Tag: Bergamot Station

Julie Heffernan solo this Sat at Bergamot Station…

Julie Heffernan
“Self Portrait with Several Tiny Homes” / Oil on canvas / 68×54″

Get ready for one AMAZING show everyone! This is Julie’s first big show in Los Angeles… DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW. I can not street this point enough.

From the gallery PR:

Heffernan’s theatrical and opulent canvases are a hybrid of genres, encompassing portraiture, surrealism and still life, amongst others; yet their Old Master quality goes beyond simple irony or quotation. The initial impact of Heffernan’s “self-portraits” recedes to allow the artist’s skill in her technique and the allure of the paintings’ beauty to emerge and entrance the viewer. Her works act as unexplained allegories of the imagination and indulgent guilty pleasures. Although Heffernan has refined the same subject matter for the better part of 15 years, her works feel particularly poignant today; their slightly ominous tone acting to forewarn, the sumptuous canvases both a talisman and a critique of brazen conspicuous consumption.

“Self Portrait with Several Tiny Homes” close up / Oil on canvas / 68×54″

David Cohen, art critic of The New York Sun, aptly describes Heffernan’s art: “These paintings are a hybrid of genres and styles, mixing allegory, portraiture, history painting, and still life, while in title they are all presented as self portraits.”
Julie Heffernan “Self Portrait as Tap Root” / Oil on canvas / 82×56″

“Self Portrait as Tap Root” close up / oil on canvas / 82×56″

Julie Heffernan received her BFA from the University of California (Santa Cruz, CA) before going on to complete her MFA in painting at the Yale School of Art (New Haven, CT). Her work has been exhibited internationally and she has had major solo shows from coast to coast in the United States. She has been awarded numerous grants and her work is included in the collections of the Virginia Museum of Fine Art (Richmond, VA), The Progressive Corporation and The Mint Museum (Charlotte, NC), to name a few. Heffernan has been reviewed in publications such as Artforum, Modern Painters, and the New York Times. She lives and works in New York, NY. This will be her inaugural exhibition at the Mark Moore Gallery.

Julie Heffernan “Self Portrait as Great Heap” / Oil on canvas / 68×56″

“Self Portrait as Great Heap” close up / Oil on canvas / 68×56″

Sat, May 23rd
Mark Moore Gallery
2525 Michigan Ave in Bergamot Station / Space A-1
‘What Holds Up’ featuring new works from Julie Heffernan
(On view through July 3rd)

Brendan Monroe book signing this Sat at Bergamot Station…

Brendan Monroe Book Release @ Richard Heller Gallery

Sat, May 23rd 1-4PM inside Bergamot Station

Brendan Monroe will be signing copies of his newly released book at Richard Heller Gallery located in Santa Monica. Heller will also have copies of the Limited Edition Book (edition of 55) available for purchase, which includes a limited edition print as well. Don’t sleep in, get there early to secure a spot in line.

Richard Heller Gallery
2525 Michigan Ave / Bergamot Station Space B-5A
Santa Monica 90404
#310-453-9191
above photo: Ken Harman

Chris Lundy opening at James Gray Gallery…

Hawaii-based artist Chris Lundy presented a new series of paintings in his highly-anticipated solo exhibition Notes From the Field, which opened this past Saturday, March 14th in Santa Monica at the Bergamot Station…


For the exhibition, Lundy parlays his talent for blending formal academic painting with visual narratives of a world in flux into dynamic large-scale works. Immortalizing his surfing roots, Lundy captures the kinetic energy, graceful motion and luminous archways of his aqueous subjects. He states, “These paintings are not meant to serve as portraits of situations. They are meditations in and of themselves and hopefully serve as a glimpse into the rhythmic, radiant sanctuary that is the true home of many.”

Each painting is a snapshot of a place and time, inspired by nature’s sublime details – the spray of raindrops exploding on the ocean’s surface, or a zoomed in perspective on the lyrical movement of the crests of backlit mini waves ripping along a tide pool. For Lundy, the ocean is a place of reflection and discovery, in which he creates eternal snapshots of its magic moments and omnipotent forces – flawlessly exploring its rhythm, architecture and stillness.

Lundy’s process is improvisational and fluid. Taking notes from his daily aquatic discoveries, the radiance of a single water droplet can serve as the catalyst for a six-foot painting. The months long process encompasses a sequence of steps from building large canvasses and producing rough sketches to selecting his signature spectrum of vibrant colors. Lundy skillfully contrasts complementary hues such as golds with lavenders to create luminous, glowing works of wonder.

We popped through during the afternoon on our gallery tour, prior to the reception in the evening, and took in the scope of the works (MacDowell and Svenman above). Just look at how large his works are… they really have to be seen in person.

Numerous publications have done profiles on Lundy including Sole Collector, The Surfer’s Journal and a cover story in Juxtapoz magazine. His work has been featured on the Real World: Hawaii, and Nike commissioned him to create visuals for numerous products, including the limited-edition Lundy Dunk Low, one of the six sneakers featured in their original global launch of the Nike Laser project.

James Gray Gallery

2525 Michigan Avenue, Building D4 in Santa Monica / 310.315.9502
‘Notes From The Field’ – new works from Chris Lundy
(On view through April 12th)

Robbie Conal’s ‘No Spitting, No Kidding’ opens this past Sat…

Robbie Conal‘s 25 year retrospective “No Spitting, No Kidding” opened this past Saturday at Track 16 in Bergamot Station in Santa Monica to a huge crowd of adoring fans.

While the name may not jump to mind with all reading this blog, his works are sure to be familiar to many an Angelino, having been on the cover of the LA Weekly numerous times, and popping up around the city around election time every four years. After creating his over-sized images via thick layers of oil, he then gets stacks of lithos made; and proceeds to instructs an army of guerrillas armed with buckets of wheat paste to put his work all over the city, serving up his indictments of a corrupt and broken government with tongue-in-check humor and overtly repulsive visuals, that somehow still manage to bring a smile to your face.

Conal has two books to his credit, has a monthly newspaper column and was getting up on the streets of L.A. long before it was the trendy thing to do.

“No Spitting, No Kidding” is an exhibition that highlights his large-scale political paintings and posters, as well as his new series of oil and photomontage work that chronicle the political media phenomena from recent decades. A very deserving exhibition and a testament to the power of Conal’s work and message.

Check out a recent interview MetroMix did with Conal here: http://losangeles.metromix.com/events/article/art-attack-robbie-conal/655262/content

Some other images from opening night (including the above crowd shot I grabbed – thanks Jack) can be found over at Daily DuJour here:
With the election just around the corner, this is the perfect exhibit to take in this weekend if you missed the opening.