The beautiful, stylish LEORA LUTZ at her Gallery Revisted Fourth Anniversary exhibition

Wow-oh-wow… I thought I was an art world-navigator, but the premise of this show takes the cake.

“Artist/Gallerist”
Friday, Feb. 1st, 7pm - 10pm at Another Year In L.A. Gallery

It should be an awesome networking orgy of a show and this gallery is pretty comfortable with the pourings at openings so all of the local dealers should be in a libacious mood!

This invitational group show features work by a selection of artists who also happen to own some of the most innovative galleries in Los Angeles. Another Year in L.A. Gallery is on San Fernando Road near the border of Glendale and Mt. Washington in a very cool historic building that was the First Capitol Records pressing plant and distribution center.

The Artists include:
Nena Amsler (HAUS Gallery)
Lara Bank (Sea and Space Explorations)
Elizabeta Betinski (OVERTONES Gallery)
Fette (Fette’s Gallery)
Ian Hunter (Shotgun Space)
John Knuth (Circus Gallery)
Leora Lutz (Gallery Revisited)
John Matowsky (DRKRM)
Jeanne Patterson (Domestic Setting)
William Rabe (HAUS Gallery)
Star Rosencrans (Shotgun Space)
Michael Smoler (High Energy Constructs)
Cathy Stone (another year in LA)

The beautiful, stylish LEORA LUTZ at her Gallery Revisted Fourth Anniversary exhibition

Wow-oh-wow… I thought I was an art world-navigator, but the premise of this show takes the cake.

“Artist/Gallerist”
Friday, Feb. 1st, 7pm - 10pm at Another Year In L.A. Gallery

It should be an awesome networking orgy of a show and this gallery is pretty comfortable with the pourings at openings so all of the local dealers should be in a libacious mood!

This invitational group show features work by a selection of artists who also happen to own some of the most innovative galleries in Los Angeles. Another Year in L.A. Gallery is on San Fernando Road near the border of Glendale and Mt. Washington in a very cool historic building that was the First Capitol Records pressing plant and distribution center.

The Artists include:
Nena Amsler (HAUS Gallery)
Lara Bank (Sea and Space Explorations)
Elizabeta Betinski (OVERTONES Gallery)
Fette (Fette’s Gallery)
Ian Hunter (Shotgun Space)
John Knuth (Circus Gallery)
Leora Lutz (Gallery Revisited)
John Matowsky (DRKRM)
Jeanne Patterson (Domestic Setting)
William Rabe (HAUS Gallery)
Star Rosencrans (Shotgun Space)
Michael Smoler (High Energy Constructs)
Cathy Stone (another year in LA)

We went to Dangerous Curve on Saturday for the Bruce Licher retrospective. This is a fantastic show of a great designer. So it got me thinking, you see, because Licher established a reputation in design and yet ?€“ as this show displays - is so much an artist.

I thought of him, there surrounded by his ouvre, and his most street-cred accomplishment ?€“ a founder of the band Savage Republic (as important an industrial band as the West Coast has produced) — and I thought of another designer ?€“ Shepard Fairey ?€“ whose purpose in life has been to simulate street credibility by punk placement of his posters. Bruce Licher?€™s survey show was a small, respectful, beautiful show of the letterpress masterpieces of this artistic force of nature who has more punk and street in his pinkie than all the media celebutantes drizzling their cartoon bullshit nothings onto city walls in the desperate attempt to market themselves into a cool corporate niche will ever have.

I didn?€™t talk to Bruce about these notions, was just happy to shake his hand, chat for a while with his wife Karen, an artist in her own right, and buy one of the few remaining prints from his once-endless trove. I wore a Savage Republic teeshirt in the 80s until the thing was 7 threads held together by the shirt tag and the crusty silkscreen ink remnants, so I didn?€™t yearn for an extended conversation, it had all been said, in letterpress and noise a lifetime ago and just yesterday.

We went to Dangerous Curve on Saturday for the Bruce Licher retrospective. This is a fantastic show of a great designer. So it got me thinking, you see, because Licher established a reputation in design and yet – as this show displays - is so much an artist.

I thought of him, there surrounded by his ouvre, and his most street-cred accomplishment – a founder of the band Savage Republic (as important an industrial band as the West Coast has produced) — and I thought of another designer – Shepard Fairey – whose purpose in life has been to simulate street credibility by punk placement of his posters. Bruce Licher’s survey show was a small, respectful, beautiful show of the letterpress masterpieces of this artistic force of nature who has more punk and street in his pinkie than all the media celebutantes drizzling their cartoon bullshit nothings onto city walls in the desperate attempt to market themselves into a cool corporate niche will ever have.

I didn’t talk to Bruce about these notions, was just happy to shake his hand, chat for a while with his wife Karen, an artist in her own right, and buy one of the few remaining prints from his once-endless trove. I wore a Savage Republic teeshirt in the 80s until the thing was 7 threads held together by the shirt tag and the crusty silkscreen ink remnants, so I didn’t yearn for an extended conversation, it had all been said, in letterpress and noise a lifetime ago and just yesterday.

Dealer Kim Light presenting a painting grid on paper by artist Kim Dingle at ArtLA 2008 at the Santa Monica Civic

We went to the Art Fair at the Santa Monica Civic on Friday.

Each year the vibe in ArtLA is different, but the aesthetic shared by the art fair participants remains forever firmly entrenched in the “Duchampian Abortion” genre. Unlike in fairs past, the commitment to even an anti-aesthetic is hardly present in the face of so, so many small prints and drawings in the comfortable $400-$900 range.

This edition of the fair was about selling out… and cheap. The occasional good artwork was lost in a sea of thirtysomething slacker artists overhung by fortysomething trust-fund art dealers already looking nervous and desperate to cover their nut spent on securing a booth for this attempt at gravity in such terribly unserious times.

Thank god for Lizabeth Olveira and Kim Light, each who had the decency to present a booth that displayed art by an artist instead of product by a passing trend. Perhaps the security of a Culver City lease in the shadow of Tim Blum’s mullet gives them the confidence that every other ball-less depARTment Store at this fair lacked.

Highlight of the fair, though, was a Randall Scott sighting, 14 years after his TBA gallery here closed and before he became a Washington DC contemporary art dealing hotshot.

Dealer Kim Light presenting a painting grid on paper by artist Kim Dingle at ArtLA 2008 at the Santa Monica Civic

We went to the Art Fair at the Santa Monica Civic on Friday.

Each year the vibe in ArtLA is different, but the aesthetic shared by the art fair participants remains forever firmly entrenched in the “Duchampian Abortion” genre. Unlike in fairs past, the commitment to even an anti-aesthetic is hardly present in the face of so, so many small prints and drawings in the comfortable $400-$900 range.

This edition of the fair was about selling out… and cheap. The occasional good artwork was lost in a sea of thirtysomething slacker artists overhung by fortysomething trust-fund art dealers already looking nervous and desperate to cover their nut spent on securing a booth for this attempt at gravity in such terribly unserious times.

Thank god for Lizabeth Olveira and Kim Light, each who had the decency to present a booth that displayed art by an artist instead of product by a passing trend. Perhaps the security of a Culver City lease in the shadow of Tim Blum’s mullet gives them the confidence that every other ball-less depARTment Store at this fair lacked.

Highlight of the fair, though, was a Randall Scott sighting, 14 years after his TBA gallery here closed and before he became a Washington DC contemporary art dealing hotshot.

At the Robert Rauschenberg Runts painting reception at PaceWildenstein in Chelsea, Merce Cunningham told me, “Years ago I was doing dance performances with John Cage and I scheduled two shows on the same day in two states. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. I thought there was a time difference that would help us arrive on time but that did not end up mattering enough. One state was Oregon and the other was Arizona. We were going to hire a horse (laughing). On the day of the performances we cancelled the second show because it became obvious right off that I had made a big mistake. John thought I was a bit impractical.”
–Baird Jones

Daniel Foster and Peter Frank at the Gallery C booth at the Los Angeles Art Show, 1-23-08

Art Fairs are a culture of their own, almost an art world within an art world. The Los Angeles Art Show?€™s grand opening Wednesday night obviously suffered from a drenching downpour. Attendance for the opening shindig was considerably smaller than last year?€™s opening night and the sales were paltry. People clamored about the feedbag, and it was a good one of free restaurant grub ?€“ fresh shucked oysters, for example, were a big highlight.

Celebrity sightings: William Shatner and his wife were accompanied by two queenie designer types who talked him out of everything he liked. Owen Wilson gawked at stuff like one would imagine a stoner/actor type to go ?€?Wow, trippy…?€?.

A number of galleries were furious when a pleasant, if lackluster evening, was broken into with screaming audio of some maniac asking everyone to shush ?€“ it turns out that a small, amateurish ?€?awards ceremony?€? by Art and Living magazine was piped in over the sound system at ridiculously loud levels. Some knucklehead is yammering on and on about museum awards he is giving out ?€“ of course, Michael Govan and Connie Butler (to name some names he ?€?awarded?€? in name-dropping pride) none of them are even there to pickup the awards, but Mister Flapjaw keeps it up. So I am trying to discuss a real estate deal with a Culver City bigwig and a gallery director next to me is trying to sell a painting ?€“ the Jerkoff who cannot get anyone to attend his award ceremony and pick up their awards just talks nonstop and my contact bolts at the same time the collector strays too far amidst the needless clamor. Wow, whoever gave this amateur a microphone to totally ruin what was already a shaky night out… man oh man, get it together, if you are small potatoes, don?€™t jump up and amplify your screaming about this pathetic fact.

THE 6 PM SCRAMBLE TO FIX LEAKY ART FAIR TENT ROOFS IS UNDERWAY:

Daniel Foster and Peter Frank at the Gallery C booth at the Los Angeles Art Show, 1-23-08

Art Fairs are a culture of their own, almost an art world within an art world. The Los Angeles Art Show’s grand opening Wednesday night obviously suffered from a drenching downpour. Attendance for the opening shindig was considerably smaller than last year’s opening night and the sales were paltry. People clamored about the feedbag, and it was a good one of free restaurant grub – fresh shucked oysters, for example, were a big highlight.

Celebrity sightings: William Shatner and his wife were accompanied by two queenie designer types who talked him out of everything he liked. Owen Wilson gawked at stuff like one would imagine a stoner/actor type to go “Wow, trippy…”.

A number of galleries were furious when a pleasant, if lackluster evening, was broken into with screaming audio of some maniac asking everyone to shush – it turns out that a small, amateurish “awards ceremony” by Art and Living magazine was piped in over the sound system at ridiculously loud levels. Some knucklehead is yammering on and on about museum awards he is giving out – of course, Michael Govan and Connie Butler (to name some names he “awarded” in name-dropping pride) none of them are even there to pickup the awards, but Mister Flapjaw keeps it up. So I am trying to discuss a real estate deal with a Culver City bigwig and a gallery director next to me is trying to sell a painting – the Jerkoff who cannot get anyone to attend his award ceremony and pick up their awards just talks nonstop and my contact bolts at the same time the collector strays too far amidst the needless clamor. Wow, whoever gave this amateur a microphone to totally ruin what was already a shaky night out… man oh man, get it together, if you are small potatoes, don’t jump up and amplify your screaming about this pathetic fact.

THE 6 PM SCRAMBLE TO FIX LEAKY ART FAIR TENT ROOFS IS UNDERWAY: