Pop Surrealism, Lowbrow, Graffiti, Street Art + Culture

'Maria I Still Love You' Vasmoulakis and collaborator Paris Koutsikos

LeBasse Projects is excited to present, ‘Is Everybody Happy?,’ the first US solo exhibition from Greek artist Alexandros Vasmoulakis. In this anticipated solo project, Vasmoulakis brings his first major body of work to the US after becoming recognized across Europe for his work both on the streets and in galleries.

Vasmoulakis is mostly known by his work in the streets of Athens, Greece as he has painted on and embellished various buildings across the city and is expected to do the same here in Los Angeles. While recognized for his street work, Vasmoulakis’ paintings are beginning to reflect the maturity of his work as an artist.

His works’ main theme is the psychology of his figures – the struggle and the element of conflict dominates in the pairs of his figures as well as in each character separately. With the perceptive analysis of his characters Vasmoulakis achieves through his work he persuades us that he has penetrated into their mentality by holding a role of a competent and gifted anatomist and of an expressive soul searcher.

‘Is Everybody Happy’ will be Vasmoulakis’ first US solo exhibition.

Alexandros Vasmoulakis :: Is Everybody Happy?
LeBasse Projects
March 20th through April 17th
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 20th, 7-10pm

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Tonight, New York’s Joshua Liner Gallery introduces a new exhibition from The Barnstormers, a group of twenty-five improvisational artists that formed in 1999. The group’s body of work consists so far of such large-scale projects as time-lapse videos of the creation of murals and the disassembly/relocation/reassembly of a barn.

In this exhibition, the Barnstormers will present works by the group’s individual artists, all of whom have drawn acclaim in their own right and individual careers. As the unofficial founder of the Barnstormers (which rejects any form of organizational hierarchy), North Carolina native David Ellis is nonetheless the driving force who first drew this intrepid band of artists South. In his own practice, Ellis has received acclaim for freestylin’ installations inspired by popular music and DJ-ing, specifically the ways that image, sound, materials, and technology interconnect in contemporary culture.

To highlight the Barnstormers’ no-holds-barred sense of improvisation and internationalism, the exhibition will include Confessional Booth, a live, transatlantic project by Greater New York alum Ryan McGinness. While currently in Madrid executing his solo show Studio Franchise at La Casa Encendida, McGinness will host one-to-one conversations via Skype videoconferencing throughout the run of the Barnstormers show. Open to all visitors, the “confessionals” will be conducted during set hours from inside a draped cubicle, complementing the artist’s collaborative studio-cum-showroom project occurring simultaneously in the Spanish exhibition.

Visit Joshua Liner for more info on the group and its individual members.

The Barnstormers
Opening reception: 6-9 p.m.
Joshua Liner Gallery
548 West 28th Street 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10001

(212) 244-7415

This Saturday DIY Gallery launches their brand new space in Echo Park with collaborations by Aaron Williams and Zach Taylor.  The new venue has an incredible out door space for sculpture and they will be hosting a ton of bands in the near future as well – so stay on their radar!

Details:

DIY Gallery. 1549 Sunset Blvd. LA 90026

Echo Park Inaugural Reception: Saturday, March 20 7pm

Be there or be square!

Copro presented the Hi-Fructose 5th Anniversary group show to a packed house on Saturday evening (3.13).   Given Hi-Fructose’s position as one of the leading pop surrealism magazines, it’s not surprising that their anniversary shows are always eagerly anticipated and have over the years delivered.  Maybe it’s because the show is fresh in our minds, but this latest installment feels like one of the strongest yet.

Headlined by a bumper crop of excellent paintings from some of the scene’s top painters including Ron English, Craola, Audrey Kawasaki, Amy Sol, Martin Wittfooth as well as in-your-face sculptures by Colin Christian, Scott Musgrove, Harma Heikens, and Kris Kuksi,  standout pieces seemed to be the norm.  We’re also happy to report that the show seems to have sold quite well.

Speaking of sculptures, Scott Musgrove’s large  5-foot Prairie Boxer bronze sculpture is a highlight piece  made all that more impressive by the fact that it was sculpted by Scott himself.  The large/short pair of creatures have an undeniable life and presence.  So it’s a shame that very few show goers were able to appreciate the piece due to the poor viewing conditions.  There was no direct light on the piece and as a result it languished in relative darkness (the pictures after the jump were shot with  high iso or flash).  Disappointing.

Make no mistake though, Hi-Fructose’s 5th Anniversary exhibition is an excellent group show with very strong work.  If you missed it, definitely set some time aside to drop by Copro to check it out before it closes on April 3rd.  For artwork availability, please check the official show preview.

Copro Gallery
Bergamot Station
7525 Michigan Ave T5
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310.829.2156

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(left to right) Chris Peters, Last Rites Gallery Director Andrew Michael Ford & David R. Choquette

On Saturday, March 6th 2010, artists Chris Peters and David R. Choquette unveiled their first ever solo exhibitions at Last Rites Gallery in the Chelsea district of Manhattan.  Below is a link to the opening photos, along with links to all the new incredible paintings these two created for their new shows.  Enjoy!

Opening Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lastritestattoo/sets/72157623509651519/

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This March LeBasse Projects opens a solo show for Greek artist Alexandros Vasmoulakis but that’s not the only thing keeping us busy. The LBP artists are keeping busy worldwide…

Edwin Ushiro (pictured) opens his first NY solo show with Sloan Fine Art on the 24th. Nate Frizzell also has a solo show, his debut in the UK at Bo.Lee Gallery in Bath. From what I hear, both are already selling their shows on preview so better reach out to the galleries now. Eric Fortune just sold out his mini-show at the High Fructose curated exhibit as well…so better get on the list for his next show with us in October.

Join us in LA this Saturday for:

Alexandros Vasmoulakis.
‘Is Everybody Happy?’
LeBasse Projects
Saturday March 20th, 7-10pm

Giant Robot 2 presented the opening of Patchwork, a group show with a crafty twist, on Saturday evening (3.13).  Each artist created their artwork on a uniform sized fabric square and collectively they formed a ‘quilt of sorts’.  While some artists produced sewn quilt-like patches, many focused on painted or drawn images while others pushed the sewing into 3d with plush-based pieces.  David Horvath’s Ugly square and Phil Lumbang’s oh-so-sweet four square caught our attention.  Patchwork runs through April 17th @ Giant Robot 2.

Giant Robot 2
2062 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025

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Carmichael Gallery will present Nina Pandolfo’s “Life’s Flavor” on Saturday March 20th 2010 , the gallery’s first exhibition  since relocating to its new larger Culver City location.  Based in São Paulo, Pandolfo, one of Brazil’s  leading female graffiti artists, has cultivated a whimsical colorful style seen in her outdoor murals as well as her fine art created for several international exhibitions.  For Life’s Flavor, her first solo in the United States, Nina has created mixed-media sculptures, works on canvas, metal and glass, a featured piece featuring 30k Swarovski crystals as well as several site-specific installations (progress shot above).

Nina Pandolfo / “Life’s Flavor”
Carmichael Gallery
5795 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
Opening: Saturday, March 20th 2010 (7-10 PM).  Artist in attendance.

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After their excellent first piece on Kelsey Brookes, The Creative Lives continues its video profile series with an feature on LA area artist Mark Dean Veca.  The piece focuses on Veca’s formative years as well his recent breathtaking Phantasmagoria installation @ Otis as well as his .  Next up from The Creative Lives – Megan Whitmarsh.  This new video series is well worth watching – just do it.

We went along to Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery to check out ‘The Shape of Things’ exhibition that explores the distinctive contribution artists make to influence or reflect national identity, the intercultural nature of British society and its connection with global cultures.

Alinah Azadeh’s exhibits started with her wrapping her mother’s rice cookers and other objects that belonged to her mother who died in the Asian Tsunami of 2004. There is a poem on the wrapping called, ‘Come, Come my Beloved’ by Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi. This poem was turned into a song by Iranian singer Bijan Bijani and the cassette recording was a gift to Alinah from her mother when she was a teenager. The poem is written in Farsi, in Romanised Farsi, and English – the three languages – tongues – spoken by Alinah, her Iranian mother and her British-born daughter.

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