Sour Harvest

Just got back from the opening reception of the big ‘SÃO PAULO’ show @ Scion over in Culver City. What a turn out, the place was just packed and the artists were so jazzed, and interacting with everyone and really have an awesome time. Big props to Eduardo and Baixo from Choque Cultural and the Scion crew for an amazing show. One of their best in some time for sure.

The East Hollywood Neighborhood Council and East Hollywood Arts and Culture Committee announce the first-ever ArtCycle, an event designed to showcase the emerging art and bicycling cultures in East Hollywood. From 2-10 p.m., artists will take over the street at Heliotrope and Melrose, the hip hub of the East Hollywood art and bicycle scene. More than a dozen galleries, theatres, creative venues and artist live/work spaces will open themselves up to the neighborhood for a celebration of everything East Hollywood. Hop on a bike to take a tour of some of East Hollywood’s finest galleries, like Synchronicity, Thinkspace and Junc. See a show at Sacred Fools or the Fake Gallery, or just browse among the dozens of artists and performers displaying their creations at the street fair at Heliotrope and Melrose. There’ll be plenty of food and live entertainment, including the exotic salsa dancers of Salsarologo, the hypnotic sounds of Telematique, and the gypsy jazz phenomenon of KillSonic. Be sure to bring and old t-shirt for a BYO silk screen and don’t forget the kids as there will be face painting and much more for the whole family to enjoy and take part in.

Artist Michael Pukac (above) will be on hand at Thinkspace painting live out front the gallery from roughly 2-6PM, so be sure to ride on by and check that out… he’s amazing to watch and he really has a nice flair for painting live.

Amy Crehore‘s Dreamgirls & Ukes

+ Anthony Clarkson‘s The Silent Treatment

More information is available at www.easthollywoodArtCycle.com

To see all the ‘recommended openings this weekend’, scroll down the page here a bit or just click here. So many great shows this weekend (again)!!!

Drove out to Monterey Park this evening to the campus of East Los Angeles College to search out the Vincent Price Museum…

As we were there to take in Twilight: A Solo Show by Rebekah Bogard. This installation marks the first solo museum showing in California for this Nevada based artist. Twilight runs in conjunction with her show at the Sam Lee Gallery in Chinatown, Flesh + Bone. Both shows really illustrate why Bogard is so highly regarded in the world of sculpture.

Nevada-based artist Rebeka Bogard is a ceramicist who creates immersive environments of colorful, playful – and at times disturbing – scens of imaginary creatures enveloped in abundant flora and fauna. Each one of Bogard’s figures is a handcrafted earthenware object, finished with acrylic, underglazes, and glazes. Her figurative representations may appear endaring at first, yet upon closer inspection we recognize traits that are associated with the human species more than with the animal variety. While as a material ceramics ae often relegated to the applied, or lesser arts, Bogard’s immersive “non-functional” landscapes ground this work in a contemporary domain where issues of sexuality, gender, and role-playing are explored.

Was over in Culver City today and swung through the Scion spot to get a lil’ advance look at the big SÃO PAULO exhibition that we have already previewed here a couple times. The group show has been curated by Choque Cultural Gallery out of Brazil and features fellow Brazilian artists Carlos Dias, MZK, Ramon Martins, Silvana Mello, Speto, Titi Freak and Zezão…

By far the showstopper, Titi Freak‘s huge piece (pictured above with the artist) is just beautiful and hits you the moment you walk through the door. He was still busy putting some finishing touches on the surrounding wall mural/install when we swung through (close up below)…

Lil’ glimpse at the progress of Zezão‘s collaborative wall mural with Speto… the two were very busy putting the finishing touchs on the mural and preparing to hang their works for the show. Zezão‘s new pieces are by far the best and most creative I’ve seen yet from him. You’ll have to wait until the opening to see ‘em, but they incorporate miniature manhole covers, bits of old brick walls from model train kits… just really creative pieces.

Speto (seen above) putting the finishing touches on his big piece for the show, before getting to installing it over the mural he just completed with Zezão (see below)…

Calma will be signing copies of his new book, Calma: The Art of Stephan Doitschinoff as well as screening Temporal, the short documentary film about Doitschinoff’s work, prior to the opening reception this Sat, February 28th from 6-7pm… this was just announced, so be sure to get by early if you have the chance.

Choque Cultural‘s latest find, Ramon Martins, seen above (on the left) working away on his mural, alongside artist Carlos Dias (on the right)…

Ramon Martins applying the finishing touches to his background mural… his work is really striking with a vibrant color palette that pulls you in as soon as you see the work.

Out and about today on some errands and noticed Mr. Brainwash had updated the wall of his studio on La Brea Ave with a huge homage to the one and only Jackson Pollock.

If you haven’t noticed the new pastes popping up about town… MBW is hard at work preparing for the follow up to last year’s huge warehouse show he held here in Los Angeles…

http://www.artshow2009.com/