Tag Archives | Van Saro

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

 

Share

Interview: Van Saro Concrete Jungle at La Luz de Jesus

Van Saro Concrete Jungle
showing with Danni Shinya Luo Mollier

Opening Reception: Friday, November 4th 8PM
November 4 -27, 2016

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

laluz_saro_vii
I continue to find beauty in the decay, but as a father (now) I try to find hope in unlikely places.

We asked Van Saro a few questions about his new exhibition via email:
What have you been up to since your last solo exhibition?

Raising two little boys, and taking shit one day at a time.

saro-lost-ice-cream

Has, or how has this election cycle affected you, personally, and in the creation of this show?

Election? it’s all bullshit. Pretend democracy, the illusion that we have some say in this madness. I stopped giving a fuck I guess

saro_this-aint-checkers

There seems to be less color in the paintings than in your last show, please explain

Ya, monochromatic is way more appealing to me. it suits the mood of the paintings better, plus I’ve always felt that the complexity of balancing colors, makes my process less creative based, and more technical. black and white really freed me up to create. most these paintings are freestyles, nothing planned out, I just sat down and started painting to match my mood.

Your detail is tight, is your effort to create such detail conscious or does a muse take over? How much time do you spend on each piece?

In past series the paintings had to be much more planned. this series I detailed parts of the paintings that I felt needed it, and kept the rest loose and rhythmical. my paintings take time, hard to say how long, every painting is different time wise.

saro_lost-bullet-storm

Has being a father changed your approach to your art?

Being a father has changed everything. But it hasn’t made me a typical father, fuck that, if anything I’m even more determined to break loose from the confinement of society, and teach my kids to be the masters of there own lives

Preview the entire show at this link

Share

11/4: Van Saro Concrete Jungle at La Luz de Jesus

VII from Van Saro Concrete Jungle


Van Saro  Concrete Jungle
showing with Danni Shinya Luo  Mollier

Opening Reception: Friday, November 4th 8PM
November 4 -27, 2016

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

Van Saro got his start on the streets. He grew up in Surrey, British Columbia, not too far from Vancouver, and graffiti art was a big deal. “I would take the bus to the city all the time, take pictures with a disposable camera and try to emulate it,” he says. “I was never good as a kid, but, that’s where we all started.”

Saro was 11 the first time he hit Canadian walls then got pretty heavily into the graffiti world during his teenage years. “Graffiti allowed me to be angry and get out there and paint,” he says.

These days, Saro primarily paints with oils, draws with charcoal and displays his works inside galleries. The influence of the streets, though, is still evident in his work. Saro, who has lived in Los Angeles for over a decade and a half, unveils his latest collection, “Concrete Jungle,” at La Luz de Jesus in November 2016. Among the pieces are painted bank notes from war-torn Iraq and the porous-bordered Turkey–the latter of which bears Armenian critique of the genocide of 1915-17.

laluz_saro_dinar-genocide

It’s a photo-realistic, oil-painted glimpse into decaying civilization. “I continue to find beauty in the decay,” he says, “but as a father (now) I try to find hope in unlikely places.”

laluz_saro_lost-electionFor years, Saro lived as an undocumented immigrant in California. He floated from one home to the next, spending time in San Pedro, the San Fernando Valley and parts in between. He headed up to Sacramento for a bit. At one point, not long after his arrival in Los Angeles, he lived on the streets. That lasted for a couple months, until a friend was able to get him a job in a restaurant and Saro had enough money to rent out rooms in other people’s homes. “That’s basically how I lived for most of the first eight years that I was here,” says Saro, “surviving day to day. That’s not a future I want my family”

He worked the sort of jobs that are typically available to people who don’t have papers: dishwashing and landscaping. “Whether I was able to do it or not, I would say yeah I can do it,” says Saro. “Survival makes you do things you didn’t think you could do–and I don’t mean that only in a negative context. I found strength in situations that seemed pretty hopeless.”

“When I started painting again, I was really serious about dedicating my life to being an artist,” he says. “It was when I had the luxury of knowing that I would have some food when I got home. I would have a few extra bucks in my pocket to buy a can of paint.”

Today, Saro lives in the San Fernando Valley with his wife and two children. His life has settled greatly. Still, there’s a deep struggle for survival that exists on his canvases. “Everything is balanced,” says Saro. And you can say that about his life in Los Angeles as well.

*excerpted and addended from an interview with Liz Ohanesian for KCET.

Preview both Danni Shinya Luo and Van Saro’s shows at this link

Share

Website by Mancha