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Archive for March 18th, 2009

Joao Ruas ‘sneak peek’ at his new series for this May @ Thinkspace

March 18th, 2009 Comments off
Joao Ruas is hard at work inside his studio in Brazil on the new series of works for his ‘Inner Myths Pt. 1′ mini-exhibition that will take place this May at Thinkspace…

We’re expecting around a half-dozen new works from Ruas for this small showing on our ‘Fresh Faces’ wall. We’re eager to have him back next April for his proper debut solo show, but we both felt it was a good idea to get a small series of works out prior to that and build from there. The new works are just looking sick. Can’t wait!!!
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If I were a betting man…

March 18th, 2009 Comments off
While all are focusing on Luke Chueh‘s great new body of work, the real ‘buzz’ behind the scenes is if Thomas Han is going to actually come through and deliver a new body of work. His last “show” was only a few small pieces, that were accompanied by some prints at Copro/Nason a good bit back, and prior to that he had been MIA for a good year. We love Thomas’ work and own many and hope this is a comeback of sorts for him. He was once at the very forefront of the movement, but he’s just been out of the public eye for too long now. Hoping he comes through, but many are saying the new works are a bit too Miss Van (as seen in the image above)… we’ll leave that up to public opinion, but read more on that here.
Be sure to swing through Corey Helford Gallery this Friday to check out Luke’s new body of work and for a trip up to their loft to see if Mr. Han has indeed come through.
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Cerasoli & LeBasse re-open their new galleries in Culver City…

March 18th, 2009 Comments off
The Cerasoli and LeBasse galleries both re-opened in Culver City this past Saturday after a pretty public split of the short lived Cerasoli:LeBasse Gallery. The two parties are moving on and each re-opened this past weekend with receptions on the same evening (though LeBasse’s was a VIP only event – main opening is this weekend, more on that later in post)…
First up was the revamped Cerasoli Gallery. A fresh coat of paint inside and out and a fresh new show set things back in motion for Freddi and Evan and we wish them all the best in the year ahead.

In their main gallery, they had the new solo show from Los Angeles artist David O’Brien. ‘Explosions In A Mental Sky’ was a site to see, and the works REALLY need to be viewed in person, as there is so much detail, symbology and hidden meaning in each. Freddi was passing out a great lil’ chart that helped to break down all that was going on in each hyper detailed work….
View of the main gallery…

The mazes that are contained within his works are the real deal, and can be followed to completion… given you’ve the time of course, as they are insanely intricate…

In the rear gallery Los Angeles artist Tofer Chin continued his ongoing transformation and debuted an eclectic new body of work said to be inspired by LCD… it was definitely hipster heaven in galler 2 as all Tofer’s friends were out in full support for his ‘Double Dip’ opening…

After stopping by to congratulate Freddi and Evan on getting Cerasoli Gallery back up and running, it was time to head down the street to check out Beau and Christine’s new digs in the old DEN Contemporary space, a few doors down from Kinsey/DesForges (formerly BLK/MRKT)…

This past Saturday was an invite only affair for the unvelling of the new LeBasse Projects and the new space is just beautiful. The real deal grand opening for ‘Vous Avez Ete Juste Servi’ is this Saturday, March 21st from 7-11PM and will be sponsored by GenArt…

Main gallery view (above) and some of our favorites from the show below…

Melissa Haslim

Yoskay Yamamoto

Jack Long
Michelle Valigura
Tessar Lo

Meryl Donoghue
Eric Fortune

Laura Ball

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Artist Leslie Balleweg…

March 18th, 2009 Comments off

Came upon the work of California based artist Leslie Balleweg while on our art adventure through 15 some odd galleries this past Saturday. While strolling about Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, Leslie’s oil works stopped us all in our tracks and we had to see more. It was one of the smaller spots within the building that houses the Santa Monica Museum Of Art. The gallery itself isn’t worth mentioning, as there’s never anyone in the spot when I swing through. On this particular visit, we were there for a good 25-30 minutes, and no one ever came through to acknowledge us in any way. If anyone knows Leslie Balleweg, please ask her to drop us a line, we’d love to do a lil’ feature on her work. There’s nothing at all on the web we could find, save for some obscure listings about her show at this gallery back in October. The gallery itself has no website or listing to speak of on the web as well, so this is a tough one, but we love her work and hope someone reaches out.
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Chris Lundy opening at James Gray Gallery…

March 18th, 2009 Comments off
Hawaii-based artist Chris Lundy presented a new series of paintings in his highly-anticipated solo exhibition Notes From the Field, which opened this past Saturday, March 14th in Santa Monica at the Bergamot Station…


For the exhibition, Lundy parlays his talent for blending formal academic painting with visual narratives of a world in flux into dynamic large-scale works. Immortalizing his surfing roots, Lundy captures the kinetic energy, graceful motion and luminous archways of his aqueous subjects. He states, “These paintings are not meant to serve as portraits of situations. They are meditations in and of themselves and hopefully serve as a glimpse into the rhythmic, radiant sanctuary that is the true home of many.”

Each painting is a snapshot of a place and time, inspired by nature’s sublime details – the spray of raindrops exploding on the ocean’s surface, or a zoomed in perspective on the lyrical movement of the crests of backlit mini waves ripping along a tide pool. For Lundy, the ocean is a place of reflection and discovery, in which he creates eternal snapshots of its magic moments and omnipotent forces – flawlessly exploring its rhythm, architecture and stillness.

Lundy’s process is improvisational and fluid. Taking notes from his daily aquatic discoveries, the radiance of a single water droplet can serve as the catalyst for a six-foot painting. The months long process encompasses a sequence of steps from building large canvasses and producing rough sketches to selecting his signature spectrum of vibrant colors. Lundy skillfully contrasts complementary hues such as golds with lavenders to create luminous, glowing works of wonder.

We popped through during the afternoon on our gallery tour, prior to the reception in the evening, and took in the scope of the works (MacDowell and Svenman above). Just look at how large his works are… they really have to be seen in person.

Numerous publications have done profiles on Lundy including Sole Collector, The Surfer’s Journal and a cover story in Juxtapoz magazine. His work has been featured on the Real World: Hawaii, and Nike commissioned him to create visuals for numerous products, including the limited-edition Lundy Dunk Low, one of the six sneakers featured in their original global launch of the Nike Laser project.

James Gray Gallery

2525 Michigan Avenue, Building D4 in Santa Monica / 310.315.9502
‘Notes From The Field’ – new works from Chris Lundy
(On view through April 12th)
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