The show of Don Bachardy self-portaits ends this week at Craig Krull Gallery in Bergamot Station, but it’s definitely worth a look if you live in the area. The raw emotion in the portraits is incredible.

Bachardy was the life partner of writer Christopher Isherwood until Isherwood’s death in 1986. Their relationship is chronicled in the 2008 film Chris & Don: A Love Story.

“Goodbye Golden State,” an exhibition of  bold paintings by Alison Blickle, opened Saturday at Richard Heller Gallery in Bergamot Station. I highly recommend you stop by the show before it ends on March 13. Blickle is cleary an artist to watch.

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New exhibitions of work by Kim Rugg and Josh Azzarella open Saturday, Feb. 13 at Mark Moore Gallery at Bergamot Station, with a reception from 5-7 p.m. Rugg (work pictured above) dissects and reassembles newspapers, postage stamps, comic books and cereal boxes in order to render them both conventionally illegible and a confrontation of the idea of meaning and message. Azarrella (below) creates vidoes the explore the power of context in the authorship of memory. Check out the gallery web site for more information on the artists and this sure-to-be-oustanding show.

Allison Schulnik creates paintings and sculptures that come straight out of a fever dream. Her spectacularly creepy works currently on display at the Mark Moore Gallery in Bergamot Station  are evidence of her unique talent and explain her current status as a highly in-demand artist. Her recent video for Grizzly Bear, as well as more images from the show, follow. Be sure to stop by the artist and gallery web sites for high-quality images of her work.  

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TAG Gallery has moved to Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, and a group show of work by its 40 members is currently on display. Featuring excellent work by Southern California artists working in a variety of mediums, this co-op gallery has hit the ground running in its new space. Be sure to stop by for a visit.

Bergamot Station Unit D3

2525 Michigan Ave.

Santa Monica, CA 90404

www.taggallery.net

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“Home for Hobo,” a new exhibition of work by Allison Schulnik, starts Saturday, Jan. 9 at Mark Moore Gallery in Bergamot Station. The reception is from 5-7 pm.  The show continues until Feb. 6.  Be sure to stop by for a look!

Gallery press material states:

Since her first solo show at Mark Moore Gallery in 2007, Allison Schulnik has embarked on an unparalleled contemporary tour de force. She has established an acclaimed global reputation with one-person exhibitions in London, Rome and New York City, in addition to her inclusion in over twenty international group shows. Schulnik’s innately prolific tendencies have earned her unique stature amongst both the critical and popular, and now – with ten new staggering paintings and her fifth full-length animated video, “Forest” – she returns to Mark Moore Gallery for her second solo exhibition, “Home for Hobo.”

The Latin American Masters Gallery in Bergamot Station is currently exhibiting a group of fantastic paintings by Jesus Lugo. Each is intricately constructed and beautifully realized.  The show ends on Dec. 19.

From the gallery web site:

Lugo’s paintings are characterized by the precarious balance of complex structures, figurative in nature, but composed with an “all over” fluctuating space more a kin to abstraction.  The architecture of Lugo’s painted world combines a disparity of styles: Japanese printmaking, social realism, and the omni-present iconography of pop culture.  Among the most curious aspects of Lugo’s art are his collage-like elements, imagery, which seems to be cut from magazines and glued to the surface of the canvas.  Upon closer inspection, the collage is revealed to be trompe l’oeil.  Lugo’s “fake” collage underscores his incorporation of pre-existing imagery, into a new context grounded in the tradition of painting. 

Amy Sol’s gentle and delicate new pieces are on display at CoproGallery in Bergamot Station. “The Wilderness Buffet” continues through Nov. 28. You can visit the artist and gallery websites for high-quality images of her first-rate work.

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Kellesimone Waits combines beautiful technique with an exploration of gender roles in our society in “Power Plays,” a new exhibition of outstanding paintings currently on display at the Frank Pictures Gallery in Bergamot Station.  Be sure to check out the show before it ends on January 2.

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“”Places Between Here and Here,” an excellent new show by Brendan Monroe at the Richard Heller Gallery, opened Saturday. After the jump are handful of images of his outstanding interplanetary symbiotic cellular creations.

Be sure to check out Monroe’s web site and stop by the gallery in Bergamot Station to check out the work in person.

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Gallery Luisotti at Bergamot Station is currently exhibiting “Buffalo,” a beautiful show of photographs by 99 year-old social documentarian Milton Rogovin. These elegant yet hard-hitting images offer a glimpse into the lives of proud people who often live at the margins of society. Be sure to check out the show before it ends on Oct. 31– and visit Rogovin’s web site for a wealth of images of his work.

Additionally: check out this NY Times story on the man and his photographs.

“Publish or Perish,” work by Kiel Johnson, opens this Saturday evening at Mark Moore Gallery  at Bergamot Station and runs until Nov. 14. Check out this awesome time lapse video of Johnson building a twin-lens reflex camera out of cardboard, hot glue and tape!

Santa Monica Auctions start this Sunday, Oct. 18 at 1 PM and continue all afternoon at Building I at Bergamot Station. Featuring original advertising, urban and illustration art, photography, paintings and more– by artists like Gronk, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Raymond Pettibon, Ed Ruscha, Banksy, David Hockney, Shepard Fairey and Jeff Koons– it’s sure to be quite an event.