Thinkspace Projects presents:
BEN TOLMAN – Unmode
HANNA LEE JOSHI – What Is It You Seek?
NIKA MTWANA – Protagonist
CARL CASHMAN & OSCAR JOYO – Hybrid
Opening Reception:
Saturday, Dec 3, 6-10 pm
DJ, Refreshments, Live Painting and More
On view December 3 – December 31, 2022
True to their commitment to the New Contemporary Art community, Thinkspace Projects rings in the holidays with an exciting lineup of December shows, fun-filled opening night, and a toy drive. With their beautiful expanded space filled with art, they are thrilled to celebrate this milestone year.
In Gallery I, Thinkspace Projects is thrilled to present Ben Tolman’s Unmode. Known for his carefully detailed, architecture based drawings often pointing to social issues, Tolman uses this exhibition to turn his focus inward, examining his creative process directly. Tolman found that the idea of complexity is closely related to creativity. Complexity can be described as a process by which two or more preexisting things are combined to create something new that could not have been previously predicted from the starting point. Creativity can be described the same way with the added element of intent or preference. Drawing on this comparison, he uses a study of black and white two-dimensional shapes to explore the possibilities of creativity.
In Gallery II, Hanna Lee Joshi’s What is it You Seek? will be on display. The Korean-Canadian explores the search for autonomy within and themes of individuality and how it relates to universal identity. Her vibrant faceless figurative works evoke an ethereal goddess, luminous and full of wonder and yet also deeply human. Drawing on her own lived experience, her work offers a glimpse into synesthetic realms that chart a journey through the inner landscape. With this body of work, she explores the deep seeded longing to know what it is we seek in this lifetime. Touching on unfulfilled desire and uncertainty, Joshi delves into the conscious and unconscious drives that shape our behavior and motivations.
Gallery III will be filled with Nika Mtwana’s Protagonist. This new collection from the South African artist was created to elevate African identity. His paintings explore AfroFuturism, and the resulting work is some of the most unique and instantly recognizable coming out of South Africa at the moment. Protagonist broaches a conversation about culture and identity, bringing personal elements from Mtwana’s life in Johannesburg.
Gallery IV features Hybrid, the work of both Carl Cashman and Oscar Joyo coexisting in the same space. Cashman’s vibrant neon colored works are best described as a genre he has coined “neometry,” or neon geometry. The works are hypnotic, at times bordering on the hallucinatory, and blur the distinction between digital and analogue forms. Entirely executed by hand, the paintings are crisp, precise and graphically decisive, though clearly hand crafted rather than digitally produced. Joyo’s work is also deeply rooted in color exploration, due in part to his chromesthesia (the ability to see colors when hearing sounds). Thanks to this unique perspective, he uses various color gradients and intergalactic color schemes, paying homage to his Malawian heritage by his use of fun shapes and patterns that breathe life into the paintings.
All four incredible shows kick off with an opening and holiday party featuring DJs Venice Beats, an open bar, free drinks from Liquid Death, Live Painting from Brek as part of ‘Courtyard Sessions’ curated by GoopMassta, Tamales from The Roll ’N Bun, a Vape bar from Timeless, and Video Projections from Digital Debris. In the holiday spirit, the THINKSPACE TOY DRIVE will be happening all evening! Bring a new wrapped toy and Thinkspace will be giving out books, sticker / button packs and more to all that bring by a toy for a child in need. All toys will be donated to the local Salvation Army Community Corps and then be distributed to underserved children in Southern California, in tandem with Toys for Tots. For those who need to do a bit of their own shopping, GoopMassta will be curating a small artist mart perfect for last minute gift purchases and treating one’s self.
These shows open December 3rd with a reception from 6PM to 10PM. They will remain on view until December 31st at Thinkspace Projects.
About Thinkspace
Thinkspace was founded in 2005; now in LA’s thriving West Adams District, the gallery has garnered an international reputation as one of the most active and productive exponents of the New Contemporary Art Movement. Maintaining its founding commitment to the promotion and support of its artists, Thinkspace has steadily expanded its roster and diversified its projects, creating collaborative and institutional opportunities all over the world. Founded in the spirit of forging recognition for young, emerging, and lesser-known talents, the gallery is now home to artists from all over the world, ranging from the emerging, mid-career, and established.
Though the New Contemporary Art Movement has remained largely unacknowledged by the vetted institutions of the fine art world and its arbiters of ‘high culture,’ the future promises a shift. The Movement’s formative aversion to the establishment is also waning in the wake of its increased visibility, institutional presence, and widespread popularity. Thinkspace has sought to champion and promote the unique breadth of the Movement, creating new opportunities for the presentation of its artists and work. An active advocate for what is now one of the longest extant organized art movements in history, Thinkspace is an established voice for its continued growth and evolution, proving their commitment by expanding its projects beyond Los Angeles, exhibiting with partner galleries and organizations in Berlin, Hong Kong, London, New York City, Detroit, Chicago, and Honolulu among many others, participating in International Art Fairs, and curating New Contemporary content for Museums. Committed to the vision, risk, and exceptional gifts of its artists, the gallery is first and foremost a family. From the streets to the museums, and from the “margins” to the white cube, Thinkspace is re-envisioning what it means to be “institutional.”
