Borderlines: “Narcolandia” at Coagula Curatorial
What is it about an outlaw? There are few limits to our collective tendency to mythologize them. We blow them all out of proportion. We romanticize the hell out of them. In order to secure outlaws in the firmament of lore, we even ascribe certain moral codes to their legends. We distort the often mundane…
High Voltage: “Rock Is Dead” at Hyaena Gallery
First things first, if you’re the type of gallery-goer who likes to engage in polemics regarding Reagan’s influence on the Neo-Expressionists, all the while sipping a ten dollar glass of chardonnay, well Hyaena Gallery probably isn’t the place for you. However, if you’ve ever stayed up late drinking PBR, drawing monsters and zombies while “Reign…
Punk Rock Saves: We Got P0WER! At Track 16
Some of you will never understand this, but punk rock saves lives. It certainly saved mine. There is salvation to be found in shared despair. You’ll have to excuse my navel-gazing for a moment, but when I was fifteen, things were pretty bleak. I’ll spare you the details but I was a really messed-up kid,…
Hiding In Plain Sight: “Freestyle” at Fabien Castanier Gallery
Friends mean well, most of the time, and I’m not the easiest person to talk to, so I understand that they’re just trying to connect with me on some level. Yet I have come to approach their art recommendations with a certain amount of trepidation. Do you know this artist so and so? You should…
The New Traditionalists: Nicola Verlato and Vonn Sumner at Merry Karnowsky Gallery
I would like to put to death the use of the term “low brow.” If only I had that kind of power. It’s a phrase not only overused but one, much like “No Wave,” which has no real meaning and, more often than not, does a disservice to that which it is meant to describe.…
Jennifer J. Jelenski’s High Wire Act
There exists an approach to art criticism among patrons that is annoyingly pervasive. You’ll hear it everywhere, from the tiny lowbrow gallery to the highest-minded Modern Art museum. I remember overhearing it at the Norton Simon when I was 7, and I thought it was a pretty stupid thing to say then. It goes like…
Welcome to Disasterland
As I approached the gallery entrance last night, I was greeted by a young woman clad in a black leather Mickey Mouse bondage outfit. She handed me a show card and let me pass. My kind of party! Welcome to Disasterland. Enjoy the pixie dust. “Disasterland” is Jose Rodolfo Rodolfo Loaiza’s much anticipated solo…
Art is a MiXTAPE
Jessicka Addams (formerly of the underappreciated band Jack Off Jill) had an idea. What if she gathered together iconic giants of Pop Surrealism and asked them each to pick a song, then asked them to create art inspired by that song. It’s such a simple idea, yet so pre-loaded with emotional resonance.
Closing Party for “Method Attic”
Due to rave reviews (Huffington Post, LA Weekly, Artweek LA’s Pick of the Week) and overwhelming response from the public, Matjames Metson’s first solo show, “Method Attic”, in Los Angeles has been held over for one week only. COAGULA CURATORIAL opens their doors Wednesday thru Saturday 12-5pm, with a closing reception planned for Saturday…