Save the Date: Opening Reception for “Fugitive Spirit” Sculptures by David Hollen & Paintings by Thomas Garner at District Gallery Pop Up – September 9th
Fugitive Spirit is a District Gallery pop-up project of Los Angeles Downtown Arts District Space (LADADSpace), a non-profit dedicated to promoting the art and artists of the Los Angeles Downtown Arts District. This exhibit features the work of Tom Garner and David Hollen, two established fine artists working in very different genres, but with a similar intensity, spirit and refinement.
Tom Garner, a master figurative painter, has been living in the Arts District for eight years, and David Hollen, a contemporary sculptor, for more than twelve. The title of the show has multiple meanings, not the least of which suggests fugitives living in stealth, avoiding the reality of their fading lifestyle as gentrification forces their colleagues to abandon the formerly funky neighborhood. Today, affordable studio loft spaces have been converted to costly condos, high-end restaurants, and trendy micro-breweries, leaving many artists displaced.
But from an artistic standpoint, the title speaks to the transient quality common to the very different work. David’s sculptures are explosive networks of varied and unusual materials, including hemp, iron rebar, porcelain, and steel wire, often resembling intricate synapses charged with pulsating kinetic energy.
Tom’s fine oil paintings, often on denim, vary from classical subject matter, a deference to his many years living in Italy amongst the masters of the Renaissance, to layered compositions of urban culture, such as the 6th Street Bridge, as seen from his loft. His paintings are blurred, sometimes ephemeral images, as if the subjects are sliding into – or off of – the canvas, hurried, with energy shooting off in all directions. The work of both artists bristles with movement, and although both are powerful and dynamic expressions, the artistic strength is achieved through subtlety and restraint. Exceptional on their own, the work is exponentially stronger when viewed together
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Exhibition:
September 9th – October 19th
Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Friday, 11 am to 6 pm; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 7 pm
Opening Reception:
Saturday, September 9, (7 – 10 pm)
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Address:
District Gallery Pop Up
701 E. 3rd Street Downtown Los Angeles Arts District 90012