Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City kicked off the ‘09 art season Saturday evening (1.3.09) with three openings by Erik Alos, Lauren Bergman, and James Naccarato.  Quite a few people turned out for the opening which was attended by all three artists.  The turnout was impressive given that this was essentially a holiday weekend.

Erik Alos’s Infexus Lumen offered a varied yet teasingly small number of new original works that ranged from fairly subdued to the over-the-top Spherical Purgation featuring a stylized gumby-esque feature.  In my opinion he’s at his best when he lets his lowbrow leanings loose.

Spherical Purgation. Erik Alos.

On the opposite wall, James Naccarato offered an expanded glimpse into his otherworldly universe with The Other Side of Madness.  He’s perhaps best known for is almost metaphysical pieces featuring floating monks and levitating robotic eyes.  So it’s with some surprise that I was particularly impressed with ‘A River Flows On’ featuring an intrepid and perhaps somewhat down-on-his-luck traveller.  The piece presents a very familiar world and does so with a welcome subtlety.

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New Image Art will celebrate an impressive milestone, 15 years of shows, with a massive retrospective show opening on Saturday, January 24th 2009 from 7 to 11 PM.  The large group show  will feature  the work of the artists that helped establish the gallery and continue to fuel it including Jeff Soto, Swoon, Barry McGee, Ed Templeton, Kelsey Brookes, Os Gemeos, Anthony Lister, The Clayton Brothers, and many more (click the flier above for the complete list).

New Image Art
7908 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323.654.2192

Lauren Bergman, Future Perfect, acrylic on gessoed paper mounted on sintra, 40" x 60", 2008

Tonight, New York-based artist Lauren Bergman opens her exhibition CalHalla: Dreams of Future Passed, at Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City, California. After a lively political group show in New York City in November, Bergman turns her attention away from the White House in Washington D.C. to the cultural Mt. Olympus of California and its modernist architecture paradise. The exhibition, featured in the loft of the gallery space, will commence on Saturday, January 3, 2009 and run through January 21.  An opening reception will be held on Saturday, January 3 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. with the artist in attendance.

The idealized female ideology and feminine utopia of America has long been a focal theme for Bergman and continues to feed her fascination and curiosity.  For this exhibition, however, Bergman employs “a new menu of cultural touchstones in the architectural backdrop” as she strives to decipher the “California dreaming” mythology that enamors and resonates with our modern society, hence the splicing of “Valhalla” and “California” to become “CalHalla.” Even as a young girl, Bergman was drawn to the modern creations of architects like Richard Neutra, Pierre Koenig, John Lautner, and especially Frank Lloyd Wright.  “Their forms and lines were compelling and I would find myself drawing them over and over,” she says. “They [the houses] would appear to me like a vision of the future.”

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If you missed the opening of Idealist Propaganda, Glen E. Friedman’s major retrospective, and the chance to have Glen sign your copy of his books, Subliminal Projects is giving you another opportunity by extending the Idealist Propaganda show for one more day. Glen will be in the gallery Saturday, January 10th signing copies of his amazing books from 2-5pm.  They will have all five of Glen’s books available, including Recognize, which is no longer in print and only available at Subliminal Projects.  Below are some photos of the installation, courtesy of Subliminal Projects. Read Jeff Weiss’ opening night review and exlcusive interview with Glen in the LA Weekly, plus check out their featured slidehow.

THE INSTALLATION

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I Pledge Allegiance. Derek Albeck. Graphite and color pencil on paper. 24 x 24 inches.

Derek Albeck opens his It’s Just a Ride solo on Saturday, January 10th 2009 @ POVevolving in Los Angeles (Chinatown).  We’re pleased to bring you a nice little preview of four pieces from the new show.  Enjoy and be sure to check out the opening if you’re in the area.

POVevolving Gallery
939 Chung King Road
Los Angeles, CA 90012

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Building on the tremendous success and energy of the initial Mainfest Hope gallery in Denver during the DNC, gallery co-creator Shepard Fairey and partners will open Manifest Hope:DC in the nation’s capitol from Friday January 16th through the 19th.  This show will mark the successful grassroots campaign for Barack Obama and to celebrate his inauguration on the 19th. The gallery will feature work some of today’s most celebrated contemporary artists including Shepard Fairey, David Choe, Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Thunderdog Studios and many more.

To continue the grassroots support for change and to acknowledge the power of art to do so, Manifest Hope has announced an expanded online art contest for the opportunity to show work at Manifest Hope:DC.  Artists can submit work to one or more of three categories – Manifest Change-Health Care Reform, Manifest Unity – Worker’s Rights, and Manifest Opportunity – The Green Economy.   15 pieces will be selected for inclusion in the DC gallery.  The deadline for entry is Friday January 9th, 2009 @ 11:59 AM EDT.  Entries will be judged by a distinguished panel including Anne Ellegood (curator of Contemporary Art, Smithsonian Hirshorn Museum), David Rolf (President, SEIU Healthcare 775NW), Eric Hilton (Thievery Corporation) , Laura Dawn (Creative and Cultural Director for MoveON), Shepard Fairey, Spike Lee and Van Jones (Founder of Green for All).

Presented by gallery partners MoveOn PAC, the Service Employees International Union, and Obey Giant, the Manifest Hope:DC gallery and contest, produced by the Evolutionary Media Group,  promise to be amazing and vitally important events. .  Without being overly political, here’s to real change that we can all use.

Manifest Hope: DC
3333 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20007

The Contemplation of the Uga. Gary Baseman.

LA painter Gary Baseman will open, The Sacrificing of the Cake, his first solo in Israel  on January, 8th 2009 [8 PM] @ Urbanix Gallery in Tel-Aviv. Baseman will present a new body of work focusing on self-reflection on the past and subsequent correction and change.  A new dragon character, “Uga” (cake in Hebrew), is victimized by erotic girls and nymphs across a series of acrylic paintings and ephemera pieces done in color pencil on pages of a vintage phys. ed book.  These images are an allegory to the artist’s struggle with demons from the past.  The slaying of the dragon represents a release from his parent’s heritage and steadfast focus on the “American Dream”.

In addition to the solo opening, Gary has a full schedule for his visit to Israel which includes an open lectures  at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem on Tuesday, January 13th @ 12:30 PM as well as a student-only workshop at the academy from the 12th through the 15th.  Finally, Baseman will put on a public live painting session at the Ozen Bar in Tel Aviv on Saturday, January 17th @ 9 PM.

Urbanix Gallery
45 Sheinkin St. (Gallery Floor)
Tel-Aviv, Israel
972-3-5250601

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The prolific Popagandist Ron English explores a wide range of myths for his Mythographic Vicissitudes Solo opening on Thursday  January 8th, 2009 [7-9 PM] @ Upperplayground’s Fifty24SF gallery.  From Religion, to Bigfoot, to Expressionism, nothing is left untouched.   The combination of English’s social wit and seemingly flawless oil painting technique fuel his deeply moving work. Def one to watch for January.

Fifty24SF
252 Fillmore St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
415.252.9114

Fresh off blockbuster exhibitions in Los Angeles and Brooklyn, the incomparable Takashi Murakami has opened his traveling explosion of color in Frankfurt, Germany @ Museum für Moderne Kunst.  For this European stop, Murakami has added several pieces – both 2D and 3D.  We’re enjoying the new sculptural elements – especially the white flower bearers as well as the monstrous inflated balloon head.

[Source: Supertouch]

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Just in case you’re looking for some LAST-minute Xmas gifts, you might want to check out the Post-It Show 3 @ Giant Robot 2 on Sawtelle. Affordable art that’s conveniently sized for almost any space.  We’re not sure what’s left, but here’s guessing at least a few sweet pieces are still up for grabs as mentioned by GR fearless leader Eric Nakamura a few days ago.  The show runs through January 14th, 2009.

GR2
2062 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310.445.9276

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