This trip to LA offered a plethora of art seen. Given the group exhibitions witnessed, there were several venues that offered lots of content.
The Flower Show at LA Louver (Venice through Sept. 1).
There are 50 artists represented in this exhibition. Flowers have been the subject of artist’s fascination since the first human foray into “art making”. In the Dutch Golden Age, painting flowers came to a peak – but every artist’s flower paintings were slight variations on the theme. In this exhibition we can see how far creative expression has come.! 50 artists demonstrate 50 different ways of portraying flowers. How nice to live in the contemporary age.
Astrid Preston 2008
I bought my first Preston from Joni Gordon of Newspace, LA in 1983. I probably own at least eight of her works (those works are dominantly landscapes). Astrid works in her studio most every day. She is prolific and seemingly driven in her artistic pursuits. She masters every format she engages in.
Jacqueline McBain 1995
Raychase Stine 2021
This painting has dimension. The white foreground flowers are cutout and applied to the painted background. ‘Tis a semi-abstract exuberance.
Don Suggs 2007
Don Suggs (1945-2019) was a creative magician from painting to assemblage. Peter Goulds of LA Louver continues his long sponsorship of Suggs’ creative output. I bought my large Don Suggs painting in 1981 from Mark Quint in his inaugural gallery on La Jolla Blvd. in La Jolla.
Tom Wudl 2015
Another long-time LA Louver artist. Easy to understand why Peter Goulds champions him.
Tony Berlant 2005
There is only one Tony Berlant. He is the one and only, oft imitated; but never equaled.
Hammer (UCLA Hammer Museum) (Westwood)
Chiharu Shiota through Aug. 27
For nearly 30 years the Japanese artist, Chiharu Shiota has used yarn to construct monolithic installations such as the entrance staircase treatment at the Hammer.
Henri de Toulouse Lautrec 1879
Armand Hammer had money and good taste. The artworks he endowed the Hammer Museum with are of unequalled quality. The “new” (meaning remodeled and reconfigured Hammer) has pared down the presented works collected by Armand Hammer to a more intimate collection of masterworks.
Seeing this Lautrec painting I could not escape thinking of San Diego’s now departed Dan Adams.
Gustave Moreau 1878
Sharon and I returned from the UK at the very end of May. I was looking forward to going to the Walker Museum in Liverpool. They have a terrific collection of Pre-Raphaelite masterworks. Alas due to remodeling, etc. their masterworks were stored away. This is the sort of masterwork I was looking for.
John Singer Sargent 1881
Sargent is considered an American painter – though he spent most of his professional time in London. My favorite Sargent – “Dr. Pozzi at Home.”
Llyn Foulkes 1985
The most interesting contemporary exhibition on view is called “Together in Time”. It is the largest presentation of the Hammer’s Contemporary Collection in the institution’s history (69 works on view).
Mark Bradford 2007
Chase Hall 2021
Christopher Hartman at Blum & Poe (Culver City through Aug. 12).
London-based Hartman’s paintings are enigmatic and disorienting. Quoting the press release: “The construction of the painting itself mimics the layering processes of photo-editing software, with the built-up application of artificial color tones recalling the alienating luminosity of digital screens.”
Acaye Kerunen at Blum & Poe (Culver City through Aug. 12).
This is the first US exhibition of this Ugandan artist. She received great admiration at the 2022 Venice Biennale. Her works are woven and stitched materials (palm leaves, banana rind, raffia) sourced from the Ugandan wetlands. What starts as indigenous craft becomes beautiful sculptural “fantasias”. This exhibition is as mesmerizing as it is engaging.
Billy Al Bengston at Various Small Fires (Hollywood through July 29).
Bengston (who died in 2022 at the age of 88) is another titan of SoCal/Hawaiian art. This exhibition is a “sorta memorial” exhibition of his works. The 1971 “dento” I owned I sold to Alan Koppel (Chicago dealer) in 2007.
Silke Otto-Knapp at Regen Projects (Hollywood through Aug. 12).
Otto-Knapp (1970-2022) was a distinguished professor of painting and drawing at UCLA. The work that I most respond to are simplified graphic renditions of romantic landscape (that reminds me of work by the late Ernest Silva (1948-2014) (professor of art at UCSD)).
Martha Alf at Michael Kohn (Hollywood through Aug. 5).
Martha Alf (1930-2019) was always referred to as a San Diego artist. That did not make sense to me as after her toilet paper paintings she lived and worked in LA. I still own one of her very earliest (and best) drawings of pears from 1978. It was my second art purchase (after Robert Bechtle) when I was 28 years old. I will always recall sitting in my living room while Martha explained to me why she was SoCal’s “most significant artist”. I include a photo of that piece at the end of this presentation.
Faith Ringgold at Jeffrey Deitch (Hollywood through Aug. 12).
This expansive exhibition spans the artists work from the 1960s to the present. Quoting the press release: “The artworks in the exhibition weave together autobiographic details, fictional accounts and historic events into ambitious narratives that speak to universal truths of the human condition.”
Her tankas which incorporate the written word with figurative paintings are particularly poignant.
Judith Baca at Jeffrey Deitch (Hollywood through Aug. 12).
The exhibition brings together source material used in the production of the “Great Wall of Los Angeles”. The half-mile long mural lines the Tujunga Wash and tells the story of multi-cultural Los Angeles. From the press release: “She founded the first City of Los Angeles Mural Program in 1974, which evolved into a community arts organization known as the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC). Today, while continuing to serve SPARC as artistic director, Baca is one of the most celebrated Chicana artists, a world-renowned muralist, social activist and UCLA Professor Emeritus.”
Peter Shire at Jeffrey Deitch (Hollywood through Aug. 12).
Deitch has expanded his exhibition opportunities with the addition of a small exhibition space at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Orange Drive. Currently there is a group ceramic exhibition. Peter Shire is another SoCal artist who has no equal.
Julien Nguyen at Matthew Marks (Hollywood through Aug. 12).
Nguyen is a LA artist not seen in exhibition in seven years. His work incorporates both Renaissance and Japanese techniques that “become complementary and reconfigured.” His work becomes surreal as a result.
Thomas J Price at Hauser Wirth (DTLA through Aug. 20).
Price is British and enjoying significant critical acclaim in Europe. His black patinaed figures are painted bronze and 12 feet tall. The small heads are acrylic and table top size.
Michael Todd at Royale Projects (DTLA through July 15).
When I was an undergraduate (1968-72) at UCSD I was a dual major in biology and art. I spent an inordinate amount of time in the art studio under the tutelage of Michael Todd. Thanks to Newton Harrison I realized I would never become a first-tier artist so I went to medical school. Todd’s spray paintings (1969-71) predate his continuing evolution as one of SoCal’s preeminent sculptors.
Erik Olson at Luis de Jesus (DTLA through Aug. 5).
Erik Olsen is a Calgary artist. I had the good fortune to speak with him in the gallery. It is impressive that Peter Doig offered Erik a 2016 “apprenticeship” at the Kunstakademie in Dusseldorf. I had the extreme good fortune to see Doig’s current exhibition of 12 paintings at the Courtauld Gallery in London this last May (a peak experience). Yup, I can see Doig’s influence.
Karla Klarin at Vielmetter (DTLA closing).
I bought a Karla Klarin painting from Karl Bornstein in 1985. It was a stylized view of west Los Angeles. At the time she was being considered for LACMA’s Young Talent Award. Her exhibition history is sparse – last seen at Cal State Northridge in 2016. This exhibition abstractly continues her interest in the Los Angeles landscape.
Kwesi Botchway
Perpetual Portrait at Vielmetter (DTLA through Aug. 18).
“The Perpetual Portrait” features work by 30 artists.
John Sonsini 2023
I first saw John Sonsini’s work at Joni Gordon’s Newspace Gallery in 1982. I then bought his exquisite portrait of Gabriel (John’s life partner) from his inaugural ACME exhibition in 2000. Gabriel recurrently figures in John’s paintings.
Colleen Sterritt 2023
O Horizon Art of the Forest Floor at Descanso Gardens (La Canada Flintridge through Aug. 27).
The Sturt Haaga Gallery presents 15 artists whose work explores the parasitological ecosystem of the forest floor. Regardless of this exhibition’s premise, the works by Sterritt, Mallinson, and Leachman are what demanded I see this exhibition. These women deserve far more presence in our art ecosystem.
Constance Mallinson 2023
Kristin Leachman 2023
Tiger Rocha at Steve Turner (Hollywood through Aug. 5).
Last year I saw two Rocha paintings in a group show at this gallery. I was so intrigued that this exhibition was a big driver for this July trip to LA. This is his first solo exhibition. A biracial, queer artist living in New York his paintings convey a sense of the “other”. Rocha displays the powerfully potent existence of otherness.
As must be evident in this July missive I have been a voracious collector of Southern California art for 40 years. To see these current LA exhibitions is a trip down memory lane for me. I no longer buy art since I have a huge collection that needs to be “placed” before I die. That will be a prodigious process. If you are interested in “shopping” – come on by.
Get out, look at art; have fun.
Doug Simay July 2023
Martha Alf 1978 (Simay Collection)
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