LGT! presents: LA n CV @ Coachella Valley Art Center

I have two pieces in this show at Coachella Valley Art Center. The opening is this Saturday, February 15th from 6-9pm.  The gallery is located at 45140 Towne Street, Indio, California 92201.  Lots of street parking available, in addition to two lots.  The Press release is below:

LA N CV Art Exhibit

The Coachella Valley Art Center and LGT! curatorial present LA n CV, a survey show of Los Angeles area artists including  painting, sculpture, photography,  mixed media, drawing,  video, and performance, curated by Mike McLain.   The reception will be held Saturday, February 15^th from 6-9pm, with a closing reception on Sunday, February 23^rd from 1-4pm.  Both receptions will feature performances by Takeshi Kanemura.

The show will run from February 6^th- 28^th, with gallery hours by appointment only.  Admission to the Coachella Valley Art Center and this exhibit is free and open to the public.  Please call (760) 799-4364 to schedule a visit.

This is part one of a two part survey that explores the relationships between artists making work in the desert terrain of the Coachella Valley and the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles’ cityscape.   LA n CV will exhibit Angelinos at Coachella Valley Art Center and CV n LA will exhibit desert artists in the city (TBD).  The show dates were specifically chosen to correspond with the Palm Springs Art Fair and Modernism Week events, both of which cause an influx of the LA Art Scene to the desert.    For more information, please visit www.facebook.com/LGTart/events

Artists include:

Shiva Aliabadi, Tania Jazz Alvarez, David Arenas, Jacqueline Bell Johnson, the California Poppy Collective, Janine Cortez Ker, Matthew Carter, Jacob Fowler, Kristin Frost, Dion Johnson, Takeshi Kanemura, Virginia Katz, Aragna Ker, Mihyang Kim, Zach Kleyn, Marion Lane, Alan Marx, Dan Taulapapa McMullin, Kathleen Melian, Thinh Nguyen, Hung Viet Nguyen, Max Presneill, Ranwakaba, Yoshie Sakai, Conchi Sanford, Kevin Scianni, Nicolas Shake, Hiroshi Shimizu, Curtis Stage, Dai Toyofuku, Nano Rubio

About the Curator:

Mike McLain is an artist and curator who has worked all over Southern California, since receiving his MFA from Claremont Graduate University in 2010.  Of recent note is his curation of Paint Can, which exhibited in the Pomona Packing Plant in 2012.  His studio is currently housed at the Coachella Valley Art Center and he resides in Palm Springs.

www.mikemclainart.com

About the Venue:

Coachella Valley Art Center is a newly established art resource in downtown Indio.  Featuring ample gallery space, rentable studios, a classroom, plus a small theatre, the CVAC is set to support the artistic community of the valley.

http://www.coachellavalleyartcenter.com/

About LGT!:

LGT! is a Southern California Arts Organization pulling from the resources of its individual members to create exhibitions, collaborations, and alternative presentations of art in the LA Metro Area.  

https://www.facebook.com/LGTArt

Deflated/Defeated Hatchfund Project

http://www.hatchfund.org/project/deflated_defeated

Entrance to Human Resources

My next endeavor will be to create a huge (read:entire gallery) installation at Human Resources.  They are a gallery known for performance art, and even as a music venue.  I was invited to do an installation piece as a collaboration with Dorian Wood.  He will be performing there with an orchestra from the 20-25 of March.  

 

Dorian and Orchestra Performing

My work will serve several functions including helping with acoustics (eliminating the echo) and transforming the white cube that is the gallery space into an environment that goes along with the themes of his performance.  The audience will be free to roam through the space at will.  I consider this really interesting, because the viewer can dictate their experience of both the music and the visuals.  

Sketch of project idea (over a photo of the gallery).

Sound interesting?  In order to make this piece I have launched a Hatchfund to help raise money for the project.  Please considering supporting this project or sharing the link with your social networks.  Here's the link:

http://www.hatchfund.org/project/deflated_defeated

Macquette superimposed over photo of gallery space.

Holiday Sale at Palos Verdes Art Center

Hi Folks, I will be participating in this event at the PVAC.  I will be selling some small scale ceramic sculptures, other ceramics items, and a lot of handmade jewelry in gold, silver, copper and lots of gemstones and vintage buttons.  Support your local artists and see some amazing art items!

Crit Session Part 2

Jennifer Frias Project Crit Sessions happened a couple of weeks ago, a project of which I was a part of.  The project is basically this: have a group of non-art people (people who have not studied art in depth, do not know art history, and do not speak "art speak") to critique, at length, art pieces.  The artists get to witness the critique (I took lots of notes myself) but are not allowed to respond until the end.  She has done this project with Cal State Fullerton students, and several other local (So. Cal) schools' MFA programs.  Part of what is going on is "an interrogation of the Institution" that institution being art school, as well as the lessor acknowledged hierarchies and unspoken laws that make the art world inaccessible by most.

Me photographing the whole room.  The critique is currently of Takeshi Kanemura's performance piece.  (He is standing with on the right.)

It is also bridging the gap between the artist and the viewer as the artist getting to see and hear the conversation, and in this case the non-art-professional's response to the work.  Sometimes we artists are so wrapped up in the art world that we fail to see the big picture, and the big references because we are only focusing on the ones that pertain to art.

This is a pic from the previous round.  It took place at my studio at CGU, right before I moved out after graduation.)

Jennifer records the critique and takes pictures, which then get compiled into an exhibition.  This crit session included two other students from Claremont Graduate University (CGU).  She has been showing the results at spaces close to where the school is, as a way to reference the locality that each institution has.  (i.e.: CGU as an institution will praise and condone certain things based on the value system of that school.)

An example of Henrique Oliveira's work.

This is part two because the recordings from part one unfortunately were not usable.  So I made a new piece and we had new people come and talk about it.  I had been dying to play with a method of construction that I saw artist Henrique Oliveira use.  He makes these large scale forms out of wood, making a frame out of PVC and then layering thin veneers on to to get organic curvy shapes.  I didn't go quite that far, but I wanted to play with the PVC frames with the wood.  I have these thin slat pieces left over from another project that would work perfectly, so I set out to try a new construction.

My piece for the crit.

The piece kind of grew on its own, and control fell whim to the material.  I wanted to reference the figure along with modernist minimalism.  I thought it was funny to make forms that in minimalism are simple and to make them wholly complicated by ways of construction and the resulting surface.

The critique was really good.  The thing I can remember most (without checking my notes) was a conversation they had about the possible gender of the sculpture.  BINGO!  While I don't nessecarily agree that I should be considered feminist because I'm a woman using "masculine" materials (Wood, metal, hardware, plastic) -it perpetuates a stereotype of those materials being masculine.  However I align with the postmodern concept of truth:  truth is perspective.  And my perspective is a combination of what I learned from my father and what I learned from my mother.  My mom taught me all kinds of crafts, and then later I was in girl scouts and learned even more.  My father does construction, and a lot of that he did where I could watch, and later help with.  I'm interested in this overall handiness as a way for me to create forms with a certain confidence in the reality of that object because of its construction.  I feel that the end result is quite balanced in that there is not a smooth blend of both, but that both sides meet up in tension.

Curator Jennifer Frias is in maroon sitting down and artist Takeshi Kanemura is leaning against the wall in the back.

So LGT! has really started to take off.  I have found that it is amazing what can be accomplished when you reach out to people and are not afraid to ask for a little help.  A few words about our next Exhibit:

Nothing Heavy
This group show will be one night only at the Pomona Packing Plant during the Second Saturday Pomona Art Walk. 

Curated by Mario Vasquez

Artists:
Jocelyn Grau
Dion Johnson
Liz Nurenberg
Atilio Pernisco
Tamarind Rossetti
Lisa Talbot
Andrew K. Thompson
Kim Zsebe

Pomona Packing Plant
560 East Commercial Street, Pomona, California 91767
September 14th from 4-10pm.

Please visit the event listing on Facebook for more details and updates.

https://www.facebook.com/LGTArt/events

Teaching Classes at Palos Verdes Art Center

I will be teaching 3 classes this coming fall season (2013) at Palos Verdes Art Center.

Sculpture: Plaster Carving

Carving is one of the oldest methods of making works of sculpture.  As a technique it can be applied to stone, wood, wax, plastic and even ice.  But a great way to learn this skill is through carving plaster.  In this class we will learn how to mix and cast plaster, and translate clay maquettes into plaster carvings using the traditional hammer and chisel method, apply texture. 
 

Student Example of plaster carving

Metalsmithing: Jewelry Basics

Introduction to working with precious metals to make jewelry.  Skills taught include soldering, hammering, sawing, and bezel setting a stone.  The class is designed to keep everything simple, demonstrating how to set up a small worktable at your home, with little investment. Supplies discussed at first class meeting.

Portfolio Preparation Studio

This class is intended for those wishing to build a portfolio for college admission that reflects not only the student's skill but their ideas.  We will start with basic art skills such as drawing and explore content and new techniques that can enhance the work.  Through discussion, we will also expand the students' knowledge of contemporary art and artists, which they can use to draw inspiration from.  There will be a new project each week.

If you are interested in taking a class, or would like more information about the PVAC please visit their website:

http://www.pvartcenter.org/education.htm


or their facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Palos-Verdes-Art-Center/110500642318527

tried to nap on a cloud but fell to the ground

I am curating a show that will be up for two weeks starting Friday July 5th 2013.  
Details below:

LGT! presents:
tried to nap on a cloud but i fell to the ground
at Groundspace Project.
Curated by Jacqueline Bell Johnson
An exhibit featuring:
Katie Grip
Stephanie Meredith
Dan Taulapapa McMullin



The show is running july 5-14 (gallery hours are fridays and Saturdays from 1-6, or by appointment.)
The reception will be held July 13th from 6-9pm with a preview of Plastic Sunshine.

You can find the place at: 1427 E. 4th Street, #4, Los Angeles, CA 90033
It the project space off of the main gallery at Groundspace Project gallery.
To find out more about Groundspace Project check out their website:
http://groundspaceproject.wordpress.com/
For more info on this show, LGT!, and upcoming shows please visit facebook.com/LGTArt

Thanks,

Jackie