP, Rex “!”, Tiki King, Tim Biskup, Velvet Glass.

Castees
Amber Ray, Angel Baby, Atomikitty, Audrey Moorhead, Baby Doe, Becky Ebenkamp, Evie,Lovelle, Fifi, Giddle Partridge, Kari French, Kathleen O’Malley, Kitty Diggins, Lady Borgia, Lili VonSchtupp, Megan Mayham, Mimi Le Meaux, Penny Starr, Jr., Red Snapper, Tana the Tattooed Lady, The Assassin, Tura Satana, Vintage Girl, Violetta Beretta

If you cannot attend the show and are interested in purchasing a cast, contact Shaney Jo Darden at the Keep A Breast Foundation by clicking here

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The Visual and Aural Dreamscapes of Kelly Haigh

Kelly Haigh “9PM”,  24×24, acrylic on canvas,  at the “Summertime Show” at El Kartel in Vancouver.

Kelly Haigh lives, paints, and cuts hair in Vancouver, where she also sings and plays in the band, Ashley Park. She is currently obsessed with Victorian Taxidermy, and plans on turning her tiny hair salon into her own private natural history museum. There is a story on Kelly’s website, which speaks of her stuffed crow, whom she’s named Jack T. Crow, and how he takes her on his back to some magical, yet sometimes terrifying places, and how he has her paint all the scenes they witness together in that surreal landscape of dreams.

Country Western Star starring Kelly Haigh with Francis the singing dog CD

Kelly Haigh has created an album of surreal dreamscapes and opens the gates to a universe you exist in momentary somewhere between consciousness and dreams as you are drifting away to sleep. “Country Western Star” is an auditory equivalent of her paintings and encompasses numerous elements of pop and surrealism, cuteness, terror, beauty and fear, in a cloud covered atmosphere with stories rooted on this planet but somehow not of this earth.

The intro to the liner notes tell the story well and go like this:

“Country Western Star walks in the shadowlands, singing her songs to the critters of the forest and tending to the vast gardens filled with unmarked graves. She is the keeper of justice, guided by her trusted compass, which is not marked with the usual North, South, East or West but instead bears the letters L.M.F. & R. LOVE, MURDER, FORGIVNESS, REVENGE”

“Country Western Star starring Kelly Haigh with Frances the singing dog” is a package to behold; from Kelly’s art which adorns the cover, the eight-panel fold-out insert, the six-panel fold-out CD jacket and the music itself featuring 25 surreal musical stories.

Visit Kelly Haigh’s Myspace page: www.myspace.com/dollinthefamily

Kelly Haigh’s fanpage on Faceboook

Purchase the CD from the Dionysus Records online shop

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7/16: Kaboom! works by Picture Mechanics at La Luz

KABOOM! works by Picture Mechanics

July 14 – August 1, 2010

Opening reception, Wednesday, July 14, 6-11pm

La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
info@laluzdejesus.com
www.laluzdejesus.com

www.laluzdejesus.com

Preview the show here

Picture Mechanics is an artist’s collective consisting of 30 of the world’s most innovative illustrative talents. Their work is published in major publications, on book covers, ad campaigns, merchandise, civic projects and is regularly exhibited internationally. Over the years, Picture Mechanics has created group shows, products, books, and a web portal, picturemechanics.com. KABOOM! Is a collection of new work from the group. This is their first show in Los Angeles.

http://www.picturemechanics.com/index.php

Works by:
Michael Bartalos
Cathie Bleck
Juliette Borda
Calef Brown
Marc Burckhardt
Richard Downs
Ann Field
Vivienne Flesher
Geoffrey Grahn
Amy Guip
Eddie Guy
John Hersey
Jody Hewgill
Anita Kunz
Greg Mably
Mark Matcho
Adam McCauley
Joel Nakamura
Christian Northeast
Dan Page
Edel Rodriguez
Ward Schumaker
Jeffrey Smith
Katherine Streeter
Gary Taxali
Mark Ulriksen
Sam Weber
Noah Woods
——————-

Reception catering by: Silk Thai Cuisine

The show will be followed by days of events at ICON6 in L.A., more info here

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7/2: So Ca surf artist Damian Fulton at La Luz de Jesus Gallery

Damian Fulton “Surfploytation
Robert Palacios “The Game of Life

July 2 – Aug 1, 2010
Reception for the artists, Friday July 2, 2010, 8pm – 11pm
La Luz de Jesus – Gallery I (Gallery II will be having a six-artist show- and there will be a free Independence Day BBQ in the back!)

4633 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90027
323-666-7667
info@laluzdejesus.com
www.laluzdejesus.com

Preview the entire shows here:

Damain Fulton

Robert Palacios

Damian Fulton  Surfploytation

Drop In

Damian Fulton is fascinated by the dichotomy and duality of Los Angeles seaside culture. The proximity of one of the world’s most diverse and congested cities to the Pacific coast provides fertile material for Fulton’s dark take on the California dream. Perhaps it’s in the water.

Surfploytation continues Fulton’s twisted ride down Pacific Coast Highway where Surf City is way more gritty than groovy. Car chases, girls with guns, noir nostalgia, a visual narrative that reads like conceptual art for a fictional surfploytation movie. For this show, experimentation with new materials native to his environment, balsa wood and fiberglass, skate decks, and surfboard fins, have this new work amped up to 11.

Fulton’s imaginative blend of storytelling, scrambled pop imagery, and painterly technique belie a respect for traditions of the past. Inject in his love of the ocean and urban experience and you have a distinctly original vision.

Fulton grew up land-locked in Orange County, California and painted his way through college at Cal State Fullerton doing custom art for vans, spontaneous wall murals at parties in the OC and self publishing Thrust, the Magazine of Narrative Sequential Art.

Out of college, Ocean Pacific hired him to paint surf posters and in 1982 commissioned him to create the official poster for the Op Pro Surf Contest.  His counterculture comic strips like “The Shred Brothers” running in Surfer Publications’ Snowboarder and the original extreme sports classic “Radical Rick” which rode for 15 years in BMX Plus! Magazine. Fulton has had careers working for Oglivy and Mather Advertising, Marvel Comics and has directed television spots for Pepsi, Mattel and Universal Interactive.

In 2005 on the 50th birthday of Disneyland, Fulton was commission to paint several prints commemorating the event. Fulton currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. www.damianfulton.com

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Robert Palacios The Game of Life

Game of Chance

Drawing inspiration for his paintings from his childhood impressions and memories, life experiences and an American/ Latino heritage, Robert Palacios’ work is whimsical, playful and childlike with thoughtfully crafted characters. “Before beginning a painting, I sketch out my ideas. When the story is fully realized, I take those sketches and put them on canvas. At that point it’s a cerebral process; I’m thinking, concept-color-composition. When that part of my brain is satisfied, that’s when the mood comes into play and settles over me. Each painting is a vivid story of a world that I’m bringing to life. The viewer is introduced to a cast of characters and subplots often put into humorous situations that characterize as visual narratives of daily life, with a comical twist; the object being, to invite an interaction with the paintings” states Palacios

One of Palacios’ abiding inspirations is been a board game called that he played often as a child called “La Loteria” (the Mexican lottery game) which is played similarly to bingo but with a deck of cards. “The cards have numbers on them as well as wonderful, mystical, magical symbols and drawings. I still bring out that deck and peruse them for inspiration” states the artist who was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. www.robertpalacios.com

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6/26 Preview – 7/3 Reception: 100 Artists See Satan at GCAC

exhibit image

Grand Central Arts Forum Revives 100 Artists See Satan to Raise Funds for Exhibitions
Collection remains on display and for sale June 26 through August 15, 2010

Reception for the artists:
July 3, 2010, 7 – 10 pm
Show runs June 26 through August 15, 2010

CUSF Grand Central Art Center
125 N. Broadway
Santa Ana, CA 92701
General Info: 714-567-7233
www.grandcentralartcenter.com


Media Contact:
Ashley Eckenweiler
949-285-9239
ashley@oshkinagency.com

Click for a preview of the show

RON ENGLISH  Holy Roman Emperor
oil on canvas, framed  |  36″ x 36″  |  $30,000

(Santa Ana, Calif.) – Grand Central Arts Forum, the support group for Grand Central Art Center (GCAC) is revitalizing the hit exhibition, 100 Artists See Satan, a survey of contemporary artists and their interpretation of the supreme demon. Unlike the original exhibition, this iteration of the collection will be presented as a fundraiser, with works available for sale to the public. All proceeds will benefit future GCAC programs and exhibitions. An exclusive preview will be held Saturday, June 26 from 7-10pm with a public opening reception on July 3 from 7-10pm. The exhibition will remain on display through August 15, 2010.

100 Artists See Satan was originally organized by GCAC in response to another exhibition, 100 Artists See God, curated by John Baldessari and Meg Cranston for Independent Curators Inc. New York. The two shows exhibited simultaneously in 2004, Satan at GCAC and God at Laguna Art Museum, and gained notable attention from the public and media.

CHRISTOPHER ULRICH  Small Study of Satan oil on canvas  |  8″ x 10″  |  $900

This second installation of the exhibit will offer the public a chance to purchase works from the original collection of acclaimed artists including Ron English, Todd Schorr, Paul Frank, Laurie Lipton, Camille Rose Garcia, Charles Kraft, Hugh Brown, Jeff Gillette, F. Scot Hess, Marnie Weber, CR Stecyk, James Lorigan, Edward Colver, Manuel Pardo, Laurie Hassold, Skot Olson, Nathan Spoor, Bigfoot, Dalek, Bale Creek Allen, Greg Gibbs, Naida Osline, Tyler Stallings, Albert Cuellar and more.

To further raise funds, Grammy Award winning graphic and packaging designer, Hugh Brown has been commissioned to create a 100 Artists See Satan credit card, limited edition of 666. This collector’s item is available only at the GCAC bookstore for $50. Cardholder’s benefits include a discount on select merchandise at the GCAC store and an invitation to the VIP preview event on June 26.

CAMILLE ROSE GARCIA  Subterranean Death Clash hand glittered limited edition gicleé on paper  |  edition of 80  |  24” x 35”  |  $1,400

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Grand Central Art Center is the anchor for Santa Ana’s downtown Artists Village. Established in 1999, it has garnered an international reputation for provocative and innovative exhibitions and publications. The art center’s acclaimed artist-in-residence program has hosted forty-four artists from around the world, and the Forum sponsored fine art print programs has published twenty-two limited edition prints.

Grand Central Arts Forum is dedicated to the advancement of contemporary art and visual culture in cooperation with California State University Fullerton’s Grand Central Art Center. The Forum sponsors exhibitions and programs that raise public awareness of the visual arts in Southern California while providing artists with opportunities for exposure of their work. The Forum collaborates with local, regional, national and international artists and arts institutions.

Hours: Tuesday-Thursday, and Sunday 11-4pm; Friday & Saturday 11-7pm; Closed Monday. For general information, please call 714.567.7233 or visit www.grandcentralartcenter.com

Tours: Free docent group tours of the exhibition and building 11-4pm every day (Closed Monday). Please call 714.567.7233 to schedule.

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6/4: Fabulous Five Person art show in June at La Luz de Jesus Gallery!

Rick Araluce, JAW Cooper, Jessica Dalva, Bonni Reid, Krystopher Sapp

June 4 – 27, 2010
Reception for the artists, June 4th  8 – 11 PM

La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90027
323-666-7667
info@laluzdejesus.com
www.laluzdejesus.com

Rick Araluce  “The Poetry of Unreason

Rick Araluce makes miniature constructions. That means he makes everything himself by hand, including the boxes that contain the collections. He’s spent years inventing methods to fashion (from scratch) a turned table leg, door hardware,  a light bulb, a clock case, elaborate trim moulding, and whatever else is required to complete the illusions. Rick has created flutes less than an eighth of an inch in length, functioning miniature clocks measuring less than a quarter inch in diameter, and light switches that illuminate rooms seventeen miniature floors beneath them. No detail is sacrificed by the diminutive scale -even if those flourishes go largely unnoticed by the casual observer; however is nothing casual about the art of Rick Araluce, who makes his return to La Luz de Jesus after more than a decade abroad.

Rick Araluce website

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JAW Cooper  “Tarnished

JAW Cooper’s series “Tarnished” explores the allure of imperfection. “I’ve created a world inhabited by the deformed, tainted, injured, and alien, where external imperfections are echos of internal struggle,  and beauty is undeniably in the eye of the beholder. Behind every flaw is a story waiting to be discovered,” states the artist. Cooper was born in England and grew up in Africa, Sweden, Ireland, various other locations throughout Europe, and California. She has always cultivated a deep curiosity for the natural world and is inspired by forms found in nature, curio cabinets, fashion photography, and nipples in general. Cooper currently lives and works as an illustrator and gallery artist in Los Angeles, California. The artist will be in attendance.

JAW Cooper website

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Jessica Dalva  “Tie Strings Into Knots

Jessica Dalva’s new series of sculptures and oil paintings is only her second featured exhibition at La Luz de Jesus, but marks one of the most anxiously awaited series of new work from an emerging artist in recent memory. The centerpiece of “Tie Strings Into Knots” is an eerie, hanging chandelier that instills a sense of wandering for home, while illuminating a lost sense of virtue. Sometimes a lamp is just a lamp. But this is not one of those times. Dalva’s marionettes and mobiles inject their surroundings with instant nostalgia via a modern craft-esthetic rooted deeply in antiquity. The artist will be in attendance.

Jessica Dalva website

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Bonni Reid “Gone West


“Gone West” was an expression used in the air force during wartime to describe a brother-in-arms who was shot down and killed in combat. When pilots gather, they often open meetings with a toast to those who have “gone west”. They face the west and drink to those who have died. West, in this case, refers to the place the sun sets and extinguishes; the metaphor is clear. This somehow softens the reality of death in a line of work rife with mortality. Bonni Reid has co-opted this expression ion titling her most recent body of paintings. Representing transformation, passage, and change, the title takes on an added, metaphysical tone, not unlike the Death card in a tarot deck. this exhibition features all new, never-before-seen work. Bonni Reid lives in the West End of Vancouver, British Columbia. When not brewing her own visual concoctions, she freelances as a color designer for animation productions including six seasons of Cartoon Network’s “Ed, Edd ‘n Eddy”.

Bonni Reid website

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Krystopher Sapp  “Exoskeletal Engine


Krystopher Sapp’s mixed media assemblage is a sculptural study in discarded ephemery. His workshop is a literal hereafter for broken toys, liberated fixtures, and kippered insects. Rich dioramas of recontextualized doodads transform into a steampunk nirvana of Victorian futurism, both resplendant and refined, but with a secret tinge of horror within each dark dimension. La Luz de Jesus is proud to welcome back Krystopher Sapp for his third featured exhibition, for which he’s dialed back volume but escalated detail to produce a collection of ambitious perfection. The artist will be in attendance.

Krystopher Sapp website

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6/10: Hukilau presents Poly Blend group art show w/ Shag and others.

The Hukilau 2010 presents “Poly Blend” – a group art show curated by Harold Golen featuring SHAG and many others.

Shag “Mai-Kai Tiki #1” and “Mai-Kai Tiki #2″ Both: Acrylic paint on Canvas 9″ x 19″

Participating artists: SHAG, Atomic Kitty, Atomos, Bosko, Crazy Al, Dave Burke, David Parise, Dawn Fraiser, Derek Yaniger, Donnela Vitale, Doug Horne, Haikai Sarnes, Heather Watts, Joe Vitale, John Kissee, Ken Bernstein, Ken Ruzic, Lisa Petrucci. Luiz Diaz, Marc Paper Scissor, Mitch O’ Connell, Mookie, N! Satterfield, Netherland,  Robb Hamell, Rod North, Sam Gambino, Scott Scheidly,  Skot Olsen,The Pizz, Thorsten Hasenkamm, Tiki Tony, Tom Fowner

Opening reception

Thursday, June 10,  5 – 7:30 pm
Bahia Mar Commodore Ballroom

801 Seabreeze Blvd,
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316, USA
(954) 764-2233
www.bahiamarhotel.com

Lisa Petrucci “Miss Menehune, 2010” – liquid acrylic and envirotex on wood 14” x 8”

Tiki Kiliki Productions in association with Harold Golen presents an on-site “Hukilau” group art show, “Poly Blend” as part of the opening night of the Hukilau 2010. “Poly Blend” combines a world-wide, multi-media mix of art that is exotic, tropical, modern, and primitive, in a Mid Century Modern flavored installation. The show includes paintings, sculptures and curiosities from Africa, Asia, The Bahamas, Brazil, Easter Island, Hawaii, North America, Peru and beyond.

The name “Poly Blend” is derived from the term “Poly Pop” or “Polynesian Pop” and this group show puts into perspective how visual “exotica” is a blend of many different styles, elements, geographical, cultural and ethnic art and icons.

Harold Golen is an art collector and curator who introduced the Pop Surrealist art scene to Florida via his gallery, Harold Golen Fine Arts, in the Wynwood Art District of Miami.

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