Tag Archives | La Luz de Jesus Gallery

June ’18: Jasmine Worth, Christopher Ulrich, Ave Rose, Frank Forte at La Luz de Jesus


June 1 – July 1
Artist Reception, Friday, June 1, 8-11 PM
La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90027

In June 2018, La Luz de Jesus Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition by four artists with very divergent styles and practices; Jasmine Worth, Christopher Ulrich, Ave Rose, Frank Forte

Jasmine Worth  Future Past
Future Past is Jasmine Worth‘s fifth exhibition with La Luz de Jesus.  She is a contemporary painter who creates depictions of the symbolic and surreal using techniques and imagery of classical painting. Worth draws on personal experiences that parallel the more significant cultural background, the subconscious being a gateway for commentary on the world around her. The seamless blending of the iconic with the visceral blurs the line between what is sacred and what is profane.

Christopher Ulrich – Into the Light

 

Christopher Ulrich is a painter of surreal, iconographic images. He is influenced by the richness of ancient mythology, the mystery of alchemy, and the vastness of cosmic reality. Illuminating this dark journey with insight, heart, and determination he strives to understand the revelations that are uncovered in the work.

Frank Forte – The Exploration of the Cartoon Myth

Frank Forte‘s second exhibition with La Luz de Jesus is inspired by a steady diet of classic cartoons, comics and horror films. Frank continues to explore the realm of disturbed characters that seem trapped in a nightmarish animated world. This new series of paintings incorporate the re-appropriation of figures and images we know from the yesteryear of the animated film as well as introducing Frank’s original characters. The Exploration of the Cartoon Myth tries the fuse the old and the new and act as a launching point for the next series of works.

Ave Rose Whimsical Windows

Ave Rose’s Whimsical Windows are vignettes of Taxidermy Automata each their own unique story of life and death fortune and tragedy. A gold-gilded Amazon Tree Boa skeleton plays the role of sorcerer spinning and twisting protecting the sacetimental rose with its beautiful striped petals that are said to hold the power of eternal youth. A coyote skull with its fangs and jaw opened full revealing beehive bouquet a jeweled wasps nest filled multicolored gems that are attended to and lovingly cared for by gold gilded honey bees.

To view full show statements and previews, check out the La Luz de Jesus Current Exhibitions page

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4/6: Bruce Eichelberger – El Ateo at La Luz de Jesus


Bruce Eichelberger – El Ateo

showing with Mark Gleason
Exhibition: April 6-April 29
Reception: Fri. April 6, 8-11 PM

La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90027
www.laluzdejesus.com

 

La Luz de Jesus Gallery is pleased to present El Ateo by artist Bruce Eichelberger. This will mark the artist’s third exhibition with the gallery. Using images of sexuality, grotesque violence, and distorted figures the artist creates enigmatic like visuals that reveal his contempt for our current political climate and attack the current administration for its xenophobic policies. His work challenges authority and lampoons religious institutions with the same devoutness as those who embrace these antiquated and abusive systems. Personal narratives are presented as fact but purposefully embellished hiding the real truth from viewers.

The artist describes his work as follows: “The best way I can explain it is, there are a lot of things that affect me – the scandal in the church, war, abuse in the government these stories are what drives me. I’ll take little truths and embellish them – so there will be a lot of truths but by the time I complete the work – only I would be aware of the truth that would apply to the piece.”

Bruce Eichelberger (born in California) is a self-taught artist that was given up for adoption at birth. Bruce spent many years incarcerated in the California penal system where he turned to painting and drawing as a means of self-reflection. Since his release, the artist has connected with his biological parents this connection has helped lead him to stop his addiction to drugs giving him closure. His parents are now part of his lifelong journey of artistry.

His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries nationally and internationally, including Harwood Museum in Taos, New Mexico, and Le Halle St. Pierre in Paris, France.

Images forthcoming.

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2/2: Dan Barry – Passing Time at La Luz de Jesus Gallery


Dan Barry Passing Time

Showing with Pool y Marianela and Dan Barry
Exhibition: February 2-25
Reception: Fri. Feb. 2, 8-11 PM
La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
www.laluzdejesus.com

The artworks in Dan Barry’s Passing Time exhibition have been created in 2017. On one level they are a reflection of the fragility of human life, loss, transitions, and anxiety. And, on another, the series chronicles the artist’s daily personal response to the general climate of dread and chaos found in current world events. For those who choose to take the time to engage with these mixed media drawings, it is Barry’s hope that some of the works utter a delicate whisper, while others deal a more brutal blow.

As with the previous series of artworks, the creation of each art object, from beginning to end, is a purgative and meditative process for Barry. Creation begins with the collecting and gathering of antique frames, found paper and ephemera – close to home and on the artist’s trips abroad. Finding inspiration in these collected objects, images, and surfaces, Barry begins to combine them, creating layers of images, textural beauty, applying meticulous drawing techniques – thus building up a history of marks. The resulting art objects contain surreal visions and personal narratives. Although left intentionally ambiguous in narrative, it is the artist’s goal to provide the viewer with enough signifiers of meaning, and hopefully an emotional charge, thus allowing you to derive your own personal meanings.

Dan Barry, b .1971, Denmark, Wisconsin (currently living and working in Austin, Texas).

“For as long as I can remember I have been an explorer, a collector, an image maker, an artist and a storyteller with a self-revelatory urge. My artworks have always been a reflection, and ambiguous journal, of what is happening in my life, mind, and surroundings at any given time.

I grew up on a farm in a rural part of the American midwest. At a young age, I began digging in old dumps, exploring abandoned farmhouses, gathering and surrounding myself with found images and objects. After completing my chores, I spent a lot of my free time daydreaming, making art and environments. At the age of 15, I became an antique dealer. The money that I earned buying and selling antiques allowed me to attend a private high school and a small liberal arts college where I studied cultural anthropology and fine art. These formative experiences directly influence my love for worn, distressed and perfectly stained surfaces.

Using collected imagery, found objects, and meticulous drawing techniques, I create layers of images, textural beauty, and meaning set in a world of humor and at times fragile vulnerability. The creation of each art object, from beginning to end, is a purgative and meditative process. The resulting art objects contain surreal visions and personal narratives. Although often ambiguous, it is my intention to provide enough signifiers of meaning, and an emotional charge, allowing the viewer to derive their own personal meanings found within my art objects.”

 

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2/2/18: Pool Y Marianela: Kidstianism at La Luz de Jesus


Pool Y Marianela: Kidstianism,
with Click Mort & Dan Barry

Exhibition: February 2-25
Reception: Fri. Feb. 2, 8-11 PM

La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
www.laluzdejesus.com

Pool y Marianela – Tygra (Thundercats) action figure with epoxy putty, on wooden cross, 11.8″x9.8″

 

Pool y Marianela – Kidstianism
Argentine artists, Marianela Perelli and Pool Paolini, turned 33 models of Barbie and Ken into religious icons for an exhibition called “Barbie, the Plastic Religion“. The show featured Barbie as the Virgin Mary and Ken as Jesus Christ and included religious figures from Catholicism, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism with versions of Barbie as Joan of Arc, Mary Magdalene and the Virgin of Lourdes. The show provoked widespread controversy in several languages from Argentina to France. As a result, the artists were invited by Mattel and Les Art Decoratifs to display four of their pieces in the museum of decorative arts in the Palais du Louvre, Paris, and were also received in the Vatican by Pope Francis who accepted a gift of their Barbie, “Our Lady of Lujan“.

How many living artists are in the personal collection of The Pope?

For their latest show, Pool y Marianela are returning to the tropes of religion and escapism via Kidstianism, which transforms popular dolls and action figures into religious icons. The centerpiece of this sure-to-be-controversial exhibition will be a life-sized, full-body, edible Christ cake, which will be sold by the slice.

Full preview can be found at this link

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12/7: Rodney Bingenheimer Xmas LP Release Party La Luz de Jesus


Rodney Bingenheimer
Santa’s got a GTO Vol. 2
Record Release & Gearhead Magazine Release Party
Thursday, December 7th 7-10PM

La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90027
www.laluzdejesus.com

Rodney Bingenheimer, or Rodney on the Rock as he is better known, has introduced the world to some of rock’s most beloved bands. This December, Gearhead Records is proud to be releasing Rodney On The Rock Presents: Santa’s Got a GTO Vol. 2., join Rodney on this album as he shares some of his favorite Christmas songs by some of his most beloved bands including CJ Ramone (bass player of The Ramones), The Glitter Critters a.k.a The Wolly Bandits (with Clem Burke of Blondie on drums), actress Tipper Newton’s pop girl band Color TV, UK’s Peter 118, The Tearaways who wrote Rodney’s Sirius Radio theme song, David Bowie collaborator KristeenYoung, The Ramonas, Kat Meoz, Frankie and the Studs (featuring the daughter of Gilby Clark from Guns and Roses), The Dollyrots, Karen Basset of The Pandoras. Lisa Mychols and more! Released on limited edition vinyl this album includes a free digital download coupon with bonus tracks and is available as a digital download card. The album sports eye-catching original album art by Doug Mansfield, guitarist for The Mansfields who have a track on this album as well.

The album retails for $21.95 and will be available for purchase in advance from the gallery, or at the event.

Also in December, the yearly print edition of Gearhead® Magazine Issue #20 will be released! Known for its coverage of rockers, custom cars, rebels, and artists since 1993, the new issue features an interview with, Dean Moon: Creator of Mooneyes Go With Moon, an interview with world renowned tattooist “Cuz’n” Bill Lorenz (his eye-popping painting graces the cover of the magazine), World Famous DJ Rodney Bingenheimer and his GTO, The Race of Gentlemen: Up Close and Personal, Hollywood legend Fantastic Fig and His Curious Cars, Eva Von Slut and the San Francisco Music Scene and fabulous Indie Record, Book and Music Reviews.

To support the release of Rodney on The Rock Presents: Santa’s Got a GTO Vol. 2 album and print magazine, Gearhead® will be celebrating at La Luz De Jesus Gallery with performances with bands from the album including The Mansfields, Peter 118, The Tearaways, Kat Meow, Color TV and other surprise guests! There will be magic by Fantastic Fig, food, drink and merry mischief for all. Join us for an evening of fun, music, art, drinks and pop-culture at its finest! Both items will be available for purchase. The event is free and open to the public on a first come first served basis.

Date: Thursday, December 7th, 2017. 7-10pm
Location: La Luz de Jesus Gallery 4633 Hollywood Bl. Hollywood CA 90027

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12/1: La Luz de Jesus 31st Anniversary Drawing Show


31st Anniversary Drawing Show
Exhibition: December 1-31
Reception: Fri. Dec. 1, 8-11 PM

La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90027
www.laluzdejesus.com

Artist list: Nathan Anderson, Ana Bagayan, Paul Barnes, Vicki Berndt, Andrew Brandou, Mark Bodnar, Jessica Dalva, Jason D’Aquino, Dave Dexter, Daniel Martin Diaz, Jorge Dos Diablos, Bruce Eichelberger, Frau Sakra, Damian Fulton, Mark Gleason, Derek Harrison, Scott Holloway, Karen Hydendahl, Stephanie Inagaki, Yumiko Kayukawa, Mariam Keurjikian, Zoe Lacchei, Craig LaRotonda, Tracy Lewis, Justine Lin, Lizz Lopez, Danni Shinya Luo, Patrick McGrath Muñiz, Junko Mizuno, Chris B. Murray, Michael Murphy, Mayuko Nakamura, Annie Owens, Rob Reger / Emily the Strange, Van Saro, Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman, Christopher Ulrich, Mel Weiner, Jasmine Worth, Daphne Yap.

2017 is La Luz de Jesus’ 31st year of continuous, monthly exhibitions. Think about that: La Luz de Jesus Gallery is 31 years old!

Some of the artists in this show weren’t even born yet when Billy Shire decided to clear out the storage apartment at the corner of Melrose and Martel, upstairs from his flagship Soap Plant shop with marked purpose. His vision: to showcase the incredible, ethnic folk art he brought back from Mexico, Guatemala, and museum quality pieces from Asia and elsewhere alongside that of his talented friends–people who were finding a hard time being taken seriously by the art establishment of the era in spite of their technical prowess. His experiment has spawned a legacy. The renewed interest in illustration art resultant from his gallery’s success influenced the zeitgeist, and launched industries. The lowbrow movement of California Art (which in turn informed the Pop Surrealists that followed) influenced fashion, television, film and culture. The rest, as they say, is history.

The 31st Anniversary Drawing Show is an invitational event that traces the history of Post-Pop in its birthplace.

We chose from the best illustrators featured in the 31-year history of La Luz de Jesus to create a new, original drawing for this show, allowing us to trace a line all the way from Robert Williams to Annie Owens.

Since this is a drawing show, the work will be graphite, charcoal, colored pencil, ink or ballpoint pen, watercolor and/or gouache on paper. Whatever the preferred technique, the dominant medium of expression will classify the work as a drawing. All works are 16×20″ or smaller before framing.

Preview the entire show at this link

 

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11/3: Jessica Dalva “Mess” at La Luz de Jesus


Jessica Dalva – Mess
showing with Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman
November 3 – 26, 2017
Reception: Fri. Nov. 3rd, 8-11 PM

La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90027
www.laluzdejesus.com

Jessica Dalva – Vestiges Mixed media sculpture, 16×10.5″ round in glass dome, battery operated LED lights.

Jessica Dalva – Mess

This series of sculptures, drawings and paintings were, in great part, brought about as a response to the many disconcerting and unbelievable circumstances that have become commonplace recently. It has been difficult to create artwork in the midst of unprecedented disquiet, so these pieces were attempts to use the frustration and uncertainty we have been facing as a form of small resistance and personal countermeasure. – Jessica Dalva, October 2017

Jessica Dalva is a sculptor and illustrator, living and working in the Bay Area of California. She uses a variety of materials and techniques, many of which stem from her work as a fabricator for film and television. Many of her pieces feature elements repurposed from their past lives; bits of fabric, metal, and timber collected from antique fairs or gathered from the woods.

View full preview at this link

www.jessicadalva.com

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10/6: 21st Anniversary Art of Tiki Show and Book Release


21st Anniversary Art of Tiki Show
Exhibition: Oct 6-29
Book release & signing party
Friday, October 6, 8-11 PM

With Otto Von Stroheim, Sven Kirsten
& over 30 of Today’s Top Tiki Artists

The Art of Tiki is published in conjunction with the 21st Anniversary Tiki Art Exhibition curated by Otto Von Stroheim at La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles.

The Art of Tiki is a passionate study of the Tiki idol as an art form. For the first time, contemporary Tiki art is united and presented equally with what inspired it; original mid-century Polynesian pop. Sven Kirsten combines his firsthand experiences in exploring the birth of Tiki style with his intimate knowledge of the Tiki Revival, painting a vivid, visually arresting portrait of a unique, always new art genre.

The Art of Tiki is written by Otto von Stroheim, Sven Kirsten, and Jordan Reicheck, with Introduction by Shag.

Artist list:
Atomikitty a/k/a Susannah Mosher, Bai, BigToe a/k/a Tom Laura, Bosko, Crazy Al Evans, Andrew Brandou, Richey Fahey, Mary Fleener, Geko, Dave Hansen, Mike Hoffman, Doug Horne, Danielle Mann, Mitch O’Connell, Eric October, Brad “Tiki Shark” Parker, Ken Pleasant, Rick Rietveld, Ken Ruzic, Mookie Sato, Scott Scheidly, Shag, Dale Sizer, Thor, Tiki Diablo, Tiki Tony, Michael Uhlenkott, Jeffery Vallance, Donella Vitale, Von Franco, Derek Yaniger.

Full preview, and book info at this link

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8/1: Harold Fox – So Long and Thanks for All the Fish at La Luz de Jesus


Harold Fox  So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
showing with The Fifth Annual Coaster Show

September 1 – October 1, 2017
Opening Reception: Friday, Sept. 1st, 8-11 PM
Closing Party: Sunday, Oct. 1st noon-six PM

La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90027
www.laluzdejesus.com

The pictures I have made try to represent, to some extent, everyone’s experiences in perhaps a surreal or a fantasy form. An ambiance or deja vu familiarity maybe from a dream, or a nightmare and even a reality that exists somewhere. It is the negative experience that is most enduring, at least for me…like sitting down to enjoy your favorite pie only to discover a dead fly on it.

I hope the viewer enjoys each piece as much as I did creating it. This will be my last art exhibition in Southern California. — Harold Fox

Harold Fox has enjoyed unprecedented success in his retirement. Each of his previous exhibitions has completely sold out, and so we are sad to announce that this will be his last exhibition in Los Angeles. If you’ve been waiting to add one of his vivid reminiscences of a bygone era to your own art collection, now is the time to do it. If Charles Bukowski used paintbrushes instead of a typewriter, the outcome might look something like this. But there’s also a bit of Steinbeck and Hemingway and a whole lot of Nightmare Alley. Like a skid row Robert Williams, or a sideshow Frank Cassara, Fox’s work is both cartooned, but realistic, with the types of surrealist flourishes that would make Dali proud. Fox’s is a dark, shadowy world of second rate carnivals, low rent flophouses and dustbowl trailer parks filled with ornery hustlers, scheming grifters, and Machiavellian femmes fatales, as witnessed by a support cast of affable hobos and menacing clowns.

View the full preview of the show, along with the Coaster Show, at this link

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9/1: The Fifth Annual Coaster Show at La Luz de Jesus

The Fifth Annual Coaster Show
& Harold Fox –  So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

September 1 – October 1, 2017
Opening Reception: Friday, Sept. 1st, 8-11 PM
Closing Party: Sunday, Oct. 1st noon-six PM

La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90027
www.laluzdejesus.com

Full preview at this link

It’s the Wooden Anniversary of the La Luz de Jesus Coaster Show. What started as a last minute substitution has grown into one of the most anticipated events of the LA Art Scene, now in its fifth year!

We’ve all done it. We’ve sat at the bar, drinking a beer and doodled on a coaster.

But most of us aren’t the extremely skilled painters, illustrators, animators, tattooists, sculptors or collage artists that are featured in this exhibition that takes a love of craft brewing and elevates it to high art.

We produced a custom canvas for some of our favorite gallery folks to do what they do best, and transform a 4″ tondo coaster into museum worthy exhibition pieces.

In the past four exhibitions, we’ve had pieces by Ron English and Mark Ryden, given first exhibitions to hundreds of emerging artists and turned a few dozen newcomers into bonafide stars. This year, we’ll again dot our walls with over 1000 tiny masterpieces priced $250 or less!

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