Manifest Equality gallery, opening its doors on March 3rd through the 7th in Los Angeles,  harnesses  the power, vision and voices of 100+ artists in an effort to seek full and equal rights for Gay (LGBT) individuals and all Americans.  This large, high-profile group show features work from a diverse array of artists including Ron English, Robbie Conal, Harvey Pekar, Shepard Fairey,  Swoon, Amanda Visell, Tristan Eaton, Tim Biskup, Gary Baseman, Jude Buffum, Joe Ledbetter, Buff Monster, Barry McGee and many, many more. The timely and heartfelt show is meant to inspire viewers to participate in the grassroots movement seeking political reform that ensures equal rights regardless of sexual orientation.

Here’s a quick preview of some of the work that will be on display at the gallery.  Be sure to catch the opening night party this coming Wednesday, March 3rd (8 PM – 1 AM). The full schedule is available after the jump.

Manifest Equality
1341 Vine Street
Los Angeles, CA 90028-8141

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LA painter Joe Ledbetter has crossed the Atlantic for the start of his 5-country Amalgamation Tour of Europe.  Stop #1 is this Saturday (10.10) at London Miles in Notting Hill.  Be sure to follow Joe’s blog on Dailydujour for pics and info from the tour.

London Miles Gallery
212 Kensington Park Road
Notting Hill, W11 1NR
London, UK
(44) 020.7727.4447

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2009

LA artist Joe Ledbetter is about to go see Europe and he’s bringing toys and art with him.  His Amalgamation Tour in October/November will be making stops in London, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome and Istanbul.  Each stop will feature a specific art exhibition  with paintings, prints and more for that city.  The tour is also the only place to get the special Europe edition of his upcoming Terror and Magnus art toy.  Check out Joe’s guest blog right here on Dailydujour for the full details.

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.

If you’ve been reading Joe Ledbetter’s guest blog here at Dailydujour you know that he’s been working hard on his upcoming Death and Taxes solo which opens on Saturday, June 6th @ Copro Gallery in Santa Monica.   Since we’re always looking to bring you closer to the action, we recently visited Joe at his brand-new studio space in downtown LA to get a look at several completed pieces as well several more in progress.

Upon entering the studio, we noticed that Joe had hung all of  his completed pieces on the large main wall of the studio.  He explained that this allowed him to get a good sense of how the show pieces were progressing collectively and also served as a way to think about how they should be hung in the gallery.  The new studio is paying dividends already as this is the first time he’s had the space to do this.

While several of the new paintings address the trying times we face, others offer an escape into a world ruled by Mr. Bunny and his compatriots.  A few pieces caught our eyes in terms of the approach including a mixed-media piece as well as a pair  of  ying-yang style paintings.  Since there are about two weeks until the show opening, we’re going to let our preview efforts unfold over time.  Enjoy this first of several looks at both Joe’s studio and his new Death and Taxes paintings.

Copro Gallery
Bergamot Station
7525 Michigan Ave T5
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310.829.2156

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Joe Ledbetter has just released his new ‘Mexico’ print, fittingly on Cinco De Mayo.  His interpretation of the Mexican Flag measures 11” x 14”, is limited to 100 signed and numbered pieces, and retails for $75. It’s available directly from Ledbetter’s online shop.

Last Gasp will soon release Joe Ledbetter’s first art book, Creatures of Habbit.  This hardcover volume collects the LA artist’s original paintings through the end of 2008 over 186 full-color pages.  Head on over to Joe Ledbetter’s blog right here at Dailydujour for a nice sneak preview of the book.

Joe Ledbetter will contemplate life’s ever-present hurdles with his Death and Taxes solo opening on Saturday, June 6th @ Copro Gallery.  Here’s a look at a painting in-progress from his blog right here on Dailydujour.

Kris Kuksi and Greg Simkins

This past Saturday evening, Hi-Fructose magazine presented their third annual group show, Overdose, at Copro Gallery in Santa Monica. Dailydujour had the pleasure of taking in the opening – here’s our belated show coverage including plenty of photos.  Offering a vivid and broad overview of low brow, pop surrealist, and new contemporary art the show featured some of the most exciting talents working today including Greg ‘Craola’ Simkins (above), KMNDZ, Chris Berens, Kris Kuksi (above),  Josh Keyes,  Yosuke Ueno, Naoto Hattori, Yoskay Yamamoto, Eric Fortune, Bob Dob, and more.

The evening also served as a release party/signing for the Hi-Fructose Collected Edition box set which includes 5 art prints.  Several artists were on-hand to sign for collectors including Brandi Milne, Greg Simkins, Joe Ledbetter, and photographer extradordinaire Brian McCarty.

Overdose runs through April 25th – if you can check it out in person, if not there’s always the complete online preview.

Fun show in Portland tomorrow night with DD contributors Joe Ledbetter, Amanda Visell along with Michelle Valigura and Anna Chambers. Grass Hut, operated by Bwana Spoons seems to always be putting on some entertaining shows, just too bad its up in the Northwest.

Keep an eye on Amanda and Joe’s guest blogs here on DD for more coverage.

Grass Hut
“The Squirrel’s Made me do It”
Friday April 9th, 6-9pm
811 East Burnside, Portland OR

Just want to keep reminding everyone that our guest bloggers have been getting pretty active. Check out newly added Annie Adjchavanich with her recent posts on Natalia Fabia’s recent opening. Another gallerist (and main DD editor) Beau Basse has been putting posts on his guest site as well.

Artists Joe Ledbetter and Amanda Visell have also added recent posts, so make sure to check everyone out!

Edwin Ushiro

Atticus BCN in conjunction with Dailydujour will present the Nobody Walks in LA group show opening on Friday, January 23rd 2009 @ the Masters Gallery in Barcelona, Spain.  As you might guess by the name, the show features LA area painters exclusively.  Rather than simply a catchy pop culture reference the title refers to to the stereotypical idea that Los Angeles residents are all the same – when the reality is that Los Angeles has become one of the most diverse cities and cultural melting pots in the world. The artists in the show represent that melding of culture and styles with everything from urban street to abstract expressionism. Artists in the show are both LA natives and transplants.

Dailydujour was pleased to curate the show which includes an exciting selection  of local artists including:

• Amanda Visell, David Flores, Derek Albeck, Edwin Ushiro (above), Jack Long, Jeremy Lynch, Joe Ledbetter, Joshua Petker, Ken Garduno, KMNDZ, Mike Bilz, Mike Shinoda, Nate Frizzell, Nathan Ota, Nick Yarger, Patrick Haemmerlein, Randy Noborikawa, Scott Belcastro, Steven Daily, Tessar Lo, Tiffany Liu, Tom Haubrick and Yoskay Yamamoto.

For more info about the show check out the official show blog @  http://www.nobodywalksinla2009.blogspot.com/ which includes a full preview.  Thank you to all the artists who participated – the show is step one in our goal of making Dailydujour a living, breathing part of the art community both online and off.  We’ll have full coverage of the opening shortly after it goes down.

Opening reception: Friday / Viernes January 23, 2009
6-8pm FRESS / 8-12PM PUBLIC
Calle Johann Sebastian Bach 14, Barcelona Spain.
BARCELONA, SPAIN

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