 
Home  BLOGS Jeff Soto Jeff Soto: Art field trip in L.A.
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Written by Jeff Soto
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Thursday, 06 March 2008 05:27
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 Jeff takes a trip around LA checking out some shows that are currently running.
Went on another L.A. art quest so I'm coming out of blog hibernation to write about it. Saw some great work, had a great time and have decided to get out to L.A. at least once a month to gallery hop. There's just so much going on that I like right now. L.A. is the place...
Aaron Mason and myself headed out. Our first stop was to pick up Levon and Lila in Pasadena. After a quick stop at Artworks we were on our way to Kinsey/Des Forges gallery (previosly BLK/MRKT). Currently showing is Evan Hecox. If you're in L.A this show is a must see. There is something so magical about Hecox's linework, it's rough and tight at the same time, somehow it comes off as tedious and fun mixed together. I haven't had a chance to see much of his work in person and it does not disappoint. Good stuff. Go see it.
Next we walked down the street to Dave Cooper at Billy Shire Gallery. If Hecox is the master of line, Cooper is the master of oil painting. The dude can really paint, I especially admire his use of value and color and the way he lays down layer upon layer of transparent oil glazes. As with most art, the camera doesn't do these justice. I also like Cooper's themes- I'm a little pervy sometimes but aren't we all?
Next we went to GR2 over on Sawtelle. The show was called Overgrowth and it's a group show with Katherine Guillen, Zachary Rossman, and Brian Rush. Their individual work was pretty cool but their collaborations were the gems. I asked to take photos but the employees were like, "We'd have to call the owner and ask" and seemed like they didn't really want to. I had already called Eric earlier and left a message so I figured no sense in asking them to bug him. It's okay, I'll just pull some images off their site...
Off to Bergamot Station in Santa Monica mainly to see Travis Millard and Mel Kadel's show at Richard Heller Gallery. Travis is a dude I have met only once in person, many moons ago, before the awesome mustache was grown (or maybe he was just growing it??). I have been following his work for years and can't say enough about him. Good guy all around and always sends me things (postcards, zines, etc.) in the mail. His art really shines, it's very smart and clever, with some added subtle humor thrown in. The pieces were amazing, like Hecox, Travis's line quality is fucking awesome. Mel Kadel had some really nice work, I really like her surfaces that she concocts with collage and the interesting patterns that take place. Her stuff sorta reminds me of the movie Fantastic Planet, though I'm not sure why. Maybe the colors. Travis and Mel was probably my favorite show of the day. They have an excellent blog on Fecalface that shows the setup for their show..
Travis...
Mel...
Collab piece (my favorite):
We headed to Copro Nason to see the Audrey Kawasaki show but... closed on Tuesdays..
We did however see a nice show of big paintings by Steve Hurd at Rosamund Felsen Gallery. This painting was probably 6-7 feet tall. Very nice.
Next we headed over to Black Maria Gallery to see the Igloo Tornado collective's show. Artists Tom Neely, Scot Nobles, Gin Stevens, and Levon Jihanian make up Igloo Tornado and have been showing together for a few years.
Levon...
Gin Stevens chrome Elvis..
Scot Nobles...
Tom Neely...
Swung by Art Center to see what was in the gallery. Sufficient Latitude: Interactive Wood Machines by Bernie Lubell was showing. Fun stuff, I cranked myself into a wood coffin. Kinda scary...
So that was our day. Could have ventured over to the new Broad Museum at LACMA but I think that'll have to wait for the next outing.....
jeffsoto.com
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