A Flog rebirth wouldn’t be complete with a good old list (and that one is rather long) of shows I am looking for to covering here. The calendar has been cleaned up and already features a good amount of shows and events taking place in the upcoming weeks, so dig in and follow your last year resolution by seeing more shows!
(Left image is Tim Sullivan, Perfect Entrance (detail), 2007, C-print, 40 x 108 inches, Steve Turner Contemporary. Right is Kara Walker, Excavated from the Black Heart of a Negress (detail), 2002, Courtesy the artist and Sikkema Jenkins & Co., NY, from the Walker Art Center site)
The upcoming weekend will mark the first wave of openings for the new year, and among others, I am pretty excited to see the new works of Walead Beshty at Peres Projects and Tim Sullivan at Steve Turner Contemporary.
PawnShop will also open its doors on Saturday with a two-person exhibition. Make sure to check that space all throughout the year.
January 25th, TELIC will propose a new series of events entitled The Public School which sounds pretty intriguing and encouraging. From the press release:
__”The Public School opens with a presentation of speculative classes proposed by artists, designers, scientists, and other fascinating cultural producers.
It operates as follows: first, classes are proposed by the public (I want to learn this or I want to teach that; then, people have the opportunity to sign up for the classes (I also want to learn that); finally, when enough people have expressed interest, TELIC will find a teacher and offer the class to those who signed up.“.
LUST4LACE, curated by Dave Burns and Margie Schibbe will opens February 14th at LACE. The benefit/event will showcase new video works as well as feature live art and musical performances. The institution will be 30 years old and will commission 30 live art projects by inviting artists to explore the archive and instigate experimental performances, video screenings, writing workshops and conversations inspired by the videos, still images, production notes and ephemera they encounter.
Adam Janes will present his first solo exhibition with Roberts & Tilton before the gallery’s big move and I am curious to see the artist’s new installations and drawings. The show opens February 16th.
At M+B in Beverly Hills, the italian born, NY based artist Paolo Ventura will display a new photographic series Winter Stories. It will be pretty exciting to finally see his work in person. The show opens March 8th.
(Left image is Paolo Ventura, from the series Winter Stories, 2007, C-print, from the artist’s website. Right is Tony Oursler, Bomb, 2007, Aqua resin sculpture, video projection and aluminum. 122 x 122 x 61 cm and 76 x 73,5 x 61 cm, from Galeria Soledad Lorenzo)
At the end of the month artLA will kick off – Jan. 25th to 27th – with an appetizing list of galleries (Emmanuel Perrotin!?) and overall, with seems like a different energy. Although I can’t find any mention of D.A.P. or Mandrake, they will be participating in the fair. The bookshop will move directly in the entrance hallway which is a definite improvement from the previous years. The Culver City bar/social club will also set shop in the lobby and I can say that nothing beats a good drink while browsing expensive books.
In other large events I am looking for, there is Kara Walker’s show at the Hammer. The traveling exhibition, My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love will conclude in Los Angeles March 1st and will stay until June 8th. This will be the first full-scale American museum survey of the work of the artist. This should be a good one. After the previous drawing retrospective of Vija Celmins, it’s good to see more time and space dedicated to women only solos.
Also in March, California Video opens at the Getty featuring the work of 58 artists. From the press release:
__”The first comprehensive survey of California video art from 1968 to the present, this exhibition includes important examples of single-channel video, video sculpture, and video installation.”
Let’s hope that they worked harder on that one than on their little Reckless Behavior evening last April. I have to say that the list of participants is pretty exhilarating. Think Skip Arnold, John Baldessari, Chris Burden, Paul McCarthy, Tony Oursler, Jennifer Steinkamp, William Wegman.. and I am only stating the obvious. The show will also be featuring the younger wave.
Then, the year will also bring the next California Biennial at the OCMA, which according to Monsieur Berardini will be curated by LAXART Director Lauri Firstenberg. A pretty great news that is to say.
I will see you around then.
