This month, contemporary art website thecreativelives.com adds a new documentary series to its informative offerings. A feature on  San Diego painter Kelsey Brookes, available now, will launch the series, while future presentations will explore the work of Mark Dean Veca, Megan Whitmarsh, Porous Walker, Barry McGee, and more.

For his first solo exhibition at Quint Contemporary Art, Kelsey Brookes has created a body of work that elegantly combines the human form with abstract shapes and text. In “BIGGER, BRIGHTER, BOLDER” there is a “loosening” of the female figure that creates a double sided experience for the viewer. From far away the figure seems to blend into the bursts of color and patterns in its surroundings. But up close you can see the full effect of the subject’s activity within the work.

Check out the show, which opens on November 20th, from 6-8 pm.  As a special treat the opening will also feature performances from Lion Cut and The Dabbers. And be sure to take a look at Brookes’ site and more images of his work after the jump.

Quint Contemporary Art
Friday, Nov. 20th
7739 Fay Avenue
La Jolla, CA 92038
858.454.3421

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Yoskay Yamamoto on Vimeo

A new interview with Yoskay Yamamoto was just posted as part of Scion’s Installation Tour – currently in LA. You can bid on Yoskay’s painting, which is being auctioned off for charity along with all the other artists.  The auction is online at artnet .

There are some other great works from artists like Blek le Rat, Tessar Lo, Souther Salazar, Retna, Ron English, Kelsey Brookes and Jeff Soto. Make sure to attend the final show at the Scion Gallery through September 30th.

Our friend Kelsey Brookes just released a great print set to his website. A matching pair of 9 color screenprints are a great set titled “Sink” and “Swim.” For only $180 you can get the pair right here.

Kelsey also has some shows coming up, but stay tuned and we will give you the heads up on those as well.

After a busy day at artLA, we headed to the 15th Anniversary Show at New Image Art. A big congratulations to Marsea for building a great program over a decade and a half! The gallery actually rented out the adjoining space for the show, as Cleon Peterson had his show up next door in the actual gallery.

Met up with neighbors Kinsey and Jana of Kinsey/DesForges, and was able to catch up with a bunch of artists that had put work into the huge group show. The lighting was a bit rough…so don’t be too upset with my off color photos. The gallery was packed quickly with artists, collectors, hipsters and people wishing Marsea well. With artists like Barry McGee, Clare Rojas, Faile, Shepard Fairey, Neckface, The Clayton Brothers, Kelsey Brookes, and many more on the walls…

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Lots of art this weekend in LA.

First and foremost are the two big art Fairs – artLA and the LA Art Show happening in downtown and Santa Monica. Check the earlier post about the shows for details.

Also opening:

Joey Remmers + Devin Crane
Sat, Jan. 24th 7-10PM
Corey Helford Gallery
8522 Washington Blvd in Culver City

“15th Anniversary Show”
Sat, Jan. 24th 7-10PM
New Image Art
7908 Santa Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles
New work from Faile, Bast, Jeff Soto, Judith Supine, Deanna Templeton, Megan Whitmarsh, Antonio Diaz, Rich Jacobs, Skullphone, Caroline Hwang, Neck Face, Jamie Williams, The Date Farmers, Kelsey Brookes, Jo Jackson, Anthony Lister, Cleon Peterson, and David Ellis.

Kelsey Brookes opened his first USA solo last night (11.1.08) to a packed house @ New Image Art on Santa Monica Blvd. Brookes’s new work increases the sense of awe and wonder found in his signature style with a “loosening” of the rendering  – where once the female forms had sharply defined contours and rendered details, they are now symbolic canvases for his seemingly limitless constellation of brightly colored micro scenes and characters.  This is art that you can stare at for hours – from a far the small characters, shapes and patterns read as a more or less abstract swirl of color.  Up close, the smiley faces and characters engaged in all sorts of activity reward the careful viewer with a clear sense of joy.

This large body of new  paintings features two particularly notable large round disc-like pieces.  Placed side by side near the gallery entrance, these pieces rotate continuously – a fitting display for Brookes’s work which encourages prolonged viewing from multiple angles – both physical and perceptual.

The two large installations and the additional decorative flourishes added to the gallery make this show a definite must-see.  An elaborate white wooden shrine in the main room features a  mildly grotesque skeletal creature with an animal skull suspended with ornamental yarn charms. Candles flicker at the base of the shrine amid scattered petals obscure a very abstract painted form.

Towards the back of the gallery there’s a towering white fur creature with a circular spoke yarn pattern piece which evokes native american imagery.  In contrast to the almost chilling vibe of the large shrine piece, this installation conveys a serene and perhaps cheerful mood.

Between the two installations, lies the gallery’s side alcove which has been covered completely from floor to ceiling in tapestries.   The white wood ornamental piece framing the top of the entrance ties back aesthetically to the front shrine.

In addition to Kelsey’s art, live music rounded out the opening reception. Artichoke Heart Soúffle kicked off the evening and was followed  towards the end of the evening by  Glasser whose performance included interpretative dance.  Beautiful vocals and clever choreography made for an entertaining interlude.

If you’re a fan or collector of Kelsey Brookes, this is a must-see show.  If you’re not familiar with his work, now is an excellent time to get acquainted.  We’re pretty sure you’ll be seeing plenty more from Mr. Brookes. The show runs until December 3rd.

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

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New Image Art has released new info and work-in-progress pics (after the jump) for Kelsey Brookes’s I Love Your Bones solo which we blogged about earlier this week.  For his first US solo, Brookes presents a large body of new work focusing on spirituality broadly and specifically the enigmatic nature of creation.  Evenfrom these high-resolution JPEGs, the scale and raw energy of this work is plainly obvious and rather impressive.  In his own words Brookes explains the process of discovery behind the show which opens on November 1st (7-10 PM).

“Everything in the universe comes from something more fundamental than it self, united with accident and out of this union creation and novelty are born.

Conscientious has 2 states of being in this world, aware and unaware.  Awareness is the state you are in at the moment if you are reading this, unaware is what you were before and what you will be after you are aware.  These paintings represent the only exception to that rule. Creation exists beyond the scope of physical parameters and universal constants, unseen by tangibility and rationality. A place where rules are fluid and dynamic, forever changing in accordance to the unknown. These paintings are a product of this place, this limbo between 2 worlds. When I close my eyes and travel to this place these paintings are what I see.

I hope that what is brought back might help keep the world lively and help add to the flexibility that it needs to endure.”

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

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Kelsey Brookes took an unusual path to his art career with a detour as a biochemist. His arresting vibrantly rainbow-hued paintings combine beautiful women, wild animals, quilt patterns and reglious symbols.  Brookes will present a new body of work for his new solo opening on Saturday November 1st @ New Image Art.  Going by the flier image , Kelsey continues to add layers to his style – the once well-defined female forms are becoming loose containers for a free-flowing constellation of intricate smaller images.  We’re curious to see if more abstract rather than figurative approach will carry over throughout the new work.

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