Tejando Culturas/Weaving Cultures

Lorenzo Hurtado Segovia

Mis Papeles

Vincent Price Art Museum
Small Gallery
January 24- April 18, 2015

Segovia's exhibition consists of large scale paper weavings, 3-D Poles "Scepters" and childlike paintings.  His work reflects his Mexican heritage and his art education in America.  He was born in Juarez near the border of Texas and Mexico.  Being from the "frontera" Segovia innately understands the need to stand up for his creative freedom and to express Mexican people's rebellious nature. He speaks of combining "politics and graphics". The fight is in him-"El Grito"-the Cry. He also speaks of wanting his artwork to be recognized as fine art, deserving the acknowledgement of the art world as being more than a domestic effort and craft.  He is not devaluing these art forms; on the contrary, he recognizes their place in art history. 

Also important to Segovia is integrating his Christian faith with his artwork.  The titles of the pieces such in the "segundas" paintings are a metaphor for the Resurrection. The mixed-media poles are defined as "scepters" based on the sense of the divine.  Segovia stated that some audiences do not want to hear about Christianity, many are content with him speaking of the "spiritual" aspect of his art and art practice.  However, his intention is clear the way he "interweaves"  spiritual inspirations with his faith.  And also, the titles are in Spanish to express what he calls "cultural nuances".

Weaving is an art form that has been with us since the beginning of weaving branches, vines, and tree bark for territorial purposes.  The art of weaving is a male and female art form.  Segovia expressed his role in his own family as sharing the domestic role of child-rearing (he has two children) with his wife as well as working outside the home.  The kind of art that Segovia creates does have a domestic thread but also contains sculptural aspects similar to Christo's "The Gates" infiltrating a space.  Obviously on a smaller scale in the gallery but still purposely dividing space with pattern, form, and color. 

Weavings at Vincent Price Art Gallery

Segundas #4

Psychopomp Bunny

BUNNYMANIA:
 A Fundraiser art exhibition benefiting  the Natl. Museum of Animals & Society
April 4-April 18, 2015
opening reception: 5-9 pm

Curators: Delia A. Cabral & Peter Frank


www.bunnymania.org
www.museumofanimals.org

Wilding Cran Gallery
939 S. Santa Fe Ave Unit B
Los Angeles, CA 90021

Gallery Hrs: Thurs: 11-4pm, Fri: 11-4 pm, Sat: 12-7pm

Karen Florito

Sarah Stone

Last week during the first leg (rabbit's foot) of the exhibition at Chung King Studios, Chinatown, Los Angeles (March 27, 28, 29) I was speaking to Shana Nys Dambrot regarding the rabbit themed exhibition. Shana said that rabbits, as a subject for art work, are currently in the "zeitgeist"-the spirit of the time.  

"Zeitgeist"defines a universal consciousness that artists and "average Joe's/Jane's", can tap into.  The ubiquitous cell phone/texting/calling/Facebook/"selfing", is an indicator of our need to connect/reconnect with our loved-ones and to be heard and acknowledged.  Rabbits as shape-shifters match the times and make adjustments to help us through our unexplored journeys.  

Artists are obvious candidates for communicating our basic human needs.  BUNNYMANIA 

artists exhibit work that focuses on the spiritual realm of the rabbit such as works by Sarah Stone and Karen Florito's buddha-like rabbits. Additionally, are photographs of actual rabbits by artists like Lara Jo Reagan, who bring us back to reality and the need for protecting our furry friends. 

Rabbits serve as prey and prayer.  They will sacrifice themselves as food to serve others and remind us to pray when they position their paws in the prayer position.  Adonna Khare's finite pencil drawing of a rabbit appearing to be trapped, bound with rope, with an imminent boulder above its head, is a definitive example of the power of rabbit medicine.  This rabbit appears to be serene under its adversity and impending death.  Notably is the prayer asana position representing a rabbit in meditation designing a virtuous contingency plan.  

The curators Delia A Cabral and Peter Frank are both rabbit owners.  By owning rabbits as pets versus food, they are already making political statements against animal cruelty.  The current BUNNYMANIA exhibition provides animal welfare education and support via whimsical albeit politically powerful presentation of rabbit themed art work. 

                                         

                                                       Lara Jo Reagan

Adonna Khare

Dave Ghilarducci

Deba Broz

Heather Matoon

Kelly Thompson

Penny Collins

Raul Contreras

Rikki Neihaus

Peter Frank and Delia A. Cabral (curators)

Photos from Wilding Cran Gallery -opening night

Patron with her pet rabbit.

artists/patrons @ Wilding Cran opening

Delia A. Cabral & Sandra Vista @ Chung King Studios,Chinatown, LA

Participating Artists:
Addona Khare, Alexandra Lakin, Bibi Davidson, Bogdan Dumitrica, Brian Duda, Corrie Gregory, Dana Feagin, Daniela Schweitler, Dave Ghilarducci, Debra Broz, Deidre Sullivan-Beeman, Dilip Niroy, Georgie Flood, Gretchen Ryan, Heather Matton, Inge Dehenin, Jane O'Hara, Karen Florito, Karrie Ross, Kathryn Pitt, Kelly Thompson, Kim McCarty, Kim Tucker, Lara Jo Regan, Marina Hebert, Mary McGill, Mark Blatchfold, Megh Raj Thapa, Michelle Waters, Monique Rebelle, NAMAAK Collective, Nina Salerno (Perfect Reject) Osceola Refetoff, Paul Evans, Paula De La Cruz, Rafael Perea De La Cabada, Raul Contreras, Rhea Korito, Rikki Niehaus, Sally Ann Field, Salomon Huerta, Sana Haroon, Sandra Vista, Sara Hardt, Sarah Stone, Susan Coastes, Suzanne Walsh, Trine Churchill, Valerie Daval

CUANDO...WHEN THEY ARRIVED...

LOTERIA!

Group Show

March 14-April 14, 2015

Reception: 3/14 6-10 pm

CACTUS GALLERY

3001 N. Coolidge Ave

Los Angeles, CA 90039

323-801-8669 (www.cactusgalleryblogspot.com/ www.cactusgalleryla.com

hours: Saturdays 11am-5pm, Sundays 11am-2pm and by appointment

CACTUS GALLERY CELEBRATES ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY AND THEIR FIRST EXHIBIT OF 2015.  FIFTY ARTISTS HAVE INTERPRETED THE 54 ICONIC LOTERIA CARDS.  

THE ARTISTS IN THE EXHIBITION WHERE GIVEN ARTISTIC LICENSE TO INTERPRET THEIR IDEA OF THEIR CHOSEN LOTERIA CARD.  THE ONLY CONSTRAINTS WERE SCALE APPROXIMATELY 10"x 10"-12"x12" AND PRICE POINT OF AROUND $500. MAX...

SANDRA MASTROIANNI, DIRECTOR OF CACTUS GALLERY, STATED THAT SHE  SOLD MANY PIECES PRIOR TO THE OPENING DUE TO HER SUPPORTIVE COLLECTORS THAT CONTINUE TO DEPEND ON CACTUS GALLERY TO WHET THEIR ARTISTIC BELLIES.

THESE SMALL SCALE PIECES EXHIBIT THE MAGICAL, MYSTICAL AND ETHEREAL QUALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THE LEGENDS OF THE LOTERIA CARDS.  IT IS MORE THAN A BINGO GAME. THE IMAGES ASSIGNED TO EACH NUMBER CARRY WITH THEM THE POTENCY OF EACH IMAGE.  "LA MANO # 21"  AS ILLUSTRATED BY ENCARNI DIAZ, REINFORCES, FAITH, STRENGTH, THE HAND OF GOD/SPIRIT/POWER. 

NICOLE NORMAN'S "LA RANA #54", SYMBOLIZES CLEANSING OF THE EMOTIONAL WATERS, HOPE OF LOVE IN DISGUISE/AND/OR VARIOUS FORMS , APPROPRIATELY CREATED WITH GOUACHE ON PAPER.  THE GALLERY IS LOCATED IN PLAYFULLY NAMED "FROG TOWN" ELYSIAN VALLEY.  "LA RANA" CAN ONLY BE AN ASSET.

La Mano #21 by Encarni Diaz

oil on wood, 9.5"x 12" framed to 13.5"x 16"

La Rana #54 (Mr, Lily) by Nichol Norman

gouache on paper 8"x11" to 10"x13" framed

El Arbol #10 by Janrt Olenik

acrylic on bass board 6"x12"

El Nopal #39 (A Right Prickly Pair) by Norman Gray

mm sculpture, each 5"x 5", total 10"x 10"

El Gallo ( Psicodelico) #1 by Michelle Waters

acrylic on wood 9"x 12"

La Corona #47 by Sandra Vista

mm,/acrylic/crown/ 8" x 2.5 "

El Catrin #4  by Eden Folwell

acrylic on canvas, 9"x 12"

EXHIBITING ARTISTS:

Michelle Waters, Mavis Leahy, Holly Wood, Eden Folwell, Valency Genis, Miriam Martinez, Jon Measures, Carlos Villez, Vera Paras, Janrt Olenik, K Howell, Roger Trivinos, Kelly Thompson,Carlos Villez, Sherri Miranda, Simona Candini, Sara Polzin, Lacey Bryant, Johnny "Zurdo" Quintanilla, Walt Hall, Encarni Diaz, Alea Bone, Gabriela Zapata, Joshua Coffy, Jose Alvarez, Patricia Krebs, Miriam Martinez, Sarah Stone, Chatismo, Bobby Rojas, Lea Barozzi, Jaclyn Alderete, Yo-yMis Kosas, Sam Russell, Ulla Anobile, Andie Bogdan, Patricia Krebs, Douglas Alvarez, Norman Gray, Terri Berman, Ulla Anobile, Jazmin Molina, Elisa Belloni, Angela Maria Ortiz S., PECA, Rasa Jadzeviciene, Sandra Vista, Joe Bravo, Bill Wheeler, Catherine Bursill Moore, Rosie Garcia, Ashley Fisher, Jessica Ward, Nichol Norman

Conceptualization of Memoirs

Rey Armenteros

Memories From the Radio-
Of Daughter's Arrival and Father's Farewell

ARC Gallery
14403 Pacific Ave.
Baldwin Hills,CA

The Ladder  2014 (11" x 14" mm, acry, on plexi-glass)

Kicking Baby 2014 (11" x 14", mm, acry, on plexi-glass)

Rey Armenteros current solo exhibition at ARC in Baldwin Hills, CA is , as Armenteros states: " an unbound book" of memoirs dedicated to the birth of his daughter Abigail Su Yun (September 2012)  and death of his father (February 2013). Armenteros, first generation Cuban-American, is also a writer who has dedicated aspects of his art, if not in its entirety, to the conceptualization of memoirs. His current exhibition of fifty-five (11"x 14") paintings is only a selection of paintings based on his visual lamentation of the relationship with his father, the influences of his Cuban heritage dictated by the imprisonment of his grandfather in Cuba, his parents journey to America as young people, and of a reticent new father experiencing a basic human creative act of producing a child.

Armenteros uses the concept of Tarot cards as a "facilitator" for his paintings.  The grouping of the fifty-five paintings is based on the various spreads of Tarot cards. The paintings are installed in "modules" -number spreads of 17, 9, 3, etc.  Depending on how the paintings are grouped, the "unbound" book becomes about something else. The grouping of 17 paintings installed in the main space gives the audience a synopsis of Armenteros' current creative/psychological exploration of his life to this point.  He is not alone with regards to personal insecurities, the need to belong, to be loved and to be able to come to terms with one's own path.  

Armenteros was a child of divorce.  The painting entitled The Ladder portrays three year old Armenteros under the ladder as his father stands on the ladder painting the side of their house.  A splat of paint lands on Armenteros' arm.  This painting memorializes a key moment before his father left their family unit. Many would say that the splat of paint is significant because Armenteros is a painter and defines the incident with an artistic metaphor.  This is true. There are several portraits of his father, Muscles, portrays father flexing his muscles and "sucking in his gut", Death Mask, is a portrait at the end of his life.  Armenteros' selective gestural marks  capture and define an egocentric father with humor, criticism, and mythology. His interest in comic book illustrations is evident in the rendering of the images of his father and daughter.  The definition of memoir and caricature are undoubtedly linked elements in Armenteros' art work; both words describe how a person chooses to remember and interpret a person, place, or thing. 

Armenteros' challenges as a new father are illustrated by images of a crying baby- a frightening and frightened baby.  Armenteros realizes that his daughter is trying to communicate in her own way.  Abigail Su Yun, who's name means "fountain of joy" (Abigail) and "water" (Su Yun) is a true beauty in person.  Armenteros' influence of Francis Bacon's grossly frank and elliptical images exist in the portraits of his daughter. In Kicking Baby the baby's screams and frustrated kicking motions can be heard emanating from the painting. Armenteros' Kicking Baby reaches out to all parents who have been faced with discerning methods of disciplining their children. Armenteros' shared his empathy for his daughter's efforts to communicate her needs.  As an artist, he more than understands creating optimal modes of communication. Humorously, he commented that his wife asked him why he depicted Abigail in such an unflattering way.  Would a beautiful, smiling, pink baby tell the same story?

The paintings are painted on plexi-glass which can be seen from both sides. He begins his paintings by creating images on strips of paint and medium that he describes as "skins".  The skins are painted onto a latex-like surface that allows the pieces to be easily removed.   These copious series of skins are miniature drawings and paintings that will be added to the plexi-glass depending on the story he is about to tell.  His concept of using interchangeable modules in his completed paintings also exist during the planning stages of his work.  

Armenteros has dedicated this current exhibition to the death of his father and birth of his daughter.  Additionally, he credits his interest in Tarot cards and numerology.  During our extensive telephone and gallery interviews, he spoke of his dwindling skepticism about the genuine value of numerology and Tarot cards in his life.  His interests in the metaphysical, mystical, magical and spiritual world can be attributed to his mother. Armenteros described his mother's adult spiritual life as being interested in Gnosticism. Numerology, faith in mythology, and personal views of the world have been part of Armenteros life all along.  The desire to understand someone's own heart is evident in his current series of work.  Perhaps a future exhibition could include or be dedicated to the influence of his mother.

Muscles 2014 (11" x 14" mm, acry, on plexi-glass)

Death Mask 2014 (11"x 14", acrylic, mm on plexi-glass)

Baby Thoughts 2014 (11"x 14", mm, acrylic, on plexi-glass)

*additional interviews on Youtube.com

,

Velvet Marshall and Torrance Art Museum

TORRANCE ART MUSEUM

3320 Civic Center Dr

Torrance, CA 90503

310-618-6388

TorranceArtMuseum@TorranceCA.Gov

Hours : Tues-Sat. 11am-5pm

GALLERY ONE

SOUTH BAY FOCUS 2014

CONTEMPORARY AND TRADITIONAL

ART JURIED EXHIBITION

Presented in conjunction with the Torrance Artists Guild and the South Bay Watercolor Society

South Bay Focus is Torrance Art Museum's annual Contemporary and Traditional juried art exhibition. 

Juror: Scott Canty, Director and Curator of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery

Velvet Marshall and daughter Natassia Perez

in front of Marshall's painting "Tightrope" 2014 

featured at South Bay Focus 2014

Exhibiting artists:  

Cat Ferraz, Dael Patton, John Chase, Pam Brown, Lelde Bracken, Orion Fisher, Rebecca Schillinger, Lee Clarke, Isabel Fowler, Lynne Mori, Ariel Swartley, Ashley Evans Bandy, Campbell Laird, Lorraine Shue Weber, Lynn Doran, Claudia Bear, Monique Ozimkowski, Winnie Shepardson, Velvet Marshall, Karla Schmidt Commins, Susan Josepher, Jean Shultz, Beth Shibata, Jeanne Dunn, Eunsil Jeoung, Parrish Hirasaki, Jesus Max, Michael Chomick, Kruise Sapstein, Moon Landing, Valerie Wilcox, Cecelia Caro, Ben Zask, Gloria D. Lee, Annemarie Rawlinson, Vivian Wenhuey Chen, Roger Thomas, David Courtney, Maureen Vastardis, Cynthia Stewart, Julia Chu, Vickie Myers, Mary Lou Slagter, Russell Knight, Cie Gumucio, Michelle Deniaud, Nina Zak Laddon, Marie-Laure ILIE, Luis Avalos, Suzanne Kuuskmae, Herlinda Rojas Giandalia, John Tarlton, Joyce Weiss, Karen Yee, Kelly Greenwood

Chicano Dream-"Subversive-but in a good way..."

Chicano Dream
The Collection of Cheech Marin (l980-2010)
June 27-October 28, 2014

Musee d'Aquitaine
20 cours Pasteur
33000 Bordeaux
musee-aquitaine-bordeau,fr

This summer in July, I was observing Los Angeles based artist John Valadez' social media postings about his mural project for the Musee D'Aquitaine in Bordeaux France.  Additionally, another Los Angeles artist, Margaret Garcia, was also posting images of her work from Bordeaux.  Both of these artists along with twenty-seven other "Chicano" artists are part of an exhibition in Bordeaux which consists of a partial collection of the famed American "Chicano" actor, Cheech Marin.  During our phone interview Marin humorously stated that he was the "Johnny Appleseed" of the Chicano art world.  Marin has been an avid collector of Chicano and Latino art for over thirty years.  Many of the artists, like Valadez, have become lasting friends with their patron.

I was intrigued by the images that were coming out of Bordeaux by the American "Chicano" artists.  I have been privileged to see many of these works of art in Los Angeles by participating artists like: Shizu Saldamando, Germs, Gronk, Diane Gamboa, Patssi Valdez, Sonia Romero and Frank Romero.

The paintings of the exhibition entitled "Chicano Dream" are a mirror of the work that has been part of the European landscape for over a hundred years.  I envisioned the "Neo-Fauves" coming to France all the way from American cities like Los Angeles.  These artists are like the Fauves, liberated, energized, and inspired by the warmth of the southern California sunlight.  Similar to the Fauves they apply formalism to their color palette partnering complementary colors throughout their paintings.  But most essential is the expressive and emotional nature of each piece of art.

Margaret Garcia speaks of the "subversive" element of art that is shared by the Chicano artists and the French.  Garcia says, "Viva la differance", the French welcome differences and that is one of the reasons why she felt they were invited.  "We were going home to where it was acclaimed and celebrated."  Relating to the Impessionists and the Fauves, Garcia said her work has been compared to Gaugin's.  She mentioned that Gaugin's mother was of Peruvian ancestry and that perhaps there was a Latino connection with the "high key palette" and the use of "arbitrary colors".  For Garcia "Chicano Dream" offered another "perspective outside the European realm, urban, political, socially concerned and with the consciousness of heritage." 

John Valadez a "wild beast" from Los Angeles was invited to paint a mural for the outside of the museum during the exhibition.  With only four and  a half weeks to finish this historic work of art, Valadez had two local artists (Florence Hery and Laurent Bastide) to assist him with the project.  Valadez' family has been in America for four generations.  He is an American of Mexican heritage.  As a child he was punished for speaking Spanish.  The term "Chicano" has had many definitions.  In my lifetime it has meant "wetback-illegal alien" and through the sixties it became a political term-a term of pride.  The word continues to evolve.  The same is true of the artist group named "The Fauves".  In the early 20th century, these artists were not eagerly invited to join the club.  Now they are a group that has become admired, emulated and influential.  Valadez stated: "...the thing about being Chicano is to take it on and be positive about it. We write, and paint and film the contradictions."  He continues to say: "...I like to put conflict in my work...the way people interact with each other...I like to tell stories...". The mural he painted (named "Convertible Opera" 20' x 14.8') had the theme of LA road rage and the LA beach mainstay of the convertible.  He said the convertible car provides room for the figures to stand up similar to a stage.  Also, there were additional images to be found in the clouds of the mural. 

These artists that I interviewed for this article have well defined interpretations of their art and their place in the world.  One important observation was that Marin, Garcia, and Valadez felt it was important to share their passion for art on a global scale.  All ethnic groups were welcome to express similarities and differences.   The "Chicano Dream" coming to France was as Garcia said: "we were coming home to where it was acclaimed and celebrated."

Artists exhibiting : Carlos Almaraz, Jari "Werc" Alvarez, Jesus Barraza, Chaz Bojorquez, David Botello, Melanie Cervantes, Alfredo de Batuc, Carlos Donjuan, Diane Gamboa, Margaret Garcia, Yolanda Gonzalez, Glugio Gronk Nicandro, Roberto Guiterrez, Wayne Alaniz Healy, Leo Limon, Albert Lopez, Jose Lozano, Gilbert "Magu" Lujan, Cesar Martinez, Frank Romero, Sonia Romero, 

Ricardo Ruiz, Shizu Saldamando, Eloy Torres, John Valadez, Patssi Valdez, Vincent Valdez, Geroge Yepes, Jaime Zacarias, alias GERMS..

Margaret Garcia and John Valadez (in front of Convertible Opera Mural)

Natasha Marin and Margaret Garcia at exhibition

Patssi Valdez installation ASCO

alternative views 

Jaime Zacarias (GERMS)

Mural assistant Laurent and son

Mural assistant Florence and daughter

Laurent and son

John Valadez

Stealth Rituals

Jennifer Faist-Hill and Eric Zammitt
Beyond the Surface
Launch Gallery
170 S. La Brea (Upstairs)
Los Angeles, CA 90036

September 6-27, 2014

I have been following Jennifer Faist-Hill's work for some time now.  Her work reflects her quiet stillness and gentle interaction with her art colleagues. Nostalgia layered with grief and loss finds their ways into producing works of art that heal and restore Faist-Hill's creative impulses.  The designs inspired by her mother's clothing are permanently encased like insects in amber.  The viewers are persuaded to play along and remember their mother's or family members distinctive style.  Many artists' first creative journeys begin with the styles and finesse of their parents and relatives.  I personally was influenced by my father's sense of style and the way gestures and everyday tasks where turned into works of art.  Faist-Hill carries on the legacy of her family and gives them an opportunity to reach immortality.  

The arduous process of sanding, pouring of resin and layering, is also related to the way different societies prepare their family members for the afterlife. The importance of preparing the body of a loved one by bathing, anointing with oils, wrapping with fine cloths, appears metaphorically ( and not so metaphorically)  in Faist-Hill's work. Process is obviously paramount to Faist-Hill's work, however, the content and back story are the foundations for the success of each work of art.  

Eric Zammitt and Jennifer Faist-Hill complement each other in their demeanor and approach to their work.  Zammitt also is enveloped in the process of creating layers of color that eventually become bands of chromatic radiation that pulsate as a stealth undercurrent for visions. During the current exhibition at Launch Gallery the artists have created a balance of sincerity and a voice for methodical diligence that puts them in their own categories. 

Jennifer Faist-Hill

Sticky Wicket 2014 l0"x7"x1(acrylic, resin, on wood)