Here is the opening night recap video from this past Saturday’s reception for our March exhibitions. (Opening night photos BELOW for F Cancer Group Show, Marissa Reyes’ and Roja’s solo exhibitions!)
Many thanks to everyone who came through to support and a big round of applause to b. Robert Moore, Marissa Reyes, and Roja on their new bodies of work.
In Gallery I, strong, evocotive work stirred the non-stop full house for b. ROBERT MOORE ‘Out the Mud: A Black American Rite of Passage’. A museumesque exhibition that had our patrons deeply engaged all evening. (Opening Night photos for b. Robert Moore HERE!)
In Gallery IV, the textile based work by ROJA in ‘Asco’ wowed the crowds with its intricacies and wild narratives.
And finally in Gallery II, the emotions were deep and the support was strong surrounding our ‘F CANCER’ Group Show to raise funds for cancer research and awareness, in honor of one of our own. CLICK HERE to see the roster of participating artists.
THANK YOU so very much to all the artists who took part and literally dropped everything in their busy schedules when we put this show together a mere six weeks ago. I can not thank you all enough. Still in awe of the special works you all submitted. ❤️
THANK YOU to everyone that has supported this show by purchasing a work, has shared word about it, taken the time to send us a note of support, shared your own painful stories of loved one’s battle with this evil disease, and shared alternative remedies, as we are open to any and all.
This art community is our family and you all really have made Shawn feel so very, very loved and it’s rare to get your flowers, as they say, before you pass on to the next plane of being. Last evening was special on so many levels.
We simply cannot thank you all enough. It has put some much needed extra fuel in our collective tanks for the battle ahead. Now to fight like we have never fought before. Shawn forever.
F*ck you, cancer. F*ck you. To learn more about all the American Cancer Society do, or to make a donation, please check here: www.cancer.org
FREE show poster to the first 150 people through the door (shared above)
Thinkspace Projects is honored to present b. Robert Moore’s inaugural solo show ‘Out the Mud: A Black American Rite Of Passage.’ Self-taught and multidisciplinary artist, Moore, uses art as a means to process both the personal and the societal. He provides the perspective that a quick glance may not. Noticing that, like many humans and human experiences the exterior is merely a facade that does not dive into the true interior, the influences and experiences that impact them and thus human nature typically has a subjective stance. Robert attempts to strip away those subjective “soft” assumptions of narrative, instead, calling them out directly. That is the goal in his work, to conflict and provoke thought of narrative of the African and African American diaspora as well as social and civil experiences of underrepresented people and narratives. A true representation of his experiences through a collective community lens, Moore maintains that art should be felt, not just seen.
For this debut solo exhibition, b. Robert Moore, lays out his experience as a Black American, in the perspective of a linear ‘Rite of Passage’, as his experiences and those of the Black community in America.
In describing this body of work, Moore says, “For many Black Americans, we have no direct understanding of our traditional African tribes rite of passage. Our only Rite Of Passage is what we have inherited by being born descendants of African slaves here in America. For many, birth and childhood are traumatic, coming of age is a form of warfare (if we even survive). We are conditioned to not understand marital structure, we experience religious confusion through manipulation, death…. And more. With the hope that our coming of Age, our Rite of Passage, is to make it past the age of 25…. If we do, some of us may even thrive. We may even find a smile. We may recreate. We may be the rose that grew from concrete. Out The Mud.”
Artist Bio: b. Robert Moore (b.1983) Des Moines, Iowa | Lakewood, California. Robert, a multidisciplinary contemporary artist started painting to counter drug addiction and alcoholism among mental and emotional health outlets. A self taught folk artist, Robert’s mastery is infant but seasoned and continues to be a focus of his practice. Mastery of his passion.
To Robert, he is constantly in pursuit of happiness, which in his current state is defined by fulfillment + purpose. He finds purpose in connecting narrative and opening doors for connection, relation, healing, discussion. From up-cycled sculpture to abstract portrait and urban neo-expressionism, Robert has defined his genre or style as “narrative”. He is purposeful with every word, brushstroke and connection to the work with contention if intentionally or accidental occurrences influenced the work.
Thinkspace Projects 4217 W. Jefferson Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90016
B. ROBERT MOORE Out the Mud: A Black American Rite of Passage
F CANCER Group Show to benefit the American Cancer Society
MARISSA REYES Fighting Fickle Feelings For You
ROJA Asco
Opening Reception on Saturday, March 4 from 6-10pm with DJ’s Venice Beats, open bar + free drinks from Liquid Death, video projections from Digital Debris, artist installations, live painting, and food vendors TBA.
Exhibitions on view March 4, 2023 – March 25, 2023
B. ROBERT MOORE Out the Mud: A Black American Rite of Passage
Show Statement: Most the time, when you born Black in America, you don’t have the same rights. For many, it’s even harder, you might not even survive.
As I heard growing up, “Get It Out The Mud”. *
From birth, diggin’ out the mud, working to get it how you can with little to no help. Most the time, mud pulls you down, so you got adversity all around you. Constant weight.
It’s survival until you finally out the mud.
For this debut solo, b. Robert Moore, lays out his experience as a Black American, in the perspective of a linear Rite of Passage. As his experiences, and as a Black community in America.
In many African societies, art plays an important role in various rites of passage throughout the cycle of life. These rituals mark an individual’s transition from one stage of life to another. The birth of a child, a youth’s coming of age, and the funeral of a respected elder are all events in which an individual undergoes a change of status. During these transitional periods, individuals are considered to be especially vulnerable to spiritual forces. Art objects are therefore created and employed to assist in the rite of passage and to reinforce community values. **
A Rite of Passage can be different depending on culture, tribe, region, etc.; however, it’s understood generally as important life events as you cycle through stages of “life” and or after life.
For many Black Americans, we have no direct understanding of our traditional African tribes rite of passage. Our only Rite Of Passage is what we have inherited being born descendants of African slaves here in America. For many, birth and childhood are traumatic, coming of age is a form of warfare (if we even survive), conditioned to not understand martial structure, religious confusion through manipulation, death…. And more.
In hopes that our coming of Age, our Rite of Passage, is to make it past the age of 25….
If we do, some of us may even thrive. We may even find a smile. We may recreate. We may be the rose that grew from concrete.
Out The Mud.
References and Credits:
*Ref: My Grandma “Get It Out The Mud” Out The Mud: The phrase “out the mud” means to come from the bottom of something and rise to the top. (Virginia Thomas)
**Ref: Khan Academy ‘Rites of Passages’ // Dr. Crista De Clarke // (Metropolitan Museum of Art New York)
About the artist… b. Robert Moore (b.1983-) Des Moines, Iowa | Lakewood, California. Robert, a multidisciplinary contemporary artist started painting to counter drug addiction and alcoholism among mental and emotional health outlets. A self taught folk artist, Robert’s mastery is infant but seasoned and continues to be a focus of his practice. Mastery of his passion.
To Robert, he is constantly in pursuit of happiness, which in his current state is defined by fulfillment + purpose. He finds purpose in connecting narrative and opening doors for connection, relation, healing, discussion. From up-cycled sculpture to abstract portrait and urban neo-expressionism, Robert has defined his genre or style as “narrative”. He is purposeful with every word, brushstroke and connection to the work with contention if intentionally or accidental occurrences influenced the work.
Like many human and human experiences, the exterior never truly tells how the person was composed within the interior or influences/experiences that impacted them and so human nature typically has a subjective stance. Robert attempts to strip away those subjective “soft” assumptions of narrative, instead, calling it out directly. That is the goal in his work, to conflict and provoke thought of narrative of African and African American diaspora as well as social and civil experiences of underrepresented people + narrative. A true representation of his experiences through a collective community lens. “As a recovering alcoholic and addict, art is my therapy and I find fulfillment in producing the work as a healthy alternative to addiction and mental health disorders (a/k/a super powers). As long as I am representing the underrepresented narrative and narrative that exposes the most vulnerable forms of authenticity and growth, then I find this as a form of currency to me”. Blessings & Good Vibes –
For Robert, art should be felt, not just seen.
F CANCER Group Show to benefit the American Cancer Society
25% of each sale to be donated to the American Cancer Society
Our guiding light and gallery co-founder Shawn Hosner was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer and it has tossed our entire world upside down and into the air. She’s lovingly referred to as “gallery mom” and she means so much, to so many around the world.
Our fight has just begun and we want to be sure that every member of our extended family and all of our supporters around the world know of her fight and are sharing their good energy and prayers for her. We want to use her fight as a vehicle to also help others that are facing this horrible disease head on and fighting for their lives.
All of us at the gallery have experienced the loss of friends and close loved ones over the years due to this dreaded disease and now that it has entered our home and is staring us directly in the face, we aim to do all we can to help spread awareness on early detection and what you can do to avoid this nightmare entering your life. F cancer!!!
Times is organized around damage. Moves across, an undaunted predator. An animal eating from our heart, and against which we react with nostalgia or with the burning gesture of revenge. But here there is no yearning. There is fury, there is rage, there is nastiness. And the alternative -both its poignancy and its affliction- that the work seems to suggest, is: facing the annihilation of time, self-destruction; facing its nightmare, hallucination.
If the apocalypse, recurring theme in the work, stem from revelation, perhaps we should wonder if what that brings to light is not the bad conscience of society. Its infected beauty, its aberration. The <> in which we do not tolerate recognizing ourselves.
About the artist… Born in 1987, Comodoro Rivadavia, Chubut in Argentina where she tudied plastic arts at the UNLP with orientation to ceramics and engraving.
Her studies also included make-up and costumes at the theater school of La Plata. Roa also attended the special effects workshop at FX (School of special effects) and studied Art Direction at SICA.
Recently her focus has shifted after she attended an embroidery courses at the Border Workshop with Florencia Russi and at TAE (Escuela del Teatro Argentino), among others.
She has also worked as a make-up artist in several theatrical plays and fashion shoots. Since 2010, Roja works in art direction, where she has made music videos, movies and short series.
Marissa Reyes examines representations of the female body and to articulate sites of agency and resistance to surveillance and shame. Utilizing a visual culture of psychosexuality and psychological intimacy, she interrogates ways in which depictions of the female nude can be removed from historical regimes and systemic lenses of oppression and hypersexualization. Her self-portraits provide a safe space for the female body to experience personal and private narratives of pain, desire, doubt, and fear.
As a woman, most of us all have that moment we remember in grade school. We are sitting at the lunch table about to enjoy a tasty banana, when suddenly a group of boys behind you burst into laughter. You turn to see what the boys are laughing at, only to find it is you they are laughing at. They are making phallic jokes about the banana you are eating; you sit there confused and embarrassed and not understanding why you feel this way. Being sexualized at such an early age while eating a piece of fruit has altered the way I see men and the way I see myself. This thought has lingered in my mind for the past 22 years.
In this new body of work, I explore sexism, the self and the delicate emotions that encompass romantic relationships. I use the symbol of the banana to objectify men, they are a mere thing that is the source of the issues within my work. I use self-portraiture to convey the intimate emotions and conversations that we have with ourselves about the choices we make within a relationship. These emotions can be very intense and private. I allow the viewer insight into these very intimate moments of pain, hurt, love, doubt, and fear. My inner thoughts can sometimes be like the wild west, lawless and violent. These very serious topics are encased in that same humor I felt as a 10 year old that I still don’t quite understand.
About the artist… Marissa Reyes (b.1991) is an oil painter who lives and works in San Bernardino, California. She holds a BA in Studio Art from The University of La Verne, followed by an MFA from Claremont Graduate University. The artist’s solo and group exhibitions include Humorous Hubris (2022), at East Gallery of Claremont Graduate University and 1° of Separation (2022), at Franchise in Los Angeles. Reyes’ most recent exhibitions include Raiz (2023), with Thinkspace Gallery at the Brand Library & Art Center in Glendale and Sunset Unlimited Curated by Devin Troy Strother (2023), at Intersect Palm Springs Art and Design Fair with The Pit LA in Palm Springs.
