MAS Attack Grand Finale

Posted on by Diversions LA
Art. The final frontier, perhaps,  for beauty, joy, and in this case, SoCal style.
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Catherine Ruane with her incredibly detailed graphite work – natural subject, ethereal execution.
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Snezana Saraswati Petrovic – that’s 3D printing as sculpture.
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Gay Summer Shadow Rick with a lovely and quintessential LA beach scene.mas-47
Annie Clavell with her light filled work.
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Francisco Alvarado captures the spirit of these times.
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The delicious scent of lemon oil, below in a delightfully experimental piece by Elizabeth Stringer.
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Aline Mare with a piece the pulls viewers into a dramatic universe that fuses painting and photography.
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Monica Wyatt with a found-art sculpture that dances with energy.
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Karrie Ross with the glitter of gold, a treasure of a painting.
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Kristine Schomaker offers riveting rainbows and ribbons of paint – and powerful feminist metaphor.
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Below, Bibi Davidson with her “red girl,” as distinctive as the artist herself.
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Photographer Hector Felix in action, documenting the scene.
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Below, Dwora Fried with one of her fluid, fascinating assemblages.
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Below, Mike Mollett, sometimes known as one of Los Angeles’ performance art Mudpeople, with his better half, Dee.
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Below, the rich color palette of Kristine Augustyne.
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Above, a close look at Dwora Fried’s box, politically potent. Below, the vibrant neon art of Linda Sue Price.
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Below, the finely detailed art of Jodi Bonassi, who often depicts the warmth of the art community in LA.
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In January 2013, Max Presneill, Kio Griffith, Colton Stenke, put together the first MAS attack, a mutual appreciation society for artists. The idea was for artists to hang their own work, spend time at the event meeting other artists and art lovers, make art, show it, and support it.

The final such event was held last Saturday night at the Torrance Art Museum, where Presneill is curator.  An amazing art jumble of sculpture, performance (signed ping pong balls shot from a tube, anyone), paintings, photography, mixed media – a pure wow, as exhilarating as it was encompassing.

Below, artists Shelly Heffler, Dwora Fried, and the author.
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So many artists, so many highlights – and a spirit of fun and friendship that glowed throughout the museum. If you weren’t there, you should’ve been; if you don’t know these artists, get to know them now. And if you love LA art and artists, then support art, talk about it, attend openings, buy it, photograph it, openly adore it.
As an aside, if you love this blog, if you’ve ever been written about by this blog, if you’ve ever enjoyed the art, travel, food and more in this blog, then follow us! Not just on Facebook but follow us here. You’ll receive updates when new posts are made, and that is it. And it helps us thrive and survive when you add to our follow list. 
Art is on fire in Los Angeles these days, and here’s to MAS attack for being one of the delightful tinders that set the blaze going. Take a look at some of the fine flames that joined in the grand finale last Saturday night.

Contributors included:

Aaron Giesel
Alanna Marcelletti
Albert Lopez Jr
Alec Dawson
Alessandor Rachael
Aline Mare
Alison Woods
Ally Bortolazzo
Amanda Mears
Amy Fox
Andrea Bersaglieri
Andrew Foster
Andy Moses
Anise Stevens
Ann Diener
Ann Phong
Ann Weber
Anna Leighton
Annie Clavel
Annie Seaton
Antoine Guilbaud
April Bey
Arezoo Bharthania
Ashley Bravin
Becca Shewmake
Ben Jackal
Ben Zask
Betsy Enzensberger
Bibi Davidson
Bill Brewer
Bob Branaman
Brian Thomas Jones
Bryan Ida
Cameron McIntyre
Campbell Laird
Carl Shubs
Carla Danes
Caroline Peters
Carolle-Shelley Abrams
Catherine Kimball Davis
Catherine Ruane
Cathleen Abalos
Cathy Lightfoot
Cathy Weiss
Chenhung Chen
Cherie Benner Davis
Chris Barnickel
Chris Danes
Chris McBurnley
Chris Mercier
Chris Pate
Chris Shelby
Christina Shurts
Christopher Chinn
Cia Foreman
Cindy Jackson
Claudia Morales McCain
Cole James
Colin Cook
Colton Stenke
Conchi Sanford
Corrie Gregory
Cory Sewelson
Crystal Fischetti
Curtis Stage
Cynthia Lujan
Cynthia Minet
Dakota Noot
Dan Callis
Dani Dodge
Daniel Leighton
Daniela Campins
David D’Andrade
David DiMichele
David French
David Glickman
David Leapman
David Michael Lee
David Spanbock
Dawn Arrowsmith
Dawn Quinones
Debby & Larry Kline
Debe Arlook
Denise Kraemer
Dia Bassett
Diane Nebolon Silver
Diane Pirie Cockerill
Diane Williams
Diego Gutierrez Monterrubio
Dosshaus
Doug Wichert
Douglas Alvarez
Dwora Fried
Ed Gomez
Ed Moses
Elena Johnson
Elizabeth Dorbad
Elizabeth Folk
Elizabeth Medina
Elizabeth Stringer
Elizabeth Valdez
Ellen Dieter
Ellen Riingen
Emily Maddigan
Eva Hyam
Faina Kumpan
Farzan Sabet
Feng Ling
Francisco Alvarado
Frederika Roeder
Gabriel Garcia
Gary Brewer
Gavin Bunner
Gay Summer Sadow Rick
George Garcia
George Joaquim
Georgette Buckley
Gloria Plascencia
Grant Redwine
Greg Rose
Greg Schenk
Gretchen Batcheller
Gretchen Rollins
Gul Cagin
Hagop Najarian
Helen Chung
Holly Jerger
Hung Viet Nguyen
Ian Pines
Isabel Rojas-Williams
Ismael de Anda III
Jackie Bell Johnson
James Galindo
James Goodwin
Jane Liu
Jane Szabo
Jason Ramos
Jeanne Dunn
Jennifer Gunlock
Jenny Hager
Jerrin Wagstaff
Jesse Standlea
Jessica Bley
Jessica Newman
Jill Sykes
Jodi Bonassi
Joe O’Neill
Joe Wolek
Joel Robert-Elton Woodard
John Geary
John Sollom
Jon Flack
Jon Measures
Jonathan Ryan
Jorge Mujica
Josephine Lipuma
Josh Hagler
Josh Velasquez
Juan Gomez
Julie Orr
Juri Koll
Justin Smith
Karrie Ross
Kate Sikorski
Kathi Flood
Katie Kirk
Kathleen Kane-Murrell
Kathleen Melian
Katya Usvitsky
Keariene Muizz
Kenny McBride
Kerry Kugelman
Khang Bao Nguyen
Kim Garcia
Kim Kei
Kimber Berry
Kimberly Hahn
Kimberly Rowe
Kio Griffith
Krisitine Schomaker
Krista Dawn
Krista Marlene
Kristin Frost
Kristine Augustyn
L Aviva Diamond
Lan Duong
Lara Jo Regan
Larry Gipe
Laura Catherine Soto
Laurel Paley
Lauren Michele Kasmer
Lavialle Campbell
Leah C Dixon
Leland Paxton
Lena Moross
Lena Wolek
Leslie Doyle
Lexi Aquilina
Lidia Shadow
Linda Sue Price
Linsey Gosper
Lisa Hoffner
Lisa Pederson
Loren Phillips
Lori Pond
Lorraine Heitzman
Luigia Gio Martelloni
Luke Van Hook
Lynn E Coleman
Maja Ruznic
Malka Nedivi
Manny Karkowski
Mara Colecchia
Marjan Hormozi
Mark Dutcher
Marlene Picard
Martin Durazo
Matthew Owen Driggs
Matthew Sweeny
Maurya Coleman
Max Presneill
Mayen Alcentara
Megan Frances Abrahams
Mei Xian Qui
Mela Marsh
Melissa Walter
Michael Bizon
Michael Chock
Michael Falzone
Michael Giancristiano
Michael McCall
Michael Neumann
Michele Castagnetti
Michele Wood Page
Mike McCarthy
Mike McLain
Mike Mollett
Mike Street
Mike Vegas
Monica Wyatt
Nadege Monchera Baer
Naira Hart
Nancy Buchanan
Nano Rubio
Narsiso Martinez
Natasha June Dee
Natasha Shoro
Nick Agid
Nick Ives
Nick Mansfield
Nikki Lewis
Noel Madrid
Nurit Avesar
Omar Gallegos
Pat Gainor
Patricia Mitchell
Patrick Rees
Peggy Sivert Zask
Perry Marks
Peta Orbach
Phil Amrhein
Phillip Griswold
Rachel Kastor
Rachel Stiff
Ray Beldner
Rema Ghuloum
Renee Tanner
Ric Heitzman
Richard Gilles
RJ Ward
Robert Miller
Robert Soffian
Rod Baer
Roland Reiss
Ron Linden
Ron Therrio
Ronald Price
Roni Feldman
Rouzanna Berberian
Samuelle Richardson
Sandy Abrams
Sant Khalsa
Sarah Tell
Sarajo Frieden
Scott Teson
Scott Trimble
Sean Michael Gallagher
Sean Noyce
Serena Potter
Sergio Teran
Seth Lower
Sharon Bell
Sharon Suhovy
Shell Silverio
Shelley Heffler
Shingo Francis
Shiri Mordechay
Sijia Chen
Siobhan McClure
Snezana Saraswati Petrovic
Sonja Schenk
Sophia Tise
Sovanchanreaksmeay Sorn
Stacie Jaye
Steph Sydney
Stephanie Meredith
Stephanie Sherwood
Stephen Rowe
Steve Seleska
Steven Fujimoto
Steven Seemayer
Steven Wolkoff
Susan Amorde
Susan Feldman Tucker
Susan Kurland
Susan Lizotte
Susan Poms Amorde
Suzanne Budd
Suzanne Fontaine
Tania Jazz Alverez
Tanya Batura
Tanya Haden
Terri Berman
Terry Lenihan
Theodore Svenningsen
Todd Carpenter
Tom Dunn
Tom Lasley
Tom Savage
Tony Pinto
Tracey Weiss
Trina Turturic
Trine Churchill
Ty Pownall
Tyler Waxman
Valerie Wilcox
Veda B Kaya
Virginia Katz
Wakana Kimura
Wini Brewer
Yoko Kanayama
Yokoyama Miki
Yoshimi Hayashi
Yvette Gellis
Zachry Horn
Zeina Baltagi

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Above artist Catherine Ruane with artist Tracey Weiss, who is wearing her piece – a wrap made from recycled Perrier bottles. Scratchy yes, stunning, that too.
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Above, Sonja Schenk’s evocative icy cliff; below Cia Foreman with her shiny green leaves.
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Above, photographic artist Jane Szabo with a fascinating change of pace for her in terms of subject matter; below Megan Abrahams with a hopeful green sprout.
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A complimentary couple: above Daniel Leighton, below Ana Leighton with their smart and beautiful works.
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South Bay Contemporary gallerist, curator, and artist – Peggy Silvert Zask with her ceramic horse, below.
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Above, Australian artist and curator Tom Dunn; below glass bricks with ashes – a part of a large installation by the always exciting, always cutting edge, poetic Dani Dodge.
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Above the woven wires of brilliantly enigmatic artist Chenhung Chen; below Steven Wolkoff showing all the girls his perfect paint etching.
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Above artists and BLAM and Durden and Ray alums, Dani Dodge, Steven Wolkoff, and Tom Dunn. Below Siobhan McClure makes the color pink a force to be reckoned with.
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Above, crazy prolific and wonderfully impressionistic story telling art by Scott Trimble; below Alanna Marcellitti shines.
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Goofing around, artists Loren Phillips and Hung Viet Nguyen claim each others work as their own.
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Below, the jeweled, mosaic-like work of Hung Viet Nguyen with Phillips vast floaty blue behind him.
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Below: artists just want to have fun.
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Above, the gouged wood wall reliefs of Michael Giancristiano; below- wild colors in Luigia Gia Martelloni’s piece.
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Above, Susan Amorde with her arrow-attacked suitcase sculpture, lethally wonderful. Below a serious moment of farewell from MAS attack founders. mas-31 mas-34
Above a close up of Hung Viet Nguyen’s work; below the jubilant work of artist Susan Lizotte.
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Above, the performance art of Debby and Larry Kline ping pongs through the crowd.
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Above, artist Jenny Hager sets the canvas ablaze – just as MAS attack sparked the flame of artists creating community.
It was a farewell, it was an amazing group show and it was fun – the final MAS Attack exhibition at Torrance Art Museum was a terrific swan song.
 – Genie Davis; photos: Genie Davis

Deborah Brown: Careful What You Wish For – The Sexual Tension is Palpable

Posted on by Diversions LA

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Now at the Jason Vass Gallery, Deborah Brown’s Careful What You Wish For is a sensual experience that’s both tactile and emotionally connective.

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Above, “Our Little Secret.”

Gallerist Vass says of Brown “She was someone I’ve admired for a long time. I knew I would be showing her when I first opened. I knew she would be an artist that I would have here.”

As a side note, due to the demolition of the 6th Street Bridge, the Jason Vass Gallery recently reopened – this is just the show to get crowds to see that 6th Street, up to the river, is driveable again.

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Above, “My Man”

“I’ve always been interested in identity,”  the artist says. “I used to work with things concerning culture, plastic, the facade, the veneer of things.”

Today she goes deeper, taking viewers straight to the skin.

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“I finally gave myself permission to explore my body as a battle ground in a way, an attraction and a repulsive quality,” Brown attests.

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Above, left, “Bat Out of Heaven,” right, “You Might Get Burned”

“The work embraced sexuality. It is about female desire and the struggle…how I reconcile my desire, am I okay with that, is a woman attractive if she is sexually powerful,” Brown explains.

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“The stereotype for women is being submissive,” Brown muses.

There is nothing submissive here. This is bold, seductive work that is as powerful in the materials chosen, the forms, the rigorous intent, as it is in subject matter. Above, “Do I Fulfill Your Expectations.”

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Below, the artist and her work.

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“It’s playful and it’s painful, too,” she says of the exhibition. “It’s not just trying to be clever. There’s a sadness. It glorifies and it breaks down at the same time.”

UK-based but American born, Brown’s work is universal, not so much of a specific location, but bred of an intense desire to create images that excite intellectually, spiritually, and physically.

Gone is the idea of a patriarchal sexuality. In it’s place is a female appropriation of male-driven images that through that appropriation changes the meaning of these forms.

This exhibition is Brown’s first stateside since 1996, and follows her recent inclusion in an exhibition at the Royal Academy in London.

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Above, “I Only Wanted a Little”

While there are photographs in the show, including her oldest work in this subject area, a sensual and frightening image of a beautifully naked woman with bees as her garment,  Brown is first and foremost a sculptor. “I was always a sculptor. The photography started with the the bees piece, and it has become more important because I can do things with it as a medium that I can’t do with sculpture.”

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Above,  “Where Do We Go from Here?”

“Anything is game for me at this point. If it’s going to say what I meant it to say, I feel like that is what is consistent, not the medium that I use.”

Brown’s expression thematically, is, in short, powerful enough to carry a wide range of mediums.

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“It isn’t the material which is important,” Brown stresses. “Not whether or not it is polymer, clay, wood, a photograph, resin, leather, or aluminum. I work in all of those.”

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Above: “Bat Out of Heaven,” below, “Wanna Ride?”

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Regardless of the medium Brown employs there is a palpable, excuse the phrasing, even throbbing, sensuality to her work here. You can touch it, sense it, visualize it. Viewers will long to caress, to absorb, to get the same type of sensation one gets from static electricity simply by studying this work.

“I’m tapping into a raw place. It is not political work. It’s deeply personal. That’s where I believe the energy came from, from that experience, that personal experience.”

This is work that is kinetic, absorbing, magnetic, and above all stimulating. It turns on the mind more than the body. And that’s just the way Brown likes it.

The Jason Vass Gallery is located at 1452 E 6th St, Los Angeles. Brown will be exhibiting into December.

  • Genie Davis; Photos: Jack Burke

 

Jill Joy is Back

Posted on by Diversions LA

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After a rough start in a gallery space on Wilshire that had scores of structural problems, gallerist and artist Jill Joy is back on La Brea, in a second iteration that is sure to bring “joy” to fans of her art and the curated shows she’s planned featuring other artists.

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Upcoming, Aline Mare (above) and Michael Giancristiano will be presenting Organic Integration, opening November 5th; continuing is Joy’s inaugural show in her new space, Emotion, on display through December 3rd. The gallery both Joy’s art and that of other artists whose work includes elements of, to quote Joy, “spiritual healing and the evolution of consciousness.”

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Joy’s own show here is visually very dramatic. “It’s me processing an emotional experience. Calm isn’t a part of this work,” the artist attests. “It’s very raw. A lot of people respond to this, but personally I like calmer stuff.”

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The artist “barely used a brush” to create this body of work, saying “I scraped with trowels. It’s very thick paint. It took a long time to dry.”  Joy creates only a few pieces a year, the most recent in this exhibition is from 2015, with others dating to 2010.

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The power – and often the darkness – of Emotion is in both Joy’s color palette and in the slashing, even angry paint strokes. It’s work that exhumes and compels, that serves as a release and is the fulcrum in a storm of feeling. In short, it’s like touching lightening in a bottle, or perhaps more to the point, like watching visual thunder.

Emotion is one part of a three-part series including Joy’s Consciousness and Illumination. The goal of all of the artist’s work is to expand consciousness itself.

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Check out Joy’s work and in November, that of Mare and Giancristiano – (Mare left, Giancristiano right, above) whose exciting new exhibition includes natural elements – at 456 S. La Brea Ave.

  • Genie Davis; Photos: Jack Burke, and upcoming exhibition courtesy Aline Mare and Jill Joy Gallery.

 

Artists to Know: on Terra Firma

Posted on by Diversions LA

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Terra Firma has come and gone at Art Share, a terrific show that closed October 16th, one that we wish had stayed around longer – at least long enough for us to give the show itself it’s due.

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Like so many exhibitions at Art Share this was a group showthat reveled in carefully curated works by a variety of stellar artists:

Raudel Arteaga
Chelsea Bayouth
Kate Carvellas
Sarah Fulton
John Gauld
Carlos Grasso
Randi Hokett
Vincent Mattina
Jennifer Susan Jones
Abbie Weinberg

The use of clay and of dynamic materials that are of the earth, created a truly fascinating show, a cohesive mix of materials that each artist made malleable. We were fortunate enough to interview two of the artists, both of whom have upcoming shows – don’t miss them.

Randi Hokett will be participating in a group show opening November 19th, and running through January 21st, New Dimension, at the Irvine Fine Arts Center. We can’t wait to see what this fine artist will be displaying.

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At Art Share, Hokett’s stunning work with crystals lures viewers into a fairy-tale world that dazzles and dances with light. Creating her own crystals, she’s found that “Water is boiled, molecules open, and water accepts the minerals – then the crystals grow best through a cooling period. A piece has the best growth in the first 24-hours,” she reports.

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The science of her creations aside, Hokett creates startling, jeweled beauty that evokes wonder, awe, and a poignant reminder of that which is permanent and that which dissipates. Hokett started working in this format in January of last year. “Before that I worked in dry wall and wax,” she explains.

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Hokett’s work is raw and beautiful. The sharp textures of the crystals and the softness of the wax surfaces used in these pieces seems almost impossible to achieve, both delicate and strong, fragile and fantastic.

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“I was amazed at the beautiful things that grow out of the damages we accrue in life. I started building crystal sculptures out of cracks. I did some tests and it was kind of awesome. I started creating one piece a week. For me, what’s cool is to do something new.”

Work this fresh and vibrant is cool indeed.

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Kate Carvellas began creating her wonderful artwork assemblages out of found objects, but now also creates work made entirely from her own hand.

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Carvellas says the above piece, “The Beauty and Sorrow of Untapped Potential,” has “special meaning because so many of us have lives that didn’t necessarily go the way we thought they would. It represents the hope that we can still be and do that which will bring us joy and fulfillment.”

To the viewer, Carvellas has created her own language and patterns, containing what could be artifacts from a lost time or alien musings on humankind. The enigmatic patterns invite study, they are both intimately familiar and yet mysteriously wonderful.

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Above, “End Game,” pulls viewers into a new dimension, where common objects when combined create a riveting sculptural montage. Below, more great fusion, a touch of Steam Punk, a graceful combination of elements. There is a mute poetry in her work, a whimsical flourish that fuses smoothly with a sense of gravitas: respect for objects, respect for the weightiness of the earth and the lightness of imagination.

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The Pasadena-based artist describes her art as “an essential and intensely personal part of my life. It is my hope that when people see my work, it will somehow resonate with them on some level, be it intellectual, emotional or spiritual.”

Kate Carvellas will be featured in a solo show at The Gallery at the End of the World in Altadena in June 2017, and will have work in Gabba Gallery’s Wishlist coming up this November. Don’t miss her.

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Above, Carvellas with author, and Carvellas with artists Anna Stump and Ted Meyer.

As to Art Share – be on the look out for their next offering, Mirrors of the Mind, opening November 5th. The gallery is located at 801 E. 4th Street in the DTLA Arts District.

  • Genie Davis; Photos: Genie Davis