This week, you can: get to know the valley girls of 2019; learn to speak architect with Sylvia Lavin; appreciate the legacy and influence of Santa Monica art; go crazy for photography; and learn as much as you like about dimensional photography.
1) Valley Girl Redefined
If you think being a valley girl is like, oh my god, gag me with a spoon and going to the Galleria, then 11:11 A Creative Collection, co-founded by valley girls Erin Stone and Addy Gonzalez Renteria, would like to change your mind. The 20+ artists who contributed to Valley Girl Redefined want to share another image of women living in the San Fernando Valley, and show that behind the pop-culture stereotype lies a real place, where real women live and work. With work in a variety of mediums and with a kaleidoscope of stories to tell, prepare to experience a new valley girl that cannot defined by a catch phrase.
When: Opens Tuesday, Jan 29; Exhibition runs through March 1
Where: Brand Library and Art Center, 1601 W. Mountain St., Glendale 91201
Tickets: Free
***EVENT CANCELLED ***
This event has been cancelled and will be rescheduled for a future date.
2) Reception, Lecture and Discussion with Sylvia Lavin
Architecture historian, critic and curator Sylvia Lavin has described architecture through the language of kisses and libido, and spent much of her career exploring modern ways to communicate with and about form. Lavin is the author of several books, including Form Follows Libido: Architecture and Richard Neutra in a Psychoanalytic Culture and Kissing Architecture. She’s also a professor of architecture at Princeton and former faculty and chairperson at UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design, and an installation artist in her own right with exhibitions at CCA, Chicago Architecture Biennial and MAK/Schindler House. See Lavin discuss her work at Helms Bakery District. The event is sponsored by the Cal Poly L.A. Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design.
When: Thursday, January 31, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Where: Helms Bakery District, 8745 Washington Blvd., Culver City 90232. Free Parking is available at the corner of Helms Ave. and Venice Blvd.
Tickets: Free
3) Santa Monica: Then and Now, Reception for Ocean Park Art Block
Located between 30th and 31st Street on Ocean Park Boulevard in Santa Monica, Ocean Park Art Block now includes dnj Gallery and bG Gallery which also includes the Gestalt Project Space. And there’s more to come. Inaugurated in September 2018, the plan is for all the galleries on the block to coordinate openings and events, and create a gallery destination.
Artists have been drawn to Santa Monica for creative reasons since the early 1900s, and today Santa Monica continues to provide a significant legacy and influence on the Southern California art scene. This week, bG Gallery and Venice Institute of Contemporary Art (ViCA) present Santa Monica: Then and Now, curated by Juri Koll of ViCA. The exhibition focuses on historic and contemporary artists with a strong history or current practice focusing around Santa Monica and surrounding areas. “The artists in this exhibition have either worked here, lived and kept their studio here, spent a great deal of time here for inspiration, and/or all of the above, and you will find insights to this alongside the work as you view the exhibition,” says Koll. Artists include Sam Francis, Peter Alexander, Ruth Weisberg, Barbara Kolo, William Turtle, Jack Duggan, Bruce Richards, Bob Borman, Dick Keltner, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Gehry, David Hockney, Ed Moses, George Herms, Bruce Hamilton, Mb Boissonnault, Ed Ruscha, Mx Farina, Gay Summer Rick, Randi Matushevitz, and more.
When: Collector preview on Thursday, Jan 31, 7-10 pm; Ocean Park Art Block Reception on Saturday, Feb 2, 6-9 pm. Exhibition runs through Feb 26
Where: bG Gallery, 3009 Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica 90405
Tickets: Free
4) Photo L.A.
Come for the photos, stay for the photos. The 27th Photo L.A. fair is coming to the Barker Hangar (the first time at this location) bringing together an international community of artists, photographers, galleries, dealers and publishers. This year’s show will honor artist and photographer Jo Ann Callis, known for her provocatively staged scenarios with a poetic dimension. The show will kick off with an opening benefit on Thursday, Jan 31 benefiting Venice Arts. You can find a complete listing of exhibiting galleries here.
When: Opening night benefit Thursday, Jan 31. Exhibition runs Feb 1 – 3
Where: Barker Hangar, 3012 Airport Ave, Santa Monica 90405
Tickets: Opening night benefit $100, which you can purchase here. Day passes and special programming $15 and up, which you can purchase here.
5) Symposium: Finding One’s Place – Photography and Its Many Dimensions
Another draw for photography enthusiasts…
From the first stereoscope in 1830 to 3-D movie technology to today’s digital VR worlds, artists have striven to create the illusion of three dimensions. The two-day symposium Finding One’s Place – Photography and Its Many Dimensions, inspired by the LACMA exhibition 3D: Double Vision (on display through March 31), will address questions of how photography has historically been deployed to depict place and to situate viewers in space. Speakers will address the use of photography in geological accounts, hierarchies of value in curatorial practice, and the history of immersive installations, among other topics. The symposium will also include an exhibition viewing at LACMA (Day 1) and an overview of the Keystone-Mast Collection at the California Museum of Photography, Riverside (Day 2).
When: Friday, Feb 1, 1-8 pm and Saturday, Feb 2, 9 am – 4 pm. Note: the program can be attended either one or both days.
Where: Day 1: LACMA, Brown Auditorium, 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles 90036; Day 2: California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside, 3824 Main St., Riverside 92501. Optional bus transportation to Riverside provided from USC. For program details and registration questions, please contact vsri@usc.edu.
Tickets: Free. RSVP required by Jan 28. You can register for either one or both days here.