Nick Kushner's Art Party Opening Tomorrow Night in LA

New York based artist Nick Kushner will be hanged at Los Angeles Studio Servitú on Saturday, Sept. 10th. 'Les Crimes De L'Amour'  marks Kushner's first solo exhibition displaying his signature works which speak of disillusionment & pain within the themes of love, death, and abuse. Most notable is the medium he uses to create them - painting with his own blood. DJ executed by Marilyn Manson's Chris Vrenna. Star-studded performances, appearances and presenters.

You must RSVP to this show -

via http://lescrimesdelamour.com/, http://studioservitu.com/contact/  or StudioServitu@Gmail.com are required and does not guarantee admission.

Over 21 venue, no admittance fee. This will be a 4 hour premiere event, from 9pm to 1pm. Subsequent viewings available the next 30 days by appointment. 

Art at Hal's Bar & Grill

We got hungry doing all the art hopping in Venice so we ducked into Hal's Bar & Grill for some munchies and libations. Incredible food and drinks and a few pieces of art knocked our socks off.

Took a  few photos (top and below) of this great 3 dimensional portrait by Mikel Alatza but they just don't begin to capture how arresting this work was. Apparently it is a portrait of Hal the owner.

A beautiful, large black & white photograph by Kwaku Alston also eluded a good shot, thanks to the glass frame. This soulful piece rocked - a reenactment and posed shot of blues great Robert Johnson. It captured a true vintage feeling with the roots of the musician in an elegant and authentic way.

Best of Cave Gallery & "Street Art" Exhibit - Abbot Kinney, Venice, Ca

Dropped in to check-out Cave Gallery in Venice (CA) on our travels and were able to see the opening of the current "Street Art Saved My Life Show". ( It's up thru Sept. 4th) Lots of nice rough and ready art in the show and on the back walls as well. Here are some of our favorites, plus some detail shots for all you detail-oriented artists out there.

Front, street view of sculpture assemblage by, NohJColey

Back, NohJColey

Back detail, NohJColey

This great piece by NohJColey (above) was in the window and grabbed our attention with it's expressive gesture and weathered found-wood components.  Apparently the artist chains the components around street poles to create the finished sculpture.

The next pick (above) was a mixed media piece by Chris Stain,  really beckoning, titled "Give 'Em Hell".

Hoodys Kissing, Dan Witz

Detail, Dan Witz

This "Hoodys Kissing" piece by Dan Witz was the top pick of the current exhibit. Daring and emotive with a twisted feel of gay monks doing it. Dan's figurative works are all wonderful and this was no exception.

Another really fantastic piece - "Past, Present, Future" by El Sol 25.  (above)

The next picks were all from the gallery's current consignment inventory and were hung about in back or along the stairs. There were many stupendous works here, "stealing the show" so to speak. First up is "Give Me New Love, Where Did My Tree Go?" (below) by Josh Hart - just wonderful!

And a work by Paul Chatem, "The Disillusionist" (below). Paul's works really have to be seen in person, they have a carnival feel with his own signature color palette,  painted on cut-out pieces of wood. Such depth, dimension and detail are way to hard to capture in a flat foto.

Paul Chatem

Detail, Paul Chatem

Not sure who the artist is (or the title) on the piece below, but we loved it nonetheless. Drop an email if you know and we will credit it.

Unknown

Loved this stylish, red-headed and original critter by Megz Majewski, "Sunbathing At Sea" (below).

The masterpieces (in our humble opinion) of all the art we viewed at Cave were the two below, by the artist, Macsorro. These two just floored us with their surreal and imaginative imagery. Wow!

Pheramone by Macsorro

The Dissipation of Our Childhood Dreams by Macsorro

Herakut in Culver City

On our travels around Southern California in early August, we spotted these great murals by Herakut. They were wrapping the corner of a vacant building in Culver City (maybe Washington Blvd.?)  So glad to spot these, they made the day so much happier with their art! Love the emotive and drippy works by this duo, hope it gets to stay.... maybe a great spot for an art supply store?

Herakut Website

Wonderland Art in Los Angeles

Wonderland Gallery is Kat Von D's latest venture, which she opened in 2010 right next door to the LA Ink space. For those of you who don't know who Kat is - she is an incredible tattoo artist and has become quite a celebrity. Watching some of the LA Ink TV show will give you a better feel for her presence than any words or slick, airbrushed photographs can portray. Adept at realistic rendering, Kat's portraits on flesh are excellent as well as her design sense - she can merge a new image within previous tattoos very gracefully and cleanly. She has a very engaging way about her, a friendly and warm manner, enthusiastic about great art, fashion and music. She is very young to have so much success and the shallow pressures of the cosmetic Hollywood image are taking their toll on her. I hope she can rise about it all and concentrate on what really matters in life, retaining the attitude and integrity that made her unique, a kick-ass woman in a tattoo art world previously dominated by men. 

Tattoo by Kat Von D

Tattoo by Kat Von D

Tattoo by Kat Von D

Tattoo by Kat Von D

"Lady Kat Von D" by Patrushka

The current exhibit at Wonderland is Kevin Llewellyn's - "The Unsaid", which Eclectix previously posted about (link here.) This excellent exhibit has been up for a very, very long time and there doesn't seem to be any news on their site about future shows. Disappointing, as I have been secretly cheering Kat on - to kick some newbrow ass into the LA art world.  The exterior has great circus-like signage (top foto) which looks like it came from an old amusement park, right out of the neon boneyard. The gallery itself is a nice space, decorated in Victorian-vintage-Goth-salon style. Beautiful and lush antique furnishings with incredible frames on all Kevin's  art. A small shop area in the front contains a solid selection of art books, fierce glittering platform heels, taxidermy relics and other one-of-a-kind accessories for the tragically hip.  

The whole ambiance of the space was right up my alley - lots of red and black, velvets, carved gold and interesting, creepy fringe items. We had 4-5 questions about the art and merchandise while we visited - sadly, none of the employees could answer any of them and didn't offer to refer us to someone who could. Wonderland obviously has a creative and imaginative vision behind it, the window displays were a funky and surreal treat and the overall experience was chock full of arty inspiration. Just one last question- Kat, when and what is the next show?

Window display, Wonderland Gallery

Window display, Wonderland Gallery
We ducked into LA Ink next door to check out all the fantastic art on their walls. A veritable gallery itself, the folks were nice enough to let us wander around the tattoo area to eyeball the abundant imagery, lots of great originals by some of our favorite artists. Really loved the "The Four Agreements" text (bottom image) that was gorgeously framed on the wall - wonderfully perfect words to live by!

MUST SEE L.A.: Camille Rose Garcia Show Ends This Saturday! Eclectix Took Some Detail Shots To Share

Camille's current exhibit at the Michael Kohn Gallery in Los Angeles, is not to be missed. I was left stunned and gasping by the quality, imagination and execution of her latest body of works - "Snow White and the Black Lagoon".  These works can take the wind out of any artist's sails by their sheer magnificence. Not to say that I am not a HUGE fan of all her prior works, but this show exceeded all expectations and was just incredibly beautiful and moving.


Really loved her ink and paper works, as well as the larger paintings, the flow and ease of her stroke just kidnaps the viewer down a river of imagination. In the paintings - she detailed and pimped out every square inch, nothing was left wanting more. I am not sure but I think she actually painted in the wood grain in the backgrounds! To top it all off they glistened and sparkled with thick layers of glossy marine resin. Since there are a lot of images of the entire paintings out there on the web, I thought I would just share a lot of cropped, detail shots with you.  The web often lacks a close enough look at artist's works to see technique and Camille's eye candy deserves a scrumptious study. Go see this show if it's the only one you go to this year! It closes Saturday - April 9th, 2011.

Wood grain detail

And her elegant paper works, below...