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.

"European Bailout" Pix From The Post No Bills Gallery in Venice, Ca

Another great art space we visited on Abbot Kinney in Venice, was Post No Bills and their "European BailOut" show. A Venice based print shop - this is a large, very open space with lots of room for art. Couldn't find an informative website for them, this may be a very new gallery. On the very back wall they had ever-fun Banksy prints for sale. Lots of art worth seeing in the show and as usual we have some selected images to share (and close-up details too!)

Collage portrait works by Jonathan Yeo, - Arnold

Jonathan Yeo

Detail, Jonathan Yeo

Antony Micallef

Mode 2 -  I never thought a cardboard box could be so sexy!

Ian Francis

Ian Francis

Detail from above

Some skull bunnies in the window by Paul Insect

Wall of Banksy prints

Banksy

and more Banksy....

There were quite a few very beautiful and strong sculptures by Antony Micallef, so shiny they looked like they had been dipped in mercury. I loved the fact that the crates they were shipped in, became the bases for their display, complete with postal and shipping markings. 

Gleaming sculptures by Antony Micallef

Detail, Antony Micallef

http://www.postnobillsshop.com/

Vhils In Venice

While art browsing all along the Abbot Kinney Blvd. area in Venice (CA), we were blessed by the visage of a street work by Vhils (Alexandre Farto). It was a large woman's face etched into the side of a brick wall, I think it was on the side of Post No Bills Gallery. On close inspection, it looked like a layer of plaster had been applied and the image was created by chipping away the plaster, in some areas down to the brick. In other areas just down to raw cement and some form of paint or dye was dripped and smeared on it as well. It is a wonderful art attack and when I checked out his website, I was astounded by all the crumbling, faded and beauteous faces of humanity Alexandre (or Vhils) has created all over the world. 

Please check them out for yourself here -  LINK, you will be glad you did.

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

Kendall Messick’s Burnt Offerings

Messick's "Impermanence" and “Conflagration” photographs are documents of charred beauty. After his house burned down, Messick chose to portray the beauty that is inherent in all things, even destruction. His photographs of his burned-down home and beloved and now charred objects represent what the title says - impermanence.

Some images courtesy of Rebekah Jacob Gallery

Messick's Website Link

(Originally posted in the Eclectix  "BURN" Issue, August 2011,

 along with the permanent online exhibit of fire-related art, LINK HERE.)

Drew Burnham at Bau-xi Gallery

Bau-xi Gallery is located across the street from the AGO in Toronto and we checked it out with visiting there. The current exhibit were works by Canadian artist Drew Burnham, all large wilderness,  landscapes. Generally, I like landscapes - what's not to like? However, they can be boring and empty, lacking interest or spice.  Drew's works were not lacking anything - vivid in color and contrast, fluid in composition - exciting kinetic lines of wild scenes. They had an almost hallucinogenic feel, staring at them it felt like someone had slipped you some magic mushrooms. Trippy leaves, deep flowing shadows and psychedelic colors vibrate the eye, reminding one of Henri Rousseau's "The Dream". Beautiful works that make you want to hike inside them along with Alice in Wonderland.