Annie Clavel: Art That Bursts With Texture

Posted on by Diversions LA
Annie Clavel’s work is a swirling expansion of the visual soul, bursting with texture and triumphant with color. According to the artist, her inspiration is as diverse as her work. Currently, she says “I enjoy following the launch of new telescopes designed to explore the cosmos. There are so many unanswered questions about the true nature of the universe. Perhaps for me, this is a way to put our existence on Earth into perspective amidst the news and scenes that surround us. That’s where some of my inspiration comes from.”
But she also finds inspiration closer to earth, “I am constantly influenced by what I see in my daily life: the California light, the movement of a hummingbird outside my window, or the shouts of a homeless person near the Taco Bell [in my neighborhood.]”
And then there is a fascinating right-brain component. “Mathematics, which I have both studied and taught, plays a significant role in my art and helps me envision abstract worlds.” The depths of the cosmos, indeed.
Clavel began painting over forty years ago, she says, creating figurative watercolor work while still living in France, prior to her move to Callifornia. While still abroad, she “set out to explore abstract atmospheres using acrylics.  Upon arriving in the United States some twenty years ago, I faced several challenges: gaining a better understanding of American culture, defining what I wanted to paint, and building a network.”
As an artist, Clavel more than rose to those challenges. She describes herself as influenced by Dael Patton, an instructor at the Palos Verdes Art Center, which led her to be “truly immersed  in abstraction. I joined various art associations and participated in numerous exhibitions. I also felt that, as the years went by, figurative painting was losing the meaning I had originally attached to it, whereas abstract art was taking on profound significance for me.”
With that change, Clavel also changed her mediums. “For many years, I worked with watercolor on paper. Today, however, my preferred mediums are acrylic on canvas and watercolor on YUPO.  When painting with acrylics, I enjoy mixing fluid paints to create new colors, then applying them in free, layered strokes onto a stretched canvas.”
The artists points out that she “began using watercolor much more intensively after discovering YUPO as a new painting surface. YUPO is a non-absorbent paper that allows water to flow and colors to blend unpredictably. For me, the medium’s fluidity and watercolor’s vast color palette are major assets; they allow me to give free rein to my imagination as I explore abstract worlds and the events associated with them.”
Thematically, with her family living throughout the globe, she is exploring both her Vietnamese and French roots. “I would like to channel my inspiration into the feelings I have about the diversity of my background and the diverse environment I am now immersed in. I would like to develop a series dedicated to my ancestors and my scattered family. I think I will use a softer palette, without bright colors.”
In her current exhibition at Diversions Fine Arts Gallery, she displays an audacious and awesome mix of color, thick layers of paint, pinwheel-perfect small paper sculptures, and dreamy watercolor Rohrschachs.
She will also be participating in an open studio tour October 3rd and 4th from 1 to 5 pm, at 3101 E 2nd Street, #7C, Long Beach, and in an exhibition titled “Right Here, Right Now” on October 10th from 4-7 at Gallery Hellada at 117 Linden Ave also in Long Beach.
Regardless of where you view her lustrous work, Clavel wants her viewers to know that she lets her “instinct and intuition guide” her work in order to “capture parallel moments of time, advancing each work towards a personal resolution. I never sketch before painting. I put my present feelings directly on the surface, hoping that the viewers will find an echo in themselves.”
Clavel’s solo show in Diversions Fine Arts’ Golden Days exhibition runs through October 4th with an artist talk and closing 1-3 on that date. DFA is located at 1069 N. Aviation Blvd. in Manhattan Beach.
– Genie Davis, photos provided by the artist and Davis

The Horror of It All – Screamtacular at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

Posted on by Diversions LA

With perfect timing, both for the Halloween season and the current wave of exciting new horror films hitting film screens, The Horror Show exhibition opened this weekend at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

The beautifully curated exhibition is paired with public programming and film screenings, including a retrospective John Carpenter series, a Halloween evening screening of The Craft, and a 50th anniversary presentation of Carrie on November 19th which will include a talk with star Sissy Spacek.

From the splendor of the original Dracula cape, generously donated to the museum by the Lugosi family and luminously restored by the museum team to a “pose with Mrs. Bates” tribute to Psycho. this absorbing exhibition covers costumes, special effects, masks, movie posters, original concept art work, props, and of course, projected clips of classic films. The vast collection includes over 300 items on display, from memorabilia to monsters. It is worth nothing that the gift of Bela Lugosi’s heirloom Dracula cape was a major influence in creating the exhibition itself, and this iconic costume is being shown to the public for the first time.

It’s an immersively constructed exhibition divided into multple “chambers” of beloved horrors: Gothic, Psychological, Science, Slasher, Religion, and Ghosts. Guests enter the exhibition space through a dark gallery space that begins the experience with a horror soundscape.

Exiting the exhibition is done through a cinematic-blood spill and splattered plastic curtains.

The exhibition is pure nirvana for horror afficiandos such as myself, but it is a true pleasure for all cinema fans, and a fun experiential romp through the knowledge of all things horror, and horror movies. Among the especially fascinating artifacts are the dailies from the film shoot of horror classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  Brilliant and breathtakingly terrifying images and scenes didn’t happen by magic, but rather through cinematic wherewithal and persistence that only looks like it was conjured up whole.

And speaking of the conjuring, “Annabelle” from many of The Conjuring series films is eerily encased in her infamous glass case, marked “Do Not Open;” Freddie Krueger’s ominous claw glove;  practical effects from The Ring and Alien are among the treasures on display.

Speaking of Freddie, Robert Englund, who played the Nightmare on Elm Street nightmare himself, was present at The Horror Show opening.  He expressed his gratitude for the museum’s recognition of the genre, which was not always as well-respected as it is today. Saying he was “proud of the Academy” for creating such a celebratory exhibition, he also noted that while when he first started acting in horror films “you kind of got the lousy table in the commissary by the kitchen door,” today “horror has saved studios and many majors.”  He adds “I think we’ve finally arrived.”

Nicholas Barlow,  one of the exhibition’s main curators,  noted that senior curator Jessica Niebel had proposed a horror exhibition before the museum even opened. “The date was pushed back, and now we are opening during a time in which there is a real love and hunger for horror,” he noted, adding that “Horror fans are very knowledgeable about the genre, so we were able to go deep across large swaths of horror history.”

According to Barlow, “One of the things to focus on in this exhibition is championing the creators as brilliant, ingenious filmmakers. People made so much for so little” in terms of budget. ”

The curator is proud to have “the original Leatherface [test] mask from 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on loan from the University of Texas’ Harry Ransom Center. And along with that object we have dailies from the film that show it was really just a bunch of kids shooting on a shoestring…so simple, but the production of a masterpiece.”

He also noted the exhibitions focus on artwork, including poster art. And, he pointes out “There are many drawings made by real craftsmen as blueprints to design sets. We get to celebrate them as art objects and iconic pieces of art…the building blocks of the films” which “imagined this world.”

The Horror Show invites viewers into this marvelous and bloody universe through July 25th, 2027. The Academy Museum is located at 6067 Wilshiver Blvd. in mid-city. Be there and be scared!

  • Genie Davis; photos by Genie Davis and Charlie Davis

 

 

Anemoia Is a Beautiful Longing

Posted on by Diversions LA

One of the many beautiful series of work created by photographer Stephen Levey is coming to the gallery space of two other fantastic photographic artists, Diane and Bruce Cockerill.

Levey’s Anemoia lives up to its elegaic name, which refers to “nostalgia for a time or place you have never personally known or experienced.”

The lovely exhibition consists of ten black and white framed images that were taken by the artist on  a ranch, located in a secret spot in the Nevada Hills back in 2018. Viewing them allows one to honestly assimilate anemoia, and feel the experience of seeing this special place for yourself.

Levey’s prolific and often profound photographic career has been curtailed, the casualty of a terrible accident that nearly took his life, and that has led to repeated and terrible health challenges. Certainly taking home one of these splendid, rich photographs is an excellent way to provide a bit of support, as well as acknowledgment of his gifted work.

Come see these compelling and carefully curated images at San Pedro’s First Thursday art walk, October 1st, from 6 – 9 p.m., and again on Saturday, October 10th, from 2 – 5 p.m.

The studio/gallery is located at 364 W. 7th Street – San Pedro, CA 90731, in the heart of the San Pedro arts district. For more information: dianecockerill617@gmail.com. To contribute to Stephen Levey’s GoFundMe, visit https://gofund.me/04817ca7

  • Genie Davis; photos provided by the artist via Diane Cockerill

The Magical World of Glenn Waggner’s Figurative Art

Posted on by Diversions LA

Every picture tells a story, and for artist Glenn Waggner, it’s a magical one, merging the real world with a sense of wit and wonder. Working in oil,  Waggner creates resonant, meaningful figurative works that soar with imagination and devote themselves to indelible detail.

Waggner is both an architecht and an artist, and as such, it is perhaps unsurprising that he says he is “inspired by cities and mostly urban environments. A few times I have been in certain places where I had the feeling that everything was perfect. That’s what I want to paint.”

When he first began his journey as an artist he says he “started out painting twisting buildings at impossible angles. The work evolved into a more realistic portrayal while becoming more abstracted and looser. He adds that “Over time, the lighting and tones have become a little more surreal, like the lighting that occurs during an eclipse or seen in dreams.”

Make no mistake, Waggner’s worlds have that special hint of the magical that transforms even the most recognizable scene of getting morning coffee at a stand or hailing a taxi.  He works in oils exclusively and finds that he plans to keep that medium as his first choice for creation.

“I switched to acrylics for a short time, and while I found the colors were the same, acrylics dried way too fast for me. I like to blend the paint in layers to give it a richness,” he points out.

Thematically, he says he is moving toward a change, however. “I am heading towards a more abstracted, expressionistic style. Not abstract expressionism, but more of a disruption of images.”

While he is currently exhibiting a solo exhibition at Diversions Fine Arts Gallery, he will also be exhibiting at the Brewery Artwalk in November, where he has shown for ten years; and returning to DFA for an exhibition in a December group show.

He is also looking forward to building a new body of work for future shows, and regardless of the changes he is planning in his work thematically, he will always tell wonderful stories. Asked what comes first, the story-making or the visual art, he says “The visuals almost always come first. The narrative develops naturally during creation. I also like to have fun with titles.”

Above: Waggner uses a skateboard for a canvas for his “Mall Grip;” detail of same; a look at “Girl Times Three.”

Waggner adds that “I love it when people see my work and [I can] watch it trigger memories or a narrative, many times completely different from what I see or intend.”

Certainly in his current exhibition, there are a wide range of pieces that could and do evoke memories and stories in the viewer, such as a stunning, panoramic take on LA’s Dingbat architecture; another such dimensional piece depicting a stunning view of the Strand beach walk, sea and sky…

…and even a simple and warmly recognizable image of a surf-board-carrying youth, holding his iPhone as he does what the title suggests, “Texting in Sick” in order to catch a wave.

There are orange clad monks in meditation, a dark car on a rain-slick road, a mustard-yellow train engine chugging on, and even a lovely portrait of the Broad Museum in DTLA.

Take a peak at these and other examples of Waggner’s bountiful, beautiful slice-of-life visual stories in Golden Days, now at Diversions Fine Arts Gallery located at 1069 N. Aviation Blvd. in Redondo Beach through October 4th.

  • Genie Davis; photos courtesy of the artist and Davis