Cretin Hop: Dee Dee Ramone at Subliminal Projects
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. This review was supposed to be a piece of cake for me. I mean, it’s freaking Dee Dee Ramone! A lot of music blares in my studio, but no other band gets more play than the Ramones, none. There are other bands that are more important to me (the Clash), bands…
“The Noise in the Basement” at WWA Gallery
Exhibit titles can be rather frustrating beasts for me. They tend to be oblique, esoteric things that rarely have any relevance to the art they’re intended to encapsulate. It may sound like a nitpicky, pet peevey gripe, but I’m prone to melodramatic bouts of anxiety over art as a general rule. However, when I find myself awake…
Everywhere at Once: “INTERVIEWS” at Curio by AFN
There’s something not quite right about Daniel Rolnik. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy, everybody does, but I suspect something strange afoot there. Aside from his popular blog, he writes for a number of sites and publications that include Beautiful/Decay, Fecal Face, and LA Weekly, not to mention his work here at CARTWHEEL. He has…
Palette Cleanser: Fall Group Exhibition at C.A.V.E. Gallery
Has the Los Angeles summer art season exhausted you? Have the crushing throngs of fashionista scenesters tested your patience? Has it all left a slightly bitter taste of pretension in your mouth? As usual, C.A.V.E Gallery has just the antidote with their palette cleansing annual “Fall Group Exhibition.” The show features over a dozen artists, and pretty much exemplifies…
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…
What are Words for? Rero at Fabien Castanier Gallery
French street artist Rero will tell you that his work is about illusion. I don’t doubt his sincerity when he says that, but I think it’s more about confrontation. When you walk into “Image Not Available”, Rero’s solo show at Fabien Castanier Gallery, the first piece you encounter is a block of plaster with…
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,…
Uncommon Threads: Rimada, Barker, and Noborikawa at C.A.V.E. Gallery
You have to applaud a gallery that eschews lofty, esoteric themes in favor of merely exhibiting artists they believe in. Saturday night, C.A.V.E Gallery in Venice opened their latest show without some contemplative title, or any unifying motif. It is simply a display of three talented artists, Gustavo Rimada, Randy Noborikawa, and Craig “Skibs” Barker,…
Gallery 3: Keith Ross Dugas, aka KrossD
Along with being a witty and knowledgeable art writer at CARTWHEEL, Keith Ross Dugas, under the nom de brosse KrossD, creates a storm of bold paintings, five of which are part of a group show at Gallery 3 in Reno, Nevada. The majority of Keith’s striking, colorful works in this exhibition incorporate graphics, lettering and…
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.…