David Smith, “Cubi XXIII,” 1964, stainless steel, currently on view at LACMA.

The opening of this extensive survey of work by David Smith, a man who celebrated his working class roots in his art, ironically coincided with Governor Paul LePage’s purge of an 11-panel mural depicting his state’s labor history from the Maine Department of Labor headquarters. Smith, who defined himself as a metalworker first and an artist second, perfected his riveting and welding skills at a Studebaker plant during the 1920’s before encountering modern utopian constructivist influences together with the welded iron sculptures of Julio Gonzalez that influenced his lifelong production. Smith’s interest in geometric forms that are commonly found in the industrial workplace is underscored in seldom seen sketchbooks, photographs, drawings and paintings, enhancing our understanding of his superb painted  large scale steel sculpture. Renzo Piano’s pavilion, sectioned off by translucent scrims, offers a degree of natural light that enlivens their surface, finished with a circular sander into intriguing gestural abstractions (Los Angeles County Museum of Art [LACMA], Miracle Mile).
Diane Calder

Alexander Calder, “Little Face,” c. 1943, copper wire, thread, glass, wood, currently on view at OCMA.  Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago.

Anyone writing, or even talking about Alexander Calder’s work had better consult a good thesaurus first to find a synonym for   “playful,” as the adjective has been used in discussion of this master of the mobile as much as any single word about any artist (this writer likes “full of beans,” noted in one thesaurus as an “informal” usage). Or people can visit “Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy,” which extensively examines 30 of Calder’s works in part by pairing them with seven contemporary artists whose art embraces and applies the kinds of materials and forms used by Calder. A trio of California artists, Aaron Curry, Kristi Lippiri, and Jason Meadows are among the seven. Calder’s always-accessible work … sorry … playfully blends primary colors, organic and geometric shapes. This show brings together his perhaps best known kinetic mobiles, made mostly from painted sheet metal and steel wire (though sometimes incorporating found objects like beer cans), which the artist suspended weightless in air, along with his “stabiles,” or static, self-supporting steel abstract sculptures as well as one made of bronze. Curator Lynne Warren, a curator at MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago), where the show originated last year, explained that in her travels to art schools and museums, she discovered a growing number of contemporary artists looking at modern art, specifically at Calder’s works for inspiration. “This younger generation is full of optimism and joy, particularly the joy of discovery,” she says, adding that these artists compelled her to take a fresh look at Calder. The seven disciples included here don’t take on their master in a competitive fashion, but apply the elements of abstraction and geometry in assemblage consisting of everyday objects and/or industrial materials. They complement Calder with quality work of their own whose autonomy holds up both proudly and beautifully (Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach).
Andy Brumer / Liz Goldner


John Frame, “Argus,” sculpture, currently on view at the Huntington Library.

The sculptures of John Frame have always had an air of narrative about them. Meticulously carved and delicately posed, his wooden figures have often suggested actors in a grand drama, caught mid-action by the spotlight. Viewers tend to stand before his sculptural tableaux as if waiting for the play to resume; puzzling out what they can by gathering clues from the figure’s masks, their expressive gestures and fragments of words that bounce helplessly off the figure’s wooden lips. These latest works take the next step. He ups the emotive potential of what was implied theatre to present a fully staged, puppet-performed film. Remarkably, his work loses nothing of its power or enigma with the fleshing out.

Frame’s “Tale of the Crippled Boy” is a film work in progress, based on a dream that jolted him awake and was so compelling he feels he will be working with it for the rest of his life. A non-linear epic, it offers a shadowy tale of loss and aspiration, life, death, suffering and renewal. It’s an engrossing and disjointed narrative made even more compelling by the fully articulated figures and stage sets that occupy the adjoining galleries. The figures from this tale are often strange characters, not always fully human, often missing limbs, sometimes sprouting twigs and leaves from elongated noses like Pinocchio. With their working pulleys, glass eyes, and various missing parts Frame’s figures extend his sculptural investigation of timeless themes regarding the ambiguity of life’s meaning. Concepts of vulnerability, individual freedom and cosmic manipulation are made visually dramatic and emotionally provocative (Huntington Library, Pasadena).
Suvan Geer

Ned Vena, “Untitled,” 2008, currently at Michael Benevento Gallery.

Ned Vena ferociously re-invigorates minimalist painting in this two-part show of dual separate but interconnected bodies of work, to the point that baggage-laden term "minimalism" feels misleading. In the gallery's main location, Vena's "White Paintings" are long, narrow linen canvases with multiple raised ridges of paint running towards their centers, where they perpendicularly angle off near the middle into sequences similar to Frank Stella's stripe paintings. The seven works – which are frankly referenced as being made with Rustoleum flat white enamel – despite their cool ingredients, cozily fill the modest-sized gallery with an austere warmth, oxymoronic as that may sound. Their vibe is also informed by the striped-craziness of the back room, an installation featuring narrow horizontal bands of black vinyl tape (roughly the same width as the raised stripes in the white paintings) that line the length of the walls, including across light-switch and outlet fixtures. The predictably trippy repetitive black-white pattern occasionally veers off into drifting slants, which read visually as cracks, and the tape's visceral presence gives the room a steady hum. At the adjunct space a few doors down, the other series consists of three large circular paintings, and two larger horizontal paintings composed of sprayed rubber on linen. These works continue to explore repetitive patterns, using slightly offbeat registrations, and in the process dismantling purity for the sake of object-hood. As with the “White Paintings,” the materials used in the rubber paintings are frankly acknowledged. Along with the painting titles and sizes, a separate laminated sheet lists the highly toxic chemicals involved, which is yet another way of tweaking – and rejecting - the notion of the fully unencumbered object, a notion minimalism proper set as its m.o. (Michael Benevento Gallery, West Hollywood)
Michael Shaw

John Humble, “Snake Charmer, Venice Beach, CA,” 2008, archival pigment print, 10 x 15”, currently on view at Craig Krull Gallery.

Color photographs of the Venice Boardwalk as well as vacant storefronts and urban structures are the subjects of John Humble's travels locally and throughout the country. Humble makes order out of chaos and his precise compositions highlight that which is often overlooked. By scrutinizing the banal Humble sees beauty and frames segments of the landscape pointing out random juxtapositions and incongruities that relate to changes in both technology and the economic climate. In many of Humble's images the blue sky dominates. He is also fascinated by cloud formations, signage and the intersection where the man-made and natural coincide. In the images of Venice Beach Humble focuses on the street performers and shop interiors, producing colorful photographs that illustrate the magic and the allure of the beach (Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica).
Jody Zellen

Elaine Reichek, “Within the Labyrinth” (detail), 2008, hand embroidery on linen, 43 3/8 x 34 3/4”, currently on view at Shoshana Wayne Gallery.

Elaine Reiche's “Ariadne's Thread” tackles the Greek myth through hand-embroidered linens and a large-scale tapestry, which feature both classical, modern art, as well as the occasional pop cultural references. These works, aesthetically and conceptually-sound as they are, get overshadowed by the accompanying photo archive in the west gallery that Reichek has so dutifully arranged, perhaps obsessively, into subcategories, including the “Jacquard/Babbage” group, the “Bacchus/Volcano” group, and the “Ruins” group, among others. Each delights in its own way, whether through the repetitive familiarity of classic art historical paintings which continually pop up in different styles and eras, or through the variety of image incarnation within a given category, as in “Minotaur/Laybrinth.” In this group a photo of a classic sculpture of a minotaur appears adjacent to a still of a labyrinth video game, which itself appears next to a still of the character Danny Torrance, who poses with his toys on the labyrinth-like carpet in “The Shining” (whose pattern also appears in an embroidery work).  This level of visual taxonomy, though of course not without precedent, has rarely been so satisfyingly arranged (Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica).
MS

Rodarte, “States of Matter” installation view, 2011, currentlyl on view at MOCA Pacific Design Center.

In 2005, sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy started their artistic clothing design company Rodarte in Pasadena. Each woman had graduated from UC Berkeley in 2001 – Kate  with a degree in art history and Laura with one in literature – and spent much of the following year watching Japanese horror films. By ‘05 the sisters  had merged it all together into a costume clothing line so impressive that  Vogue’s Anna Wintour actually flew out from New York to tour their studio and offer them words of wisdom: keep it personal, don’t go corporate. Runway collections and awards followed, including several Vogue covers. Now embarking  on their first West Coast solo exhibition, Rodarte’s “States of Matter” features over 20 pieces from their  collections that highlight, in particular, the costumes commissioned for Darren Aronofsky’s film “Black Swan.” The exhibition, designed by Alexandre de Betak and curated by Rebecca Morse, plays off the morbid eeriness of the award-winning  film, with pieces shown in near darkness and lit only by randomly flickering  fluorescent tubes of black, red and white light. Suspended from wires, with no  discernable mannequins underneath, the fabric sculptures are set in three  stages. The main room features the blackened chicken feathered tutus worn by Natalie Portman and her ballerina friends softly spinning alongside gray cheesecloth and vinyl scrap gowns of funereal queens. Upstairs, a host of white assemblage dresses dripping with pearls, lace and what appear to be cobwebs  gather in a corner as if waiting to be inhabited by a harem of vampire brides. And finally, illuminated by flickering red shadows, a triage of lady togas violently smeared with red dye conjure up a death march from some formidable Greek tragedy. Each series, and in fact, each costume sculpture itself, tells a  vignette all its own. Yet, just like the breathable fabrics and unusual construction, each allows room for the creation of our own personal fictions and  fables of the macabre (MOCA Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood).
Stacy Davies

Walead Beshty, “Black Curl,” 2010, Fujicolor Crystal Archive Super Type C, Em, currently on view at Regen Projects.

“Processcolorfield” is not for those who don't appreciate the art of ambitious gestures, as well as the occasional bout of subversion, which this show favors as a high – if not top – priority. As with Walead Beshty’s show two years ago at LAXArt, which included a cracked mirrored-floor on which to view his trademark large-scale photograms, “Processcolorfield” is also burdened by gimmickry: large, copper-plated tabletops culled from offices of exhibitions past, black cube configurations that are also office refugees, and wall constructions made from "shredded and mulched" remains of the artist's destroyed prints. These accompany a selection of Beshty's latest "Black Curl" photograms, a light and color printing-produced darkroom process he's honed to a science. The selection here, hung in plexiglass vitrines, in some cases are allowed to curl out at the bottom (intriguingly revealing their print details … A & I Photo, in case you're wondering). They unfortunately come off as visually rote: of a lower quality resolution than the other works, they make the artist appear to be going through the motions. The surprise treat however - which puts an added spin on the photos and sculptures, and is virtually a show unto itself — is the large collected display of 'winning strategy' self-help books; how to master the corporate world, and the like. The few dozen books line the shelves previously given over to catalogues of gallery artists — now that's subversion. The mini-installation may even instill enough of an enhanced processing of the show proper to redeem one's overall digestion. Either way, it won't be particularly smooth going down (Regen Projects, West Hollywood).
MS

Kehinde Wiley, “Kalkidan (The World Stage: Israel),” 2011, oil and gold enamel on canvas, 45” x 36”, currently on view at Roberts & Tlton.

"The World Stage: Israel" is a series of 15 oil paintings created by Los Angeles born, New York based painter Kehinde Wiley. He launched his career with a series of portraits of men he saw in Harlem who he invited into his studio, showing them art history books and asking them to assume the poses in paintings that interested them. He painted them in their street clothes against patterned backgrounds that came from myriad historic sources. Often the decorative pattern of the background would be painted on top of the portrait. Wiley's portraits were and remain heroic and empowering. Migrating out from new York, the current paintings are large scale images of men he photographed in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. By traveling the world Wiley collects people that juxtapose present and past, popular culture and history. Wiley is a skilled painter who seamlessly weaves together abstraction and representation to comment on stereotypes and national identities (Roberts & Tilton Gallery, Culver City).
JZ

Lukas Roth, “Untitled (Ian Party),” 2007, color photograph, currently on view at Kopeikin Gallery.

German photographer Lukas Roth's large-scale, super-high resolution interior and exterior landscapes inevitably bring to mind the work of his more senior countryman, Andreas Gursky – the acknowledged master of the genre – but Roth brings his own particular style to the game. Though the work has been pulled virtually from the recent archives – the six photos date from 2005 to '07 – they're none the worse for wear. Even "Untitled (Lan Party)," a nearly nine-foot-wide panorama of some type of online gaming summit featuring participants and their accompanying range of engaged expressions as they attend to their computers, doesn't feel dated. And even if it did, the sheer spectacle captured is timeless. At the other end of the activity spectrum, "Untitled (Beach)" (2006) features an anonymous curving cove of European coastline packed with beach-goers. Oddly enough, none of them are swimming. Roth has somehow managed to capture a moment in which the azure waters are completely free of a single one of the crowd. "Untitled (Pont du Gard)" is a river-scape shot from an arching bridge that provides more than ample doses of innocuous voyeurism, with a plethora of cliff jumpers, swimmers and canoers for the eye to get lost in (Kopeikin Gallery, Culver City).
MS

Robert Russell, “Masters” installation view, 2011, currently on view at Francois Ghebaly Gallery.

Paintings of art books by Robert Russell are art about art. The installation of paintings constitute a freize around the gallery that moves from a book of Rembrandt to Warhol to Cy Twombly to Courbet to Sargent to Freud. One titled "This is Not to be Looked At" is the only reference to conceptual art included in the sequence. Each is a beautifully rendered oil on canvas that situates the book in the center of either a dark, light or mottled ground suggesting placement on a coffee table. Russell acknowledges, albeit subtly, that we learn from books and that it is through reproductions that most people experience art. By making paintings of paintings represented on the cover of art books Russell slyly if obviously presents the sort of studies of the masters that every student and Sunday painter produces. Presenting the works of others as renderings of art books rather than the originals has the ironic effect of making them uniquely his own (Francois Ghebaly Gallery, Culver City).
JZ

Tillman Kaiser, “Orgel,” 2011, egg tempera and silkscreen on paper and canvas, Paravent with 4 canvases, 68 7/8 x 35 3/8” each, currently on view at Honor Fraser.

Don’t worry if the works in Tillman Kaiser’s show “Für Kinder und Kenner” (translation: For Children and Experts) seem esoteric and hard to understand – Kaiser himself uses phrases like “brain digestion” and “laboratory for psychoanalysis” to describe his practice. But as the title suggests, his works operate on multiple levels. Although the works range from painting to sculpture to wallpaper (and a combination of those in four canvases hooked together to form a large screen), Kaiser’s meditative and slow process with layers of egg tempura and silkscreen, his restrained palette, and elegant geometric repetitions create a cohesive show full of hinted meaning. Oftentimes there is a layer of handwritten text underneath the paint, but even if words cannot be discerned, these futuristic mandalas are a sublime exercise in form and composition (Honor Fraser, Culver City).

Jeannie R. Lee

John Bankston, “Moonlit,” 2011, acrylic on panel, acrylic on wood and epoxy clay, 20 x 16 x 5 3/4”, currently on view at Walter Maciel Gallery.

San Francisco-based John Bankston presents narrative paintings and sculptures that explore male relationships. His works are intentionally quirky, emphasizing a coloring book aesthetic. These men confront nature and abstract machine-like sculptures populate the paintings and stage-like bas reliefs. They are literally changed by the experience. For example in "Oh My" two figures in rabbit costumes react to a linear abstraction that blocks their path. The narrative that weaves through the works allows for more and more acceptance of the abstract forms until man and abstraction are united, as in the oil on panel "Pursued by Abstracticator." The works play in a novel way with the notion of the old battle between abstraction vs. representation. Clever the way he exploits the intersection of  two- and three-dimensional picture planes to drive both form and content (Walter Maciel Gallery, Culver City).
JZ

Robert Levine, “Double Concentric,” 2008, oil on canvas, 72 x 72”, currently on view at Maloney Fine Art.

Robert Levine has not had a solo exhibition in Los Angeles for quite some time and since last seen he has transformed from sculptor to painter. His colorful abstractions intertwine geometric shapes that oscillate from saturated colors to tones of gray. The underlying patterns that emerge as you spend time looking at the works suggest Levine's system was not arbitrary and that the there is a purposeful balance created between the forms. These oils on canvas are modestly scaled. The colored striations sit atop a silvery metallic surface that allows the transparency of the overlays to glow. The works are pragmatic yet enchanting and seductive. There is a kinship with the works of Kenneth Noland, however Levine allows conflict between shapes so as to create tensions within the body of work (Maloney Gallery, Culver City).
JZ

Florian Maier-Aichen, Gallery 1 installation view, 2011, currently on view at Blum & Poe.

With his latest mixed-body of photographs, made up of heavily post-edited, sweeping landscapes, and cell-animated photo hybrids, Florian Maier-Aichen delves further into his lyrical exploration of what a photograph might be. As he continues to successfully fuse his large-scale, helicopter's-eye-view vistas with saturated yet convincing digital manipulations, the show also introduces a selection of cell-painted night-scapes, as well as abstractions: two smaller, doodly line drawings with sections colored in - with smudges included - baffles, intrigues and charms. “Östersjön I and II,” larger works with cell-painted chevrons reflecting into dark, ambiguously fictional bodies of water, are enigmas of image without context. It's only appropriate, then, that “La Brea Avenue in the Snow” – a mind-bender that's not only not forthcoming about its actual place, but also its time – exists alongside the 'painted' works. Happily relieved of  any sense of traditional, analog, footing, Maier-Aichen's work offers a smooth acclimatization into his fully hybridized world, one that is comforting however unfamiliar (Blum & Poe, Culver City).
MS

Ruth Bernhard, “In the Circle,” 1934, gelatin silver print, currently on view at L.A. Valley College Art Gallery.

After witnessing the auction of an eclectic accumulation of artworks with no discernable central theme, Michael R. Whalen set parameters for his own private collection. Whalen would seek out groups of twentieth century pictures that were all taken during a single day’s photographic session. As a result, among the hundred or more vintage works by eighteen photographers on display in "A Fine Day’s Work: Photographs from the Michael R. Whalen Collection" we are able to engage images such as Harold Edgerton’s iconic milk drop and the whole progression of photographs leading up to and beyond that dynamic splash. Viewing Ilse Bing’s circus photos, Alexander Rodchenko’s impressions of Tatiana Muliutina, Imogen Cunningham’s rare male nudes, Richard Avedon’s Igor Stravinsky portraits, Margaret Bourke-White’s Steinway piano studies or Helen Levitt’s “Man in Baby Carriage” narrative would justify and exhibition almost each on their own. But Whalen gets us to consider each artist’s production carefully within this group, speculating as to how and why one shot leads to another as the photographer’s vision develops (L.A. Valley College, San Fernando Valley).
DC

While well worth seeing, “Mexico: Expected/Unexpected” is also surprising and disconcerting: surprising in part because so many dark toned works contrast with the numerous vibrantly colored pieces. It’s disconcerting in theme – or rather lack thereof - which aims to present cohesively more than 100 diverse artworks from Mexican collectors Isabel and Agustin Coppel. Because the exhibition is derived from a single privately owned collection it is more varied in subject matter than a typical theme show. Its curators describe it as, “short stories that echo each other along thematic lines.” Painting, photography, installation, video art, sculpture and text pieces are gathered into sections: “Death and Mortality,” “Constructive Logic and Geometric Abstraction” and “Archival Accumulation and Grouping.” The roster of artists includes Francis Alÿs, Eduardo Abaroam Carlos Amorales, Iñaki Bonillas, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Jorge Méndez Blake, Ana Mendieta, MORIS, Gabriel Orozco, Damián Ortega, Pedro Reyes and Melanie Smith, predominantly from Mexico and other Latin American countries. There are many gems to excite, provoke and illuminate the political/philosophical/symbolic nature of this artistic community. Mendieta’s photo “On Giving Life” is a self-portrait of the artist, naked and lying provocatively on top of a skeleton. Ricardo Rendón’s “False Wall” is a red wall with numerous round-holes stamped out of it, the remnants of the wall’s decimation on the floor. Eduardo Abaroa’s “Node in a Corner” is an airy walk-through installation, built from blue Q-tips and blue plastic balls (Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach).
LG

John Szabo, “Deep Blue Laguna,” acrylic and resin on 3" deep wood panel, 30 x 30”, currently on view at Marion Meyer Contemporary Art.

The resin-coated acrylic paintings in John Szabo’s mini-retrospective display a luster that dances in the changing light and entertains the eye. The combination of nonobjective imagery and controlled expression create compositions that are consistently thoughtful. Each painting has a healthy layer of color field painting, but the language of abstraction matures through the years. Earlier images like “Mars” take on an aged quality as the darker colors break through the lighter surface. Much like the earth cracking to reveal a molten core, the artist explores this potential with paint. More recent paintings organize these abstract compositions into larger Rothko-like shapes that are decisive yet mysterious. The exhibition as a whole contains a distinctive aesthetic that distances itself from its historical predecessors of the midcentury era, and raises questions regarding possible future directions. Szabo’s impulse to improvise enriches what would otherwise become overly predictable, at the price that the aesthetic direction of the work can veer off course. Beyond the formal and historical comparisons, Szabo references the larger world with titles like “Deep Blue Laguna” and “Red Moonscape” that combine to create an interesting mix (Marion Meyer Contemporary Art, Orange County).
G. James Daichendt

Manuel Pardo, from “Stardust Drawings” series, 2011, Gelly Roll pens, currently on view at CSU Fullerton’s Begovich Gallery.

New York based, Cuban born artist Manuel Pardo creates intricate figurative drawings of stylish women that he limns using Gelly Roll pens filled with glitter. The centerpiece of this show is a group of forty 12 x 15 inch drawings of fancily attired and coifed women that are inspired by 1940’s fashion shots, pop culture and cartoons. Each woman wears an elegant gown, large, dramatic jewelry and elaborate make-up. Echoing the stylized attire are settings that combine 1930’s glamour with colorful Matisse-like patterns on patterns of overstuffed, overly decorated rooms. Pardo is paying homage to his self-sacrificing mother, Gladys, who moved here from Cuba to give her children a better life. The artist says, “I give her everything she did not have in real life: elaborate hairdos, fancy designer dresses and lavish surroundings all placed in the time period where she would have enjoyed them.” The exhibition also features four 40’s style dresses and gowns, designed by Pardo, made just for the show. One gown, “Trust,” has a repeated pattern of a blowjob, and is dedicated, Pardo explains, “to housewives everywhere who were at the mercy of their husbands’ fidelity.” The dramatic installation enhances the work with angled, painted walls, stage-type lighting and a 20-foot high reproduction to scale of a Pardo drawing. (Cal State Fullerton Begovich Gallery, Orange County).
LG

Brad Coleman, “Sheep IV,” charcoal on paper, 40 x 40”, currently on view at the Laguna Art Museum.

A quirky set of drawings by Brad Coleman entitled “Reproductions” raises a number of issues about biology and process. A Midwesterner who has found himself at the unusual crossroads of being both an artist and a pastor, his first museum exhibition is a strong showing of realism embodied with personal narrative and perception. The subject matter is a sheep that was systematically reproduced twelve times over. Rendered in charcoal and presented in order of completion, “Sheep I-XII” is an act of both discipline and lunacy. The actual sheep is not just a biblical allusion to pasturing a flock, but is the infamous “Dolly” (1996-2003), which was the first cloned mammal. “Sheep I” is a drawing of Dolly based on a photograph that was originally published in the world’s newspapers. Over a period of twelve years Coleman subsequently drew the same image of Dolly based upon his drawing of the previous year. Because each drawing is based upon a reproduction, the later images are further removed from the ironic original reproduction. Dolly looks exactly the same from a distance but upon close examination and comparison the shading, values, and proportions change. But one has only the drawings to compare—a paradox that reveals the difficulty related to clones and sameness.  With enough time, Dolly becomes a stylistic symbol through repetition. The absence of a background and the square format heighten the sense of Dolly as an object, as the realism can become abstract line and form in the details. The origins of the project are more personal as it began when Coleman and his wife investigated fertility drugs. Dolly is in many ways an outlet for the philosophical issues relating to reproduction that Coleman embraces uncomfortably. Questioned through its application, reproducing a drawing has become more than a mechanical and biological process (Laguna Art Museum, Orange County).
GJD