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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Congrats to La Luz de Jesus‘ own JAW Cooper, who has three great paintings in the Kitsch ‘N Sync show, the same week that her art graces the cover of the LA Weekly! Cooper’s got a featured exhibition here in June, too, so be sure to sign up for her preview list on our constant contact sign up box. She’s been dropping hints about what we can expect, and I’m feverishly anticipating another faux-fur rug, because I know some hard-wood floors that need a stylish companion.

We expected a great turn-out on Friday, but we could never have expected over 2000 people!

The folks from SinoTequila were working overtime to blend enough margaritas for the ravenous crowd, and several artists had complete sellouts of multiple pieces. Brandon Steen, Frijol Boy, Jasmine Worth, Tennessee Loveless and Walt Hall all sold three or more paintings each, and many of our newbies experienced the very first gallery sales of their artwork. That list is far too extensive to list, but you can check out what’s sold and what’s available by clicking on the Current Exhibition link.

The following evening, we said goodbye to Billy Shire Fine Arts.

The live, musical performance by Unextraordinary Gentlemen was off the chain, and we were able to give away some mementos from the past five years’ exhibitions. The aesthetic that was established at BSFA will be incorporated into the new La Luz de Jesus, which will soon have a second enclosed space behind the current main gallery. Take a look at the upcoming shows and you’ll see what I mean.

Next month, Scott Hove will be taking over the new, second gallery space at La Luz de Jesus with his installation of surreal, anthropomorphized cakes. The exhibition, called Iced Out has already received coverage from Hi-Fructose, Boing Boing, Planet Oddity and The Food Network. Ace of Cakes -eat your heart out, as the centerpiece of this show is a gigantic cake chandelier that will hang suspended from the center of the ceiling in gallery II. We’ll be coordinating some other special events around this opening on April 2nd, which will likely involve some edible sweets to accompany visual ones, so check back for updates.

Dennis’ work is 3D relief sculpted paintings in acrylic on canvas and paper. He was just covered by the New York Times for his part in the museum hosted New York Historical Society Grateful Dead Exhibition, coinciding with the release of his book, Startling Art: Revealing the Art of Dennis Larkins, which he’ll be signing at La Luz de Jesus on Saturday, April 3rd from 6-9PM as part of the west coast release tour. Max Grundy’s paranoid propaganda paintings of enamel on metal are a hellacious futurama meets constructivism. Larkins & Grundy are La Luz veterans, and their work will juxtapose nicely with Scott Hove. Each will have prints, too. You’ve never seen anything quite like this, I promise you!

The multidisciplinary Canadian artist Marcel Dzama (born in Winnipeg in 1974) has been living and working in New York since 2004.  Of Many Turns , now open at Musée D’Art Moderne de Montréal, is the largest solo exhibition of his works ever organized by a museum. By taking a closer look at his recent production, this exhibition seeks to highlight some of the artist’s themes—such as nostalgia, early modernism, the relationship between irony and cynicism, politics and subjectivity—to arrive at a different understanding of his work.

Dzama’s dioramas, videos, sculptures, paintings, collages and drawings of carnivalesque scenes of choreographed violent and erotic behaviour draw upon a rich back-catalogue of artistic and literary references that range from prewar children’s book illustration to Marcel Duchamp, James Joyce and Dante.

His work is driven by open-ended narratives laden with ambivalent scenes of torture, dancing and erotic escapades. Dzama transforms seemingly arbitrary imagery, steeped in nostalgia, into a sort of mythology that is aesthetically attractive, while precluding most straightforward readings. He mixes and cooks up ingredients into something well beyond the sum of its parts: an imaginary world suspended between present and past, personal and mythical, site and non-site.

Marcel Dzama /Of Many Turns
February 4 to April 25, 2010
Musée D’Art Moderne de Montréal
85, Sainte-Catherine Ouest (corner Jeanne-Mance)
Montréal, Québec
514 847-6226

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A must see show on portraiture is currently on view at The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena.  “Gaze: Portraiture after Ingres” includes  works ranging from Van Gogh to Warhol.  One of my personal favorites is Marcel Duchamp’s L.H.O.O.Q. or Jaconde (1964, replica of 1919 original). Ever the trickster, Duchamp drew a mustache and goatee on a post card of Mona Lisa.  The title translates (phonetically) to “There is fire down below”. Rewr!

Now, if Warhol and Duchamp can’t get you out to Pasadena to see this show, I don’t know what can!

On Friday afternoon a woman taking an adult education class at the Metropolitan Museum of Art accidentally fell into “The Actor,”  a rare Rose Period Picasso,  causing a large tear. Officials at the museum said that since the damage did not occur “in the focal point of the composition,” they expected that the repair would be “unobtrusive,” according to a statement released on Sunday.

Since 1952 “The Actor,”  has hung prominently at the Met, along with other examples of early paintings by this Spanish master. But on Monday, according to the NY Times,  it could be found in a new  home -  the Met’s conservation laboratory.  Experts there are trying to determine the best course of action for the 105-year-old painting’s brand-new feature: an irregular, six-inch tear running vertically along the lower right-hand corner.

More details on the repair process at the NY Times online. No word on the woman who fell into the painting.

To close out the hugely successful group art show and 15 year celebration of Giant Robot magazine, JANM will be open for extended hours on Thursday, January 21 to host the Giant Robot Biennale. Curated by Giant Robot co-founder and co-editor Eric Nakamura, this expanded follow-up to the 2007 exhibition Giant Robot Biennale: 50 Issues will highlight artists associated with the magazine over the past 15 years.

Featured artists include David Choe, James Jean, Souther Salazar, Theo Ellsworth, kozyndan, Stella Lai, Jack Long, Albert Reyes, Rob Sato, Jeff Soto, Deth P. Sun, Le Merde, David Horvath, and Yukinori Dehara.

Admission will be free, and many of the participating artists and key members of the Giant Robot family will be in attendance as part of this special gathering. Expect refreshments, a musical guest, The Binges and DJ Puffs, and other surprises.

Japanese American National Museum
369 East First St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Closing Reception: Thursday, January 21, 5:00-9:00 p.m.

The New York Times reported that workers at the Tate Britain Museum have sanded and painted over a Turner Prize-winning painting by Richard Wright…all according to the artist’s plan.

Wright’s prize winning fresco,  an abstract work in gold leaf saw art handlers sand and paint over the work at the end of last week, following the closure of his Turner prize exhibition. According to the Guardian UK: “Wright didn’t see it go: the Glasgow-based artist tends not to linger at the grave of his works. This is what the artist wanted. Wright’s pieces are intended to be ­temporary, to exist in the memory ­after their destruction.”

From TAM: “One of the basic primary forms of painting is the self-portrait. With a long and distinguished history the self-portrait has told us about people, their times and their attitudes. They tell us of scrutiny, of desire, of ego and of the passage of time too, but they can also seem like a whispered secret sometimes, that winks knowingly to us of shared knowledge and experiences and has the added frisson for us of knowing that this is the artist ‘talking’ directly to us through time and geography. A great self-portrait tells you something of the artist but of ourselves too.”

The Reflected Gaze
Torrance Art Museum
Saturday January 16th, 6-9pm

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Santa Monica’s City Council is expected to vote today on an “agreement in principle” that would hasten Eli Broad’s plan to create a new $40-million to $60-million museum next to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium housing his 2,000-piece contemporary art collection. Broad already has a wing at the LACMA named after him, but this new museum would be home to just his personal collection and a home for his foundation. The Broad Art Foundation is currently headquartered in a 1927-vintage building in Santa Monica, but it lacks the parking to allow it to be used as a public museum, and it sadly isn’t big enough to house his entire collection.

From the LA Times: “Under the agreement the Santa Monica is scheduled to consider, the Broad Foundations would get a 99-year lease on the land for $1 a year and pay to build and operate the museum, covering operating costs with proceeds from a special $200-million endowment. The city would kick in about $2.7 million toward the museum’s creation. In negotiations that began two months ago, Ewell wrote, the Broad Foundations initially proposed that Santa Monica annually cover a third of the museum’s estimated $12-million budget. But the agreement as it stands calls only for onetime city payments of $1 million in design costs, $900,000 to absorb the cost of required permits and fees, $750,000 to clear the site for construction and $50,000 to modify a nearby traffic signal. Santa Monica would agree to “expedite” the design and environmental review process.”

A Broad Collection on display would give Los Angeles yet another premier museum to add to its claim for contemporary art world credibility.

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As we reported earlier, it is now official. Jeffrey Deitch has been announced as the new Director of the MOCA.

From a MOCA email to members:

“Dear MOCA Supporter,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), we are pleased to share with you the news that Jeffrey Deitch has been appointed as the museum’s new director, effective June 1.

Jeffrey Deitch is one of New York’s leading gallerists, specializing in modern and contemporary art. During his 30-year career as an independent curator, Jeffrey has produced innovative exhibitions at museums and galleries worldwide. He has also served as an art advisor to premier institutional and private collectors, building a number of major international contemporary art collections. Highly educated and experienced in art finance practices, Jeffrey will provide critical oversight for MOCA to advance its groundbreaking programming and enable the museum to thrive for years to come as the foremost institution of contemporary art.”

Read on after the jump:

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Jerry Saltz of New York Magazine is reporting that the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art is set to announce that gallery dealer Jeffrey Deitch will be named as new Director of the MOCA. While no one questions Deitch’s brand as a powerful and influential dealer and consultant this would be nearly the first time a dealer is named to lead – and fix – a major museum.

From Saltz: “American museums usually pick directors from the curatorial or academic ranks; none have ever been run by a former gallery owner. Scolds will imagine immoral scenarios of a wolf in the fold and tut-tut over the possibility of an uncouth, craven commercial dealer trading museum treasures for market-share, making back room deals, and violating ethics. But bear in mind that MOCA desperately needs to think outside the box (as do many more museums). After mounting numerous memorable exhibitions over the decades, the museum was woefully mismanaged by its board and under-funded by the notoriously stingy Hollywood community. In 2008, it almost went under.”

MOCA does need a fix, so maybe some out of the box thinking is the way to go. More updates as they come.

Read the full article here, image courtesy of  NYMag.com

The Torrance Art Museum is opening their 2010 with an exhibition of self-portraiture. Self-portraits have long been one of the basic primary forms of painting. With a long and distinguished history the self-portrait has told us about people, their times and their attitudes. They tell us of scrutiny, of desire, of ego and of the passage of time too, but they can also seem like a whispered secret sometimes, that winks knowingly to us of shared knowledge and experiences and has the added frisson for us of knowing that this is the artist ‘talking’ directly to us through time and geography. A great self-portrait tells you something of the artist but of ourselves too.

“The Reflected Gaze,” curated by Museum Director Max Presneill includes artists: Justin Bower, Chuck Close, Emily Counts, Ariel Erestingcol, Mark Greenwold, Julie Heffernan, Damien Hirst, Per Huttner, KAWS, Tom LaDuke, Hung Liu, Jennifer Nehrbass, Gavin Nolan, Fahamu Pecou, Dane Picard, Frank Ryan, Peter Sudar, Terri Thomas, Holly Topping, Alexandra Wiesenfeld, Cindy Wright, Liat Yossifor.

DD is keeping our eye on TAM as they have a strong and ambitious program lined up for 2010 and beyond.

The Reflected Gaze
Torrance Art Museum
3320 Civic Center Drive
Torrance, CA 90503
Opening: January 16th 6-9pm

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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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