In LA, we’re bombarded by visual stimulation on the regular, and not always by choice. Our drive to work is filled with billboards of that new show show on HBO and our social media feed is packed with pictures of our friends’ kale salads. So why not take a break from the daily image overload, and treat yourself to viewing some thought provoking creativity? Take a look at our picks for local gallery openings below or digitally flip through our choices in the e-issue:
May 1st – June 20th
Opening Reception: Friday, May 1st, 5 – 7 pm
This exhibition features Grotjahn’s traditional, large-scale paintings that draw from both modernist abstraction and pop culture. Reinterpreting perspective as skewed logic, Grotjahn’s canvases often incorporate two vanishing points in close proximity, creating a deception of space. Applied in thick impasto, Grotjahn’s use of texture and traces of under-painting create subtly shifting tones for an effect at once elusive and concrete.
Drawing in LA: The 1960s and 70s | LACMA
May 10th – August 2nd
Culled from LACMA’s permanent collection and select local holdings, Drawing in LA: The 1960s and 70s features work by nearly 50 artists working in a wide variety of styles and media. The drawings range in technique from charcoal and ink to collage and xerography, and encompass realism, conceptual drawing, and abstraction. The exhibition provides a unique opportunity to see the broad scope of work being made in Los Angeles during an exciting time in the city’s artistic history.
May 22nd – July 3rd
Opening Reception: Friday, May 22nd, 6 – 8 pm
Fowler’s work is varied, encompassing everything from letterpress posters and large-scale public billboard messages to intimate portraits that investigate gender, identity, and lesbian subculture. Unadorned and unfettered by compositional conformity, Fowler’s work demands attention, encouraging the viewer to pause and contemplate space, existence, and destiny.
May 30th– July 11th
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 30th, 6 pm
Neel layers gestural and sometimes violent brushstrokes in an abstract fashion as she explores the implications of decomposition and decay. Of ten utilizing found material for her paintings, Neel draws inspiration from a wide range of sources, prompting viewers to delve deep into her dark, multi-faceted pieces.
Johanna Breiding | Epitaph to Family Human Resources LA
June 20th– July 19th
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 20th, 7 pm
Breiding’s practice deals with issues of identity, loss, cross-culturalism, and environmental change. Her new exhibition, Epitaph to Family, is an ongoing project that addresses memory, entropy, and the death of analog photography via the historical and environmental significance of small town Keeler, Califor
nia. Breiding’s photographs recall the past while simultaneously creating a fantastical archive of the present. The result is a visual tribute to places that have already been forgotten.
June 13th – July 11th
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 13th, 7 pm
Basher’s large-scale canvases boast bold stripes and gradients, elements that produce complex optical illusions and transform a tour of the gallery space into an intriguing, somewhat mind-bending experience. His slick, bright, geometrically inclined works dissolve the boundary between art and artifice, investigating today’s culture of consumerism and its effect on our environment.
