'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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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

This past Saturday Yoshitaka Amano opened up his LA solo with us at LeBasse Projects and was also joined by LBP artist Yoskay Yamamoto who created a site specific installation for the occasion. Amano’s other show this month is a retrospective at MOCA Taipei so this was a great opportunity for us at the gallery.

Yoskay’s installation was also a huge hit as both his and Amano’s fans walked through the “rain” in the Project Room. Also debuting was Yoskay’s first fine art multiple sculptures which sold out quickly. More in this series will be showcased in June at Yamamoto’s solo exhibition.

The show runs through March 13th so make sure to stop by. More pics after the jump:

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Giant Robot was one of the magazine’s that piqued my interest in art and gave a voice to many artists, designers and creative people. Right now, the magazine like many others needs some support. So go buy an issue, subscribe and donate.

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LeBasse Projects is getting ready for our biggest show ever. You hear that cliche a lot in the art world, but in this case its true. We are hosting Yoshitaka Amano’s LA exhibition for ‘Deva Loka’ – a body of work created to show in the US. Amano is one of the most influential artists working today and you can clearly see his influences in the work of Takashi Murakami and others. Amano’s show in LA runs concurrently with his solo exhibit at MOCA Taipei.

To add to the excitement we have an incredible installation that Yoskay Yamamoto is putting up in our Project Room as an homage to Amano. We also have created our first collaborative edition of sculptures with Yamamoto which will debut this Saturday. Hope to see everyone at the show.

Yoshitaka Amano :: Deva Loka
Yoskay Yamamoto :: Tell Me a Story
Opening Saturday February 20th. 7-10pm
LeBasse Projects

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LeBasse Projects is excited to present, Deva Loka: Los Angeles, an exhibition of work from Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano. Legendary artist Yoshitaka Amano will make a rare U.S. appearance with his newest exhibit, DEVA LOKA, created especially for a U.S exhibition and named for the ancient Indian land of God. As an ode to his childhood love for American comics, culture and automobiles, Amano’s latest breathtaking and vibrant pieces are boldly coated with auto paint and metallic glitter.

Amano is widely acclaimed for his work in animation and video games. He is renowned for designing the characters for the hit video game, Final Fantasy, as well as for anime films including Vampire Hunter D, Guin Saga, Final Fantasy, and Front Mission.

“Between the late 60’s and the 70’s, and during my early years in the art world, I was greatly influenced by American comic books and pop culture. I’d like to show my gratitude for the inspiration America gave me with this exhibit. With the theme of DEVA LOKA, all of my concepts and influences are able to come together, centered in one place. I hope everyone enjoys my show.”

Deva Loka will be Amano’s first major exhibition in Los Angeles.

“Deva Loka: Los Angeles”
Yoshitaka Amano
LeBasse Projects
Opening reception: Saturday, February 20th, 7pm-10pm

Saturday night was the kickoff of the 2010 calendar for many galleries and the neighborhood energy created an even larger than normal buzz around Andrew Hem’s opening at LeBasse Projects. Andrew put together a fantastic body of new work, featuring very personal paintings, some extraordinary charcoal drawings and a series of small sculptures all painted by Hem. The image above is a process picture of Hem working on a small mural in the gallery entrance.

The show will be up through the 13th of February so make sure to drop in if you missed the opening…or visit the work online here.

Also showing is Portland based artist Rebecca Artemisa Urias making a return to LA. Rebecca was also in attendance along with an entourage of family, friends and collectors who came to see her new work, which was featured in our Project Room.

More images after the break:

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As LeBasse Projects gets ready for Andrew Hem’s solo exhibition at the gallery, our neighbor blog “Erratic Phenomena” has run another in depth interview with the artist. Here is an excerpt from the rare well developed interview:

“Andrew was still at work finishing up a few sculptures for the exhibit when he sat down to tell me a bit about where he’s coming from right now.

Erratic Phenomena: In our last interview, you said, “I love creating worlds that do not exist. A world where people don’t care about others’ appearance, and nobody has to worry about fitting in or being an outcast. Where everyone is accepted… I’ve experienced and witnessed too many times where people are disgusted with the different.” Growing up as one of the few Asians in a Hispanic Los Angeles neighborhood was not a particularly pleasant experience for you, and you didn’t really find acceptance there until you began to paint graffiti in high school. Is this dream of a world without bias an idea you’ve contemplated all your life? Do you make a conscious effort to draw attention to our ingrained xenophobia in your work?

Andrew Hem: I just enjoy seeing different cultures in one image. Every time I’m in LAX, I spend extra time looking around in the international section. That’s the only place I know where you have so many races in one place. For some strange reason, I enjoy being there. Maybe it’s because everybody’s so busy trying to catch a plane that they don’t really pay attention to their surroundings. You could find any ethnicity at any time at LAX, and nobody looks twice. I just want to transfer that feeling into my work.”

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As posted on an earlier preview, Morgan Slade is opening his solo exhibition in SF this weekend. Word from Slade is that there should actually be a handful of models in character during the opening so do not miss it if you are in the area.

From Shooting Gallery: “Slade alters his digital photographs of scantily clad women wearing high school mascot heads with paint, pen and pencil. He transforms straightforward images to chaotic madness. His pieces prey on primitive natural instincts with a youthful aesthetic appeal and bright, vibrant colors. By defacing exceptionally striking people, Slade aesthetically changes his figures to appear flawed in some manner. He creates visual critiques of consumerism, advertising and technology by inventing his own symbols or by reusing familiar icons and assigning them a different purpose.”

Morgan Slade: “Fist of Fear, Touch of Death”
The Shooting Gallery
839 Larkin St.
San Francisco, CA
Opening: January 9, 2010

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Melissa Haslam is gearing up for 2010 and just sent me a study of some new work she is developing for her busy schedule next year. I can’t share the other images, but I will tell you that Haslam has clearly been putting some hours in at the easel…refining her technique while working towards a photo-realistic style.

We should finally see some finished work from her this April for our SF exhibition and than in shows in LA and London. You can expect a new print from her to release early January on Paper Tiger as well.

Prior to the Christmas holiday weekend I had the pleasure of dropping by Andrew Hem’s studio to check on progress for his upcoming solo show this January. Hem has been working on a new body of work focused on his memory and study of his native Cambodia. The show is titled “One Leads to Another” and is driven by the mythical “Butterfly Effect” – in which the theory goes that any action creates consequences and new actions from anyone and everything around it.

In this case Hem considers the possibility of lives transformed had the Khmer Rouge never taken power in his native country. The idea is fantastically executed in his series of dark blue hued paintings – where a sense of the emotional resonance behind each central figure and the detailed environments behind them is evoked at first glance.

Hem is still working on a series of sculptures that will balance the new paintings and I expect it to be an incredible body of work all around. You can see the show open on January 16th at LeBasse Projects.

Andrew Hem
‘One Leads to Another’
LeBasse Projects
Saturday January 16th, 7-10pm

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The Torrance Art Museum has quietly launched and been building a very serious program of exhibitions. Recently TAM just closed a group exhibit titled ‘Zoom” and a solo show from NY based Jean-Pierre Roy. Zoom featured some exciting work from Andrew Schoultz, David Adey, Tony Maher, Nobuhityo Nishigawara and more. Schoultz had a very large piece and Adey impressed with both sculptural installation and collaged mixed media work.

Jean-Pierre Roy was also impressive with two massive paintings which featured unbelievably rendered worlds of futuristic detail. “Conjuring images from his imagination to create ‘internal landscapes’ ensures that Roy is constantly engaged with the discovery of the material relationships involved in world building and world destroying…”

Keep an eye on TAM as next year brings new work from KAWS, Damien Hirst, Chuck Close, Julie Heffernan and more.

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Scott Belcastro opens his first US solo exhibition with us this Saturday night. Belcastro’s landscapes and color washed paintings have an extensive level of minute details which contrast with the open abstraction of his ethereal skies and open canvases. After a very successful recent show in London we are getting very excited for the show with both Scott and newcomer Linda Kim who will be in the LeBasse Project Room, with her debut solo show after recently graduating from Art Center in Pasadena.

The preview is now online: LeBasse Projects but join us Saturday:

Scott Belcastro
‘Chasing the Last Glimpse of Light’
Saturday December 12th, 7-10pm
LeBasse Projects