Shepard Fairey Finishes “Make Art, Not War” Mural in Silver Lake

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Shepard Fairey Finishes “Make Art, Not War” Mural in Silver Lake

Last night after dark and this morning I went down to see more of Shepard Fairey’s “Make Art, Not War” mural on the side of Baller Hardware and then later this after this afternoon watched the final touches as the team form Baller Hardware took down the scaffolding and Shephard began his detail work. Fairey…

“Make Art, Not War” Shepard Fairey Paints Town Red

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“Make Art, Not War” Shepard Fairey Paints Town Red

For the next two days, artist Shepard Fairey and crew are turning a blank wall at Baller Hardware on Tracy and Hyperion into a mural, a (hopefully) permanent piece of statement art reading MAKE ART, NOT WAR Fairey is friends with Baller’s owners and buys supplies there which is how the mural came about. (Baller…

CARTWHEEL Review: “Mitch O’Connell, The World’s Best Artist”

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CARTWHEEL Review: “Mitch O’Connell, The World’s Best Artist”

It takes a lotta guts–and a certain amount of glory–to call yourself “the world’s best artist” even with your tongue firmly planted in your cheek–or someone else’s.  But Mitch O’Connell’s gloriously good-natured, candy-colored art is just so much fun to well, wallow in, that   during many hours spent immersed in O’Connell’s career-spanning tome “Mitch O’Connell,…

Ian Ross “Hyperorganic” Opening at PROJECT GALLERY

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Ian Ross “Hyperorganic” Opening at PROJECT GALLERY

Bay Area artist Ian Ross opened his PROJECT GALLERY show, “Hyperorganic” February 16th, exposing Los Angeles to his spontaneous creative method and embrace of nature. Known for his live painting–he’s painted live murals in high tech offices for companies like Facebook, Google, Vendini, Alphaboost, AdRoll and Zimride–Ross’s passionate connection to nature comes through in his…

“Lust Letters” Celebrates Sex and Text at Coagula

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“Lust Letters” Celebrates Sex and Text at Coagula

  “Lust Letters,” Coagula Curatorial‘s sweet and  smutty Valentine to Los Angeles opened Saturday night just as crowds were leaving the confetti covered streets of Chinatown, post-Year of the Snake Gong Hey Fot Choy parade. Tim Youd’s wall of retyped prose from Anais Nin’s erotica hung across from Bruce Richards’ poignant odes to love. Gaijin Fujita’s…

CARTWHEEL Preview: One Night Only! “Under Construction” Group Mural/Graffiti Show

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CARTWHEEL Preview: One Night Only! “Under Construction” Group Mural/Graffiti Show

The night of his opening at Coagula, Gronk and his friend Tanner Goldbeck told me about this amazing tree that was growing through cement in an abandoned building downtown, it somehow found enough dirt for its root and is absorbing moisture through the empty elevator shaft.  Gronk excitedly called it the “Little Tree that Could.”…

LA Art Show: Desire Obtain Cherish, Diamond Dust, Duchamp, and a Series of Portraits.

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LA Art Show: Desire Obtain Cherish, Diamond Dust, Duchamp, and a Series of Portraits.

For me the absolute stand out commentary work at the LA Art Show was Desire Obtain Cherish, Designer Pill Packs at The McLoughlin Gallery: Spot-on brutal commentary on the Business of Art, Designer Pill Packs state baldly that neither art nor consumer goods are a panacea for shallow weltschmerz or consumptive malaise. DOC’s barbed doses…

Los Angeles, A Veritable Font of Type in LA Art Show “Letters from Los Angeles: Text in Southern California Art”

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Los Angeles, A Veritable Font of Type in LA Art Show “Letters from Los Angeles: Text in Southern California Art”

Los Angeles has a lot of signage. A friend of mine was visiting recently and said that he’d seen more billboards, especially ones advertising movies, than in any other city he’d visited.  We’ve had the Hollywood[land] sign for almost a century, and our cars (ideally!) keep our eyes constantly aware of our surroundings, making billboards,…

Talking About Los Angeles Art: The LA Art Show Panel Preview

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Talking About Los Angeles Art: The LA Art Show Panel Preview

  Along with the opportunity to view both established and emerging artists and visit galleries from around the world, The LA Art Show  delivers exciting panels focusing on Los Angeles art present and past, with an emphasis on both collecting and experiencing art. Thursday January 24 Starting at 2pm American Art Collector Magazine, which focuses…

Ethos Gallery: “Ascending Humans” Draws Stars, Artists, Art Stars

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Ethos Gallery: “Ascending Humans” Draws Stars, Artists, Art Stars

Thursday night, Ethos Gallery on Melrose glowed from within at the invitation-only artists reception celebrating the group show, “Ascending Human–A Journey Into Consciousness.” In attendance so many great artists, gallery owners, and curators, plus guitar superstar Slash; and CARTWHEEL’s Cindy Schwarzstein, Dana Nichols, and Luis Ochoa. Cindy shot our first video (she claims it was…

I Got a Bunny for Christmas!

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I Got a Bunny for Christmas!

This Christmas/Hexmess I got a really cool and unexpected present from ceramicist Max Lehman–one of his signature bunny sculptures.  I had met Max and his partner Mark Burton when I went to Denver in November for the opening of “Toy Stories 2”  at William Havu Gallery which featured Lehman’s sculptures celebrating Anahuak-Mayan culture (more on…