Hello everybody!
I’m Matt Kennedy, the director of La Luz de Jesus Gallery. Some of you O.G. scenesters may remember me from back in the golden age of lowbrow when I was the manager at Billy Shire’s original Melrose location where I worked alongside gallery director Alix Sloan (and actually hired artists like Aaron Smith and Christian Clayton as gallery personnel) until 1995, when Billy Shire relocated the whole Soap Plant / Wacko operation to Los Feliz, and I entered the entertainment business.

I did a lot of acting, a bit of recording, a healthy amount of producing, and ran a few video labels that earned me the type of Geek street-cred that I’d always longed for. I even moled myself into the studio system and somehow managed to keep aware of the emerging and established  talent in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, London and elsewhere. As a patron I probably kept a few of the smaller galleries in business, and consider myself fortunate to have been presented with an opportunity to return to my roots in the Shire Empire and reacquaint myself with the artists whose careers were launched in those heady days of the early to mid 90s.

Back in May, I was presented with the opportunity to become a columnist here on Daily Dujour, and after nine months of waiting, I’ve finally been given my login info …and just in time for the 4 person exhibition that opens this Friday at La Luz de Jesus:

Danni Shinya Luo, Kim Scott, Miran Kim, Transmission Atelier

This is the first show that I’ve assembled completely on my own. When I first stepped back into the position as gallery director, the majority of the 2009 schedule was in place. As sometimes happens, there were a few re-schudules (and one rather public dropped show) that allowed me to bring some new talent to La Luz de Jesus and Billy Shire Fine Arts. I’m proud to have been the person that brought Christopher Ulrich and Myron Conan Dyal to BSFA, and to have given first shows to Jessica Dalva and Misato Otake at La Luz de Jesus. But mostly the position was one of a clerical/sales nature; managing the artists’ deadlines, contacting buyers, overseeing publicity and booking the ads. As I approach the close of my first year back, the role is much more of a balance between gallery director and show curator. I booked this Friday’s show back in July, and the joy of watching it open is difficult to express in words -least of all words that serve as an introduction.

Having seen the work in this show, I couldn’t be prouder of Shinya, Miran, Kim and Jim (aka Transmission Atelier).

With the consolidation of BSFA back into La Luz de Jesus, I feel like I’m finally getting a chance to do what I do best, and that’s to take the years of experience I have (marketing niche media) and steer it into the heart of my greatest passion -art. I’ve been overseeing a complete redesign of the La Luz de Jesus website, I’ve set up Artofficial: the official La Luz de Jesus Gallery Art Blog, and most recently launched a La Luz de Jesus Art YouTube page. The first video I’ve produced for the new blog and YouTube page is a studio visit with Danni Shinya Luo. It’s something of a trailer for her Spiritual Deficiencies exhibit, which opens this Friday alongside Miran Kim’s Uncomplicated Treats, Kim Scott’s Peep Holes and Magic Boxes, and Transmission Atelier’s If the Shadows Could March.
We’ve got a new beverage sponsor, NAKHON, and we’re expecting a special visit from a very special catering truck, too. We know how to throw a party around here and I encourage you all to come on down.

I also had my friend Jennifer do a Studio Visit with Karen Miso Hsiao, whose The Cold Returns show will be closing at CHG this Saturday. It’s a great show and I encourage you to check it out while you still can. If the link doesn’t work, you can access her video on the La Luz de Jesus Art YouTube page.

See you this weekend in the flesh, and back here next Wednesday!

Artist Pearl C. Hsiung will be participating in a group show for Arte Contemporaneo – ARCO Madrid 29 International Contemporary Art Fair, which runs from February 17th – 21st in Madrid, Spain. I stopped through Pearl’s studio to take a peek at some painting before they were shipped off. So here’s a nice glimpse of her workspace and work as she’s wrapping up for this international group show, which will feature up to 60 artists.

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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.

DD got a chance to stop by while Morgan Slade worked on a photo shoot for his upcoming show at San Francisco’s Shooting Gallery. Slade had a gaggle of models and props in his studio while creating the first layer of his multimedia pieces. The photo shoot used animal heads, football helmets and of course bikini’s.

Keep an eye out for Slade as he has several significant shows lined up in 2010 and looks to become a household name before this point next year.

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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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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ShareSomeCandy.com recently asked me to participate in their Workspaces feature on the website.  For those who have never checked out this awesome art/designer site, it features illustration, logos, furniture and design posts.  Check out this weeks’ Workspaces and you’ll get to step into the chaos that is my workspace.  Other artists include Cole Gerst, Ryan Bubnis, Poked Studios, Jeannie Paske, and many more!

Photograph by Taylor Brittenham

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Dailydujour had the pleasure of visiting Greg Simkins in his new studio tucked away in a quiet corner of the South Bay. As you can see above, Greg is putting the finishing touches on ‘The Pearl Thief’ his new solo opening next Tuesday November 3rd (7- 10 PM) @ Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles. The solo features several paintings including his largest to date, ‘The Pearl Thief’, which measures  96” x 72” as well as drawings.

The new work continues the broad narrative which he has revealed painting by painting for the past few years.  The show’s namesake preys upon all sorts of unwitting creatures, taking away precious personal nuggets from each – the – ‘pearls’.  Cloaked and wearing many masks, the Pearl Thief plays a role either implicit or explicit in nearly every painting.

While he does not usually reveal the plots behind his paintings for fear of cheating the viewer of the thrill of interpretation, Simkins does make detailed notes on the back stories of his characters.  Each painting is a partial view into an ever evolving world populated by creatures with complex relationships with one another. The unfolding story which lends an air of familiarity and cohesiveness to the work also motivates Greg by keeping the focus on fantastic creativity.

While motivation comes in many forms, Simkins relishes  painting ‘big’ for the challenge as well as  the freedom to explore visuals with high levels of detail. Having just finished his biggest painting yet, he’s already looking to push the bar a few notches higher. He’s clearly up to the challenge and so is his gear.  What does one use to paint such large canvases?  His father provided the answer – a wall-mounted massive custom metal ‘easel’. It’s the biggest we’ve ever seen.

Enjoy this quick look at Greg’s studio.  We’ll be back with additional glimpses of his show later this week.  If you haven’t already marked Tuesday’s opening on your schedule, you will shortly.

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Sketchy

Ink

Tape stripes

Colour

Voila!

I had the pleasure of dropping by the home and studio of artist Mark Dean Veca this weekend as he prepared to send work off to his upcoming solo exhibition at Jonathan Levine Gallery next month.

Mark was gracious enough to unwrap some of his new work and talk about where the work is going. Mark actually stepped away from his usual style of fully patterned paintings and focuses our attention on individual images…all the while keeping his signature pattern work inside the character boundaries.

After several shows with massive installations, Veca will be taking a break and letting viewers focus on the work alone, which is actually a nice change of pace. Even in his studio, the ability to focus on individual paintings give you the chance to see his outstanding technique and skill with a brush.

Make sure to catch Veca’s show:

Mark Dean Veca
As Cold As They Come
Jonathan Levine Gallery
Sep 12 thru Oct 10, 2009
Opening Reception- Saturday, September 12th, 7-9pm

More images and info after the jump…

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DD guest blogger Tessar Lo just updated his page with some great images of some art attack going down in Toronto….

a few weeks ago, i had a chance to spend some time with some of my favourite artists in toronto. i wanted to share with you all the experience. it is always nice for me to hang out with really incredibly driven and skilled people.. that humbling feeling is such a motivator to work even harder than you think you already have been!

first, i had the honour of spending some time with my sheridan prof, harvey chan and his lady friend melissa in his work/live on queen east. after a nice chat and some lunch courtesy of harvey, (who is also a chef as it turns out) we decided to jam, completely open-ended. we both literally had no idea what was happening and relished in the idea. some things turned out nice, some not so nice, but the point was to just create. here is what transpired.

Click here to see the rest of the entry.

For several years now, artist Stella Im Hultberg has been steadily making her presence felt with fans, collectors and galleries alike. Hultberg has exhibited her artwork with such galleries as Lineage Gallery (now Joshua Liner Gallery),  Roq La Rue, Gallery1988, Limited Addiction, and Corey Helford. Currently, Hultberg is gearing up to launch her second solo exhibition with Thinkspace Gallery in Los Angeles on July 10th.  The artist was gracious enough to send me a few preview images of this upcoming show and take a few moments out of her insanely busy schedule to answer a few questions.

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Yesterday we dropped in for a LIVE streaming studio visit with artist and DD contributor Joe Ledbetter to talk about his new book, a European Tour and to check out where he does al his painting and toy design. If you missed the live broadcast you can now catch up here: http://dailydujour.com/ddtv/

The video is on a LOOP, but you can click into the On-Demand section and view both parts.

In our attempt to bring you ever closer to the artists who create the work we admire and love, Dailydujour is excited to announce a first (at least for us), a live video studio visit with Joe Ledbetter, this Wednesday July 1st @ 4 PM PDT. What exactly does that mean ?  Basically we’re going to invade Joe’s Studio for a visit. So far, pretty normal.  The difference this time around is we’re lugging a bunch of gear to broadcast video of the visit live @ http://www.dailydujour.com/jledvisit, as it happens.  To really push the interactive possibilities, we’re going to select questions from the online audience to ask Joe on the ‘air’.   So if there’s something you’re curious about but haven’t gotten the chance to ask in person, this is your chance.

Expect a studio tour, a Q & A session, some brand-new project reveals, and well… the unexpected, it’s live.  So if you can, set aside some time to join us on this web-fueled journey, virtually that is.