On View



	On View
On View Coming Up Design Fair The Big Show Day of the Dead Día de los Muertos Archives Thanks to Saint Arnold Brewing Company for providing Beer for our opening reception.	January 22–February 27, 2010 Opening Reception Friday, January 22, 2010 from 6:30–8:30 PM Artist Talks at 6 PM DARe to go FURther \| UUPA Crust Robert Hodge, Lovie Olivia and Michael Kahlil Taylor John M. O’Quinn Gallery Taking into consideration the staggering range of diversity that the African Diaspora has to offer, DARe to go FURther aims to investigate and reveal many enigmatic layers. UUPA Crust fastidiously addresses the presence of stereotypes, myths and cultural similarities of both African-Americans and native Africans. Robert Hodge, Lovie Olivia and Michael Kahlil Taylor of the UUPA Crust Collective, are exploring and navigating beyond the surface of many beliefs associated with certain communities. In forms of visual narratives, paintings, and mixed media on paper, UUPA Crust analyzes the adaptation and mutability of culture. The artists of UUPA Crust share a common fascination for cross-continental interactions, and the parallelisms despite lost and altered history of individuals particularly whose roots are African. “Cleverly hidden in the show title is the region of DARFUR which caught the attention of all of us. We felt that the mass media’s handling of the information was discerning. This motivated us to pry further into how blacks are globally received. From our neighborhoods and beyond we celebrate our culture and heritage by daring to go beyond the newspapers and T.V. screens.” This is expressed visually and metaphorically. In this past year, the members have traveled to the African continent, the Caribbean and the common melting pot of New Orleans Louisiana to gather detail. In the tradition of anthropologists UUPA Crust has spent time gathering and cataloging to bring us steps closer to these visual resolutions. “From Kenya , the Caribbean to New Orleans and back to our neighborhood blocks we’ve witnessed cultural exchange and contrast that we wish to express in these works.” Various symbols of wealth, status and spiritual practices are relevant through tattoos, scarification, piercings and elaborate coiffures as forms of identification. Myth, folklore, spirituality and hip-hop harmoniously blend into visual amalgamation expressed through DARe to go FURther. [ back to top ]
	Harmonic Spheres \| Christopher Cascio & Anne J. Regan Mezzanine Gallery Christopher Cascio’s work explores the themes of sound production and replication by using the visual impact of finely cut paper on bright negative space. Cascio creates ornately cut Xeroxes of tangled cords and audio equipment arranged over a fluorescent orange background with a thick layer of high gloss varnish on top. The concept of this series of new work centers on the visual interpretations of synthesized sound and the complexities inherent in signals passing through various speakers, processors and recorded media. Cascio is interested in conceptual associations brought to mind (such as the idiosyncrasies of sound gear collections/collectors,) as well as certain visual associations such as how the lined up gear resembles structural elements and other familiar geometric patterns. Anne J. Regan's works are rooted in the blues, in the heavy history of the south, of its struggle with truth and longing for a home. Astrology, rootwork and alchemy play heavy roles in her practice, all resting upon the belief that devotion and embracement of such belief systems will conjure the true nature of the concepts in the works. Each piece is constructed to temporarily transfix the viewer with an intuitive recognition of presence, engaging them in a call and response between the work itself and its materials. The natural world features in these pieces as a binder to now intangible people, places and times. Soil, air, water and wax become symbols not only of the history of the locations themselves but of death's sanctification of the land, of a sacred space to return to, of those still moving and singing within us. Nothing ever goes away. Both artists' works focus on the different spheres of sound: sensory, spiritual, historic, cosmic, social and scientific. In Harmonic Spheres, Casico and Regan's habits are laid bare as it becomes clear that they are both collectors who have dismantled and reconstructed their devotions into these fully developed worlds. Shown alongside each other, all of these combine to create another new composition, their final harmony, which resonates throughout the gallery space. [ back to top ]	Christopher Cascio Anne J. Regan
	Poly-Lawn-Dale \| Ned Dodington Grace R. Cavnar Gallery For the installation at Lawndale Ned Dodington will fill the Grace R. Cavnar Gallery with roughly 40 nylon-stocking-filled pods of grass seed and potting soil, left to grow from simply black pods into green, verdant, almost hairy, living sculptures. Poly-Lawn-Dale will hope to show that by recontextualizing the natural and the cultural we can begin to understand new ways of being in a complex and multi-natural world. Poly-Lawn-Dale is at once intricately designed and totally unplanned. Human intervention is visible and also erased by the whimsy of living grass. Dodington states, “ ‘Nature has never been natural’ and as our global economy and global populations continue to expand and intertwine the distinction between what were once thought to be the natural and cultural worlds become less and less clear. Furthermore, with continued movements towards social equality (women’s rights, religious tolerance, abortion rights, and non-traditional marital unions), and environmental responsibility, the vanguard of social activism today appears to be centered around bio-politics and ethics. It is becoming less and less clear what exactly makes us Human and why exactly we find that so important. Poly-Lawn-Dale will explore these issues with the installation of a highly artificial/natural installation.” [ back to top ]
	Ab-Scrap \| Sally Heller Project Space Sally Heller explores, and exposes, the glut of a consumer-oriented society by building an abstract landscape installation using scraps and other found materials including netting, plastic flowers, cardboard, coat hangers and blanket scraps-cultural remnants of our everyday lives. A curtain made of chain surrounds parts of the landscape, broken up into swags, creating large negative spaces. The negative spaces are covered with tulle and opaque material, functioning as a device that lures the viewer to peek inside through its few openings which will break to form a single entrance. A video of a swamp scene, projected onto the landscape introduces the viewer to the relationship between real nature and its artificial counterpart. [ back to top ]
	Migration Center \| Jarrod Beck Mary E. Bawden Sculpture Garden & Room 317 Migration Center is a displaced built environment—beginning as a cast in place structure in the Mary E. Bawden Sculpture Garden, the project is contextualized and studied in the Lawndale Art Center’s Classroom 317. The casting forms are drawn maps on drafting film: unwieldy sheafs collaged with stained plastic tarps, dried pools of oil and graphite. Inks, dyes, rife with particulate matter, fill the sealed pockets, left to cake and dry. Precision, the architect’s vision, meets the chaotic material landscape through a shearing, folding, stitching: casting forms are created recalling cactus spindles, body doubles, the bones found excavating a foundation, strips of the party missed. Under the sun, on broken grass, the limp bodies are laid out and prepared for their solid state. Bags of plaster are mixed, pristinely white and poured into the molds as it warms, scalding hands. As a limb cures, another is poured, depending on the just-formed for support. Filling out the tangle of form, growing into a structure, wearing the evidence of the process. Joints struggle and crumble. These slips come together on site to create a body, a wall, a weather system overwhelming the senses. After exploring the environment outside, visitors will be invited upstairs into the classroom for a presentation of artifacts and drawings: skins and offcasts from the body downstairs. As a place of study and rest, the interior Migration Center offers an inhabitable threshold between what was and what comes after, all within the weight of what we’re left with. [ back to top ]
	Also on view Snack Projects \| featuring Gerardo Rosales January 22–February 27, 2010 Snack Projects is a miniature and portable art space, a “gallery” measuring 11” x 20” x 13”, organized by artists Michael Guidry and Robert Ruello. Snack Projects will feature the work of both local and regional artists throughout the 2009-2010 exhibition season at Lawndale Art Center. Snack Projects will feature the work of artists Bill Davenport, Rachel Hecker, Claire Chauvin, Gerardo Rosales, Dean Ruck and Nancy Douthey. snackprojects.com [ back to top ]



	On View
On View Coming Up Design Fair The Big Show Day of the Dead Día de los Muertos Archives Thanks to Saint Arnold Brewing Company for providing Beer for our opening reception.	January 22–February 27, 2010 Opening Reception Friday, January 22, 2010 from 6:30–8:30 PM Artist Talks at 6 PM DARe to go FURther \| UUPA Crust Robert Hodge, Lovie Olivia and Michael Kahlil Taylor John M. O’Quinn Gallery Taking into consideration the staggering range of diversity that the African Diaspora has to offer, DARe to go FURther aims to investigate and reveal many enigmatic layers. UUPA Crust fastidiously addresses the presence of stereotypes, myths and cultural similarities of both African-Americans and native Africans. Robert Hodge, Lovie Olivia and Michael Kahlil Taylor of the UUPA Crust Collective, are exploring and navigating beyond the surface of many beliefs associated with certain communities. In forms of visual narratives, paintings, and mixed media on paper, UUPA Crust analyzes the adaptation and mutability of culture. The artists of UUPA Crust share a common fascination for cross-continental interactions, and the parallelisms despite lost and altered history of individuals particularly whose roots are African. “Cleverly hidden in the show title is the region of DARFUR which caught the attention of all of us. We felt that the mass media’s handling of the information was discerning. This motivated us to pry further into how blacks are globally received. From our neighborhoods and beyond we celebrate our culture and heritage by daring to go beyond the newspapers and T.V. screens.” This is expressed visually and metaphorically. In this past year, the members have traveled to the African continent, the Caribbean and the common melting pot of New Orleans Louisiana to gather detail. In the tradition of anthropologists UUPA Crust has spent time gathering and cataloging to bring us steps closer to these visual resolutions. “From Kenya , the Caribbean to New Orleans and back to our neighborhood blocks we’ve witnessed cultural exchange and contrast that we wish to express in these works.” Various symbols of wealth, status and spiritual practices are relevant through tattoos, scarification, piercings and elaborate coiffures as forms of identification. Myth, folklore, spirituality and hip-hop harmoniously blend into visual amalgamation expressed through DARe to go FURther. [ back to top ]
	Harmonic Spheres \| Christopher Cascio & Anne J. Regan Mezzanine Gallery Christopher Cascio’s work explores the themes of sound production and replication by using the visual impact of finely cut paper on bright negative space. Cascio creates ornately cut Xeroxes of tangled cords and audio equipment arranged over a fluorescent orange background with a thick layer of high gloss varnish on top. The concept of this series of new work centers on the visual interpretations of synthesized sound and the complexities inherent in signals passing through various speakers, processors and recorded media. Cascio is interested in conceptual associations brought to mind (such as the idiosyncrasies of sound gear collections/collectors,) as well as certain visual associations such as how the lined up gear resembles structural elements and other familiar geometric patterns. Anne J. Regan's works are rooted in the blues, in the heavy history of the south, of its struggle with truth and longing for a home. Astrology, rootwork and alchemy play heavy roles in her practice, all resting upon the belief that devotion and embracement of such belief systems will conjure the true nature of the concepts in the works. Each piece is constructed to temporarily transfix the viewer with an intuitive recognition of presence, engaging them in a call and response between the work itself and its materials. The natural world features in these pieces as a binder to now intangible people, places and times. Soil, air, water and wax become symbols not only of the history of the locations themselves but of death's sanctification of the land, of a sacred space to return to, of those still moving and singing within us. Nothing ever goes away. Both artists' works focus on the different spheres of sound: sensory, spiritual, historic, cosmic, social and scientific. In Harmonic Spheres, Casico and Regan's habits are laid bare as it becomes clear that they are both collectors who have dismantled and reconstructed their devotions into these fully developed worlds. Shown alongside each other, all of these combine to create another new composition, their final harmony, which resonates throughout the gallery space. [ back to top ]	Christopher Cascio Anne J. Regan
	Poly-Lawn-Dale \| Ned Dodington Grace R. Cavnar Gallery For the installation at Lawndale Ned Dodington will fill the Grace R. Cavnar Gallery with roughly 40 nylon-stocking-filled pods of grass seed and potting soil, left to grow from simply black pods into green, verdant, almost hairy, living sculptures. Poly-Lawn-Dale will hope to show that by recontextualizing the natural and the cultural we can begin to understand new ways of being in a complex and multi-natural world. Poly-Lawn-Dale is at once intricately designed and totally unplanned. Human intervention is visible and also erased by the whimsy of living grass. Dodington states, “ ‘Nature has never been natural’ and as our global economy and global populations continue to expand and intertwine the distinction between what were once thought to be the natural and cultural worlds become less and less clear. Furthermore, with continued movements towards social equality (women’s rights, religious tolerance, abortion rights, and non-traditional marital unions), and environmental responsibility, the vanguard of social activism today appears to be centered around bio-politics and ethics. It is becoming less and less clear what exactly makes us Human and why exactly we find that so important. Poly-Lawn-Dale will explore these issues with the installation of a highly artificial/natural installation.” [ back to top ]
	Ab-Scrap \| Sally Heller Project Space Sally Heller explores, and exposes, the glut of a consumer-oriented society by building an abstract landscape installation using scraps and other found materials including netting, plastic flowers, cardboard, coat hangers and blanket scraps-cultural remnants of our everyday lives. A curtain made of chain surrounds parts of the landscape, broken up into swags, creating large negative spaces. The negative spaces are covered with tulle and opaque material, functioning as a device that lures the viewer to peek inside through its few openings which will break to form a single entrance. A video of a swamp scene, projected onto the landscape introduces the viewer to the relationship between real nature and its artificial counterpart. [ back to top ]
	Migration Center \| Jarrod Beck Mary E. Bawden Sculpture Garden & Room 317 Migration Center is a displaced built environment—beginning as a cast in place structure in the Mary E. Bawden Sculpture Garden, the project is contextualized and studied in the Lawndale Art Center’s Classroom 317. The casting forms are drawn maps on drafting film: unwieldy sheafs collaged with stained plastic tarps, dried pools of oil and graphite. Inks, dyes, rife with particulate matter, fill the sealed pockets, left to cake and dry. Precision, the architect’s vision, meets the chaotic material landscape through a shearing, folding, stitching: casting forms are created recalling cactus spindles, body doubles, the bones found excavating a foundation, strips of the party missed. Under the sun, on broken grass, the limp bodies are laid out and prepared for their solid state. Bags of plaster are mixed, pristinely white and poured into the molds as it warms, scalding hands. As a limb cures, another is poured, depending on the just-formed for support. Filling out the tangle of form, growing into a structure, wearing the evidence of the process. Joints struggle and crumble. These slips come together on site to create a body, a wall, a weather system overwhelming the senses. After exploring the environment outside, visitors will be invited upstairs into the classroom for a presentation of artifacts and drawings: skins and offcasts from the body downstairs. As a place of study and rest, the interior Migration Center offers an inhabitable threshold between what was and what comes after, all within the weight of what we’re left with. [ back to top ]
	Also on view Snack Projects \| featuring Gerardo Rosales January 22–February 27, 2010 Snack Projects is a miniature and portable art space, a “gallery” measuring 11” x 20” x 13”, organized by artists Michael Guidry and Robert Ruello. Snack Projects will feature the work of both local and regional artists throughout the 2009-2010 exhibition season at Lawndale Art Center. Snack Projects will feature the work of artists Bill Davenport, Rachel Hecker, Claire Chauvin, Gerardo Rosales, Dean Ruck and Nancy Douthey. snackprojects.com [ back to top ]