Art & Culture

 

 

Nine Plus One

by J C Peters

The Orlando Gallery has put together a wonder mix of art with this months featured show "Nine Plus One." This art group (9 women and 1 man) comes from Palm Springs. They work together but their styles are distinctive and unique. They have from figurative to structural abstract, and water colors to collage still life with a dash of primitive oil painting.

Walking into this exhibit I was pulled in so many different directions. First to catch my eye was Carole Hicks with her 3 women made by layering canvas together making the piece thrust off the wall. Then she mixes painting and collage to give these women another dimension to their quirkly personalities.

Aspects of life in the Springs come to life in Helene Holland's figurative pictures. She depicts a lank woman draped in pool chair. This still figure is painted with such dramatic strokes that it gives you the feeling of great sexual energy in this lounging figure.

The watercolorist Cammie Horton brought to the show more of a light hearted piece with a dinner table that is set up for thanksgiving. The only thing is that a cat is seated right in the middle of all the beautiful glasses and silver. Her technique is wonderful giving the piece a light feel. She seems to make the painting softly glow like when the anger at the cat has past and now you are just laughing looking thought the tears of humor.

This show has something for every taste. The Orlando along with their monthly shows has lots of talented artists in their gallery. They have a very eclectic mix of art and sculpture. Pictures for this show can be seen at www.empken.com/orlando.htm.

The show runs from Feb 2-23; Tues-Sat 10am - 4pm; 18376 Ventura Blvd, Tarzana 818-705-5368.

 

 

Elizabeth Tobias: The End

by Anthony McBride

The End. Websters defines "end" as limit, extremity, fragment, latter part and even death. Award winning film and video artist Elizabeth Tobias defines "end" as possibly the beginning in her newest show "The End (part 1)" which  "premiered" on Feb 1 at Bert Greens' Circle Elephant Art gallery in Hollywood. There were strategically placed searchlights in front of the gallery making it look like a Hollywood premiere but without the red carpet. Inside there were different graphic treatments of those two fateful words: the end. The enhanced photos were pristine and sharp, placing The End in its own new category, right up there with Now Playing, Starring and even Feature Presentation.

ÒThe End (part 1)Ó is a commentary on grand finales, conclusions and the mythos of Hollywood. This performative installation explores the role of outcome in motion picture storytelling. There was a cement block with Elizabeth Tobias' signature and handprints, pulled off with only a thin layer of pretentiousness. In attendance was mid-career progressive artist Christopher Naylor, who, when asked about the show, responded with a simple, "minimilist." Thanks Chris.

Outside the gallery was a trailer that seated about 20 people viewing  a debut screening of E.T.'s 35mm short entitled "Films I Never Made." A loop of, again, different treatments of "The End." Naylor-turned-Fire Marshall was making an artisans-arrest of some bloke with a cigar big enough to choke a horse. Annie McW. and I grabbed him (Naylor) and headed over to the post party at Tangier on Hillhurst. We waited for E.T.'s arrival. At one point we thought we spotted her but it was just the cocktail waitress and the crowd was filing in from the opening but still no sign of E.T., and the D.J. had completely lost sight of his job so we figured E.T. had skipped her own wrap party and found another tighter spot in town. We checked out The Good Luck Bar, but we would have no luck finding E.T. there, or even a drink for that matter. It seemed the packed bar had a first-come first-served policy on drinks, so we were off in search of E.T. once again. Our new driver from bay Limo whisked us to a party at the Key Club, with a cheeseburger at McDonalds on the way. At the drive thru window, who was handing us our bag of artery hardeners but E.T. herself. Or so we thought, but it was just a look-a-like with a smile that was hiding the fact that she was jipping us 1 of the four cheeseburgers we ordered. But we were undaunted in our quesst to find E.T. and the true meaning of her show.

At The Key Club we immediately figured this was the spot to find E.T. After riding the elevator up and down about 5 times, we checked out the bar. It was as humid as a New Jersey summer day, and the zombies of clubland were starting to surround us, so I took out my lighter and forced them to retreat and led a path for my publisher and I to exit. Just as we were making our way out, our jaws dropped - low and behold it was Elizabeth Tobias! So we fumbled for our digital camera and clicked a shot as the lift doors closed on us. Back out on Sunset Blvd our driver carried us in traffic at about 2 miles per hour over the canyon to our sleepy valley and the night was over, and The End had come and gone. But to every end there is a new beginning and that makes The End as infinite as the stars in the sky.

Oh and the picture of Elizabeth Tobias at the club actually turned out to just be the coat check girl..fini.

The End (part 1) runs through Feb 23; Circle Elephant Art is located at 4634 Hollywood Blvd, EHo 323-662-3279 www.ceart.com.

 

 

Local Artist

Roland Hartwell Whether he's touring with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, playing in recording sessions for acts such as Mandy Moore and Dr. Dre, or performing with Cher in the 1994 Superbowl Half-time Show, the Cynic Guru guitarist has strived to find the art hidden in his music.

Now, he's begun finding the art in the musical instrument by designing his own series of stained glass guitars and basses. Taking inspiration from his Japanese heritage, historical Japanese wood cuts and paints provide the subject matter for his stained glass depictions.

Adding sight to the sound, there is no doubt that Hartwell's guitars will garner as much attention as the music he plays on them. When he's not

touring, the LA native and USC alum lives and works in Los Angeles.

www.mp3.com/cynicguru.

 

 

Local Artist

The Artist's Journey Comes Home. Gary Paller is exhibiting his work at the Century City Plaza Twin Towers and Unit D Gallery in NoHo. Using bold colors and geometric forms, Paller's work is as he describes it, a journey into the chaos of the canvas. "I struggle to force myself into areas where I don't know what will happen," he says, "and I must trust that I will be able to find a way out via a path I have not traveled before."

This approach to painting has led him through an evolution in his art. Three years ago, his works featured paint poured into different shapes with changing colorations, relying on color and form to fill the canvas in an intriguing, minimalist way. This evolved into paintings of overlapping shapes using brushed paint to contrast with the poured elements, increasing the complexity of his works.

Now, he his shapes obliterate one another, aggressively denying the easy solutions of his earlier work. "Maybe I will discover something valuable," he says, "a new kind of powerful and beautiful painting." The quality of his work has been recognized in solo exhibits across the United States and Europe, where his work has been featured in Belgium, Holland, the former West Germany and the former Yugoslavia. At Unit D Gallery; see Art Guide for listing. -BC

 

 

Frank Kozik - "Desperate Measures, Empty Pleasures"

by Denise Evangelatos

Enthralling to say the least. Eye candy at its best. I wanted to swim in any one of his pieces and revel in all those vibrant bold colors. His choices in design and theme are visually and emotionally commanding of every inch of the senses. Some are so abrupt they catch you off guard but you'll find yourself thinking about their purpose long after you leave the door. I felt propelled back to the days when various event posters were nailed to phone poles - getting so excited about which place to get tickets for first unaware that the poster in of itself was part of the adventure. Before reaching the event in the back of the store, I found my head spinning at the variety of "things" I could play with, smell, touch and read. What a fun and amazing place. I'm a Los Angeles native and was so thrilled to have made this personal discovery. Whatever tickles your senses you'll find and that makes a great escape from the every day thing. at La Luz de Jesus Gallery; see Art Guide for listing.