Christopher Ulrich's Demoneater

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Christopher Ulrich is a painter of surreal, iconographic images. He is influenced by the richness of ancient mythology, the mystery of alchemy, and the vastness of cosmic reality. Illuminating this dark journey with insight, heart and determination he strives to understand the unraveling revelation that reveals itself in the work. Christopher began his exhibition life with the first of three major experiments, The Demoneater Series, which has been published as a prestige edition, hardcover book. Demoneater consists of 15 “Keys” to 15 “Doors,” all of which depict black, mirrored reflections of a single character. This alchemical allegory was first shown at the Bergamot Station on November the 2nd (Day of the Dead) 2007, exhibiting through January 2008. The series is being presented again at the Grand Central Art Center Museum at CSUF, and this time the works are available for purchase.

These works are puzzle pieces to a greater whole: a grand tapestry called The Christ Chronocrator Project. After creating new works for a monthly series of group showings, Christopher opened a new exhibition of large format paintings and small illustrations in conjunction with new works by Carrie Ann Baade and KS Rives at Billy Shire Fine Arts. "The Fourth Enochian Key" ran from June 14th through July 4th, 2009. Ulrich has since begun work on the second series of his alchemical masterwork entitled, "Illuminator: The Royal Wedding," which debuts at La Luz de Jesus Gallery on August 6, 2010.

All Doors measure 48" x 96" and are priced $6000.00 each. All Keys measure 24" x 24" and are priced $2000.00 each. All paintings are oil on framed panel. Frames add an additional two inches all around. Contact me (Matt Kennedy) for availability and purchase info: (323) 297-0600

These masterpieces have all been published and now have museum pedigree. Ulrich's work is in several very prominent collections, making these few available paintings an absolute steal. With the Demoneater retrospective opening on May Day (May 1st), and Illuminator debuting on August 6th, this will be the summer of Ulrich!

Also showing at the Grand Central Art Center at CSUF is artist in residence, Laurie Lipton, who will launch her "Machine Punk" exhibition at La Luz de Jesus Gallery on November 5th. We're super excited to be working with Laurie who will also have a piece in the Lowbrow Tarot Project. That exhibition will feature several La Luz de Jesus alumni, like Christopher Ulrich, Chris Mars, Jessica Joslin, Daniel Martin Diaz, Carrie Ann Baade, Danni Shinya Luo, Jennybird Alcantara, Heather Watts, Scott G. Brooks, and Patrick "Star27" Deignan. Some of the additional talent includes Matthew Bone, Brian Viveros, Kris Kuksi, Chet Zar, Molly Crabapple, and several others, gathered by guest curator Aunia Kahn!

Eastertide

It's hard to believe that it's almost been a week since we completed construction on the New and Improved La Luz de Jesus Gallery, but here we are in the first week of Eastertide. If you haven't seen the Scott Hove "Iced Out" exhibition, you need to drop what you're doing right now and come check it out. This is a show that warrants a "live" perspective.

If you missed the opening reception, you missed an extravagant assortment of delicious desserts from the Nickel Diner. With all those Scott Hove cakes on display, we knew the crowd would be hungry, and they voraciously vacuumed the maple bacon donut holes and potato chip and peanut butter cupcakes. The refreshments, supplied by Nakhon Brewing, were much appreciated and paired well with the savory and sweet snacks.

The best surprise for Scott Hove fans of was the chance to pass through a gallery of Dennis Larkins and Max Grundy paintings before arriving at the cakeland sculptures. Dennis was also on hand Saturday to sign copies of his latest tome of three dimensional relief paintings, "Startling Art," published by Last Gasp and available for sale in the gallery.

Max Grundy was similarly busy this weekend -welcoming a beautiful baby daughter into the world! Congrats to proud new parents Max and Candace! Of course, LA Weekly readers got a preview of Grundy's "Out of Order" show when his title piece accompanied the Easter Sunday spotlight in the Go LA section.

Families flocked to our expanded Los Feliz digs and bought Bruce Eichelberger's etched eggs and other Eastery delights.

The three exhibitions are up all month long, and the work is extraordinary. Just in time for your Tax Refund check!

And speaking of tax, the Rogue Taxidermy Exhibition is coming soon, so be sure to sign up for the online preview by joining our email list.

The icing on the (Monster) cake

The construction is done, and the installation is in process for the inaugural exhibit at the new addition to La Luz de Jesus Gallery for our grand rebirth / reopening on April 2nd. As you read this, Scott Hove and Billy Shire are hard at work assuring that Gallery II will be fully assembled for the opening reception this Friday at 8PM.

When we decided to close BSFA last month, it was part of bigger plan that centered on a redesign and expansion of La Luz de Jesus Gallery. The exhibition schedule for 2010 was built around this planned construction, and the new space allows for multiple exhibitions to cohabit under one roof. The combined infrastructure enables edgier content and a return to the cutting edge exhibitions of our golden age when we launched the lowbrow and pop-surrealism movements of California art. Scott Hove's "Iced Out" exhibition, alongside Max Grundy's "Out of Order" and Dennis Larkins' "Read Between the Lines" were conceptualized with the new space in mind. Scroll down for previews of these first three exhibitions at the new, double-sized La Luz de Jesus Gallery.

Scott Hove's work encompasses a broad variety of media, from sculptural installations to painting. "Iced Out" is a celebration of the artificial, and acknowledges our tendency to embrace illusion in order to feel safe and receive emotional gratification. The fake cake sculptures, with their display of beauty and potential for satisfaction, lure the viewer into a sense of anticipation, but also create a sense of anxiety and fear.
Among the highlights are a seven-piece cake chandelier and a demo of the cake vault, which is an enclosed structure -partly Alice in Wonderland, but entirely Scott Hove. (Click here for a video tour)

We have never exhibited anything like this before!
In keeping with the cake theme on Easter Weekend, The Nickel Diner's master pastry chef is making some extravagant sweets and the All American Softy truck will be parked out front to supply ice-cream and other snacks.

Long time Grateful Dead artist Dennis Larkins returns to La Luz de Jesus on the same evening with a new batch of three dimensional relief paintings that provoke, disturb and amuse. Dennis is longtime La Luz alumni, and his freshest batch of textured oil and acrylic works will dominate a display that includes classic and rarely seen work as well. He's fresh from an exhibition at the New York Historical Society, and just in time for the premiere of his new graphic volume Startling Art: the Revealing Art of Dennis Larkins, which he'll also be signing on Saturday, April 3rd from 6-9 PM.

He'll be in attendance with Scott Hove and Max Grundy, who is unleashing his sophomore show here at La Luz de Jesus which includes neon sign in addition to his enamel works on aluminum and steel. Max's work conveys a concept of the future from the perspective of the past. He infuses each image with rebelliousness, industry, freedom, conflict and impending disaster. By paralleling the Atomic Era and today's times of terror, social and political pressures, Grundy gives his work a narrative that is both familiar and unprecedented. Created with enamel on aluminum panel, "Out of Order," Grundy's new body of work, portrays the tension created between man and technology and the impending apocalypse.

We've got cake.
We've got ice cream.
We've got the best damn art gallery opening you're going to see this month!

Kitsch 'N Sync Coverage

Congrats to La Luz de Jesus' own JAW Cooper, who has three great paintings in the Kitsch 'N Sync show, the same week that her art graces the cover of the LA Weekly! Cooper's got a featured exhibition here in June, too, so be sure to sign up for her preview list on our constant contact sign up box. She's been dropping hints about what we can expect, and I'm feverishly anticipating another faux-fur rug, because I know some hard-wood floors that need a stylish companion.

We expected a great turn-out on Friday, but we could never have expected over 2000 people!

The folks from SinoTequila were working overtime to blend enough margaritas for the ravenous crowd, and several artists had complete sellouts of multiple pieces. Brandon Steen, Frijol Boy, Jasmine Worth, Tennessee Loveless and Walt Hall all sold three or more paintings each, and many of our newbies experienced the very first gallery sales of their artwork. That list is far too extensive to list, but you can check out what's sold and what's available by clicking on the Current Exhibition link.

The following evening, we said goodbye to Billy Shire Fine Arts.

The live, musical performance by Unextraordinary Gentlemen was off the chain, and we were able to give away some mementos from the past five years' exhibitions. The aesthetic that was established at BSFA will be incorporated into the new La Luz de Jesus, which will soon have a second enclosed space behind the current main gallery. Take a look at the upcoming shows and you'll see what I mean.

Next month, Scott Hove will be taking over the new, second gallery space at La Luz de Jesus with his installation of surreal, anthropomorphized cakes. The exhibition, called Iced Out has already received coverage from Hi-Fructose, Boing Boing, Planet Oddity and The Food Network. Ace of Cakes -eat your heart out, as the centerpiece of this show is a gigantic cake chandelier that will hang suspended from the center of the ceiling in gallery II. We'll be coordinating some other special events around this opening on April 2nd, which will likely involve some edible sweets to accompany visual ones, so check back for updates.

The front gallery will host Dennis Larkins and Max Grundy.

Dennis' work is 3D relief sculpted paintings in acrylic on canvas and paper. He was just covered by the New York Times as part of the New York Historical Society Grateful Dead Exhibition, which coincides with the release of his book, Startling Art: Revealing the Art of Dennis Larkins, which he'll be signing at La Luz de Jesus on Saturday, April 3rd from 6-9PM. Max Grundy's paranoid propaganda paintings of enamel on metal are a hellacious futurama meets constructivism. Larkins & Grundy are La Luz veterans, and their work will juxtapose nicely with Scott Hove. You've never seen anything quite like this, I promise you!

The End of an Era, the Start of an Epoch

All good things must come to an end, and so on Saturday, March 6th, the Dave McKean exhibition Nitrate & Kinogeists will be ending. If you haven't seen this extraordinary exhibition, this is your last chance. Dave's meditations on silent cinema hang side by side with the posters from the Century Guild collection that inspired them. It's his best work, and that says a lot when you consider that his resume includes over 300 album covers, some of the greatest art to ever grace a comic book cover, and let's not forget that he directed the movie Mirror Mask.

There are still affordable pieces of art left from this exhibition, and we held onto stacks of hard to find and out of print art books, too.



It will also be the end of Billy Shire Fine Arts in Culver City. This is the last night.
We are leaving the historic 1925 Neo-classical landmark at 5790 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232 that served as the BSFA home since opening in April 2005.

But are we sad about it? HELL NO!

We're throwing a party! And aside from an excellent liquor sponsor in the form of SinoTequila, we've got Nakhon Beer and and the finest snacks that Costco has to offer (until we run out). And it just wouldn't be a party without a band so we've got legendary steampunk band Unextraordinary Gentlemen performing a full set at 8PM. DJ MP3 Sark (Ground Contol's Andrew Holguin) will be holding it down on the wheels of steel throughout the night. Only time will tell if Billy Shire breaks out his harmonica!

And how much does it cost to get into this shindig? NOTHING!
Just show our doorman your purchase receipt for $5 or more from Soap Plant, Wacko, La Luz de Jesus or Billy Shire Fine Arts, and you get in for free. That receipt must be less than nine months old, and it's one receipt per person. Otherwise it's up to our discretion -and we don't pride ourselves on our discretion, ahem...

The party starts at 6PM, Saturday, March 6th, but we'll be open from noon, so come see the McKean exhibition before the crowd gets there, then come back for the main event. It'll end when it ends. This is a celebration of our patrons -the folks who have been supporting the gallery, and we want this to be a night to be remembered while surrounded by our friends, so feel free to pass along the good word.

Speaking of which, I've finished logging all of the accepted pieces in the Everything But the Kitsch 'N Sync group show. There are 307 pieces from 150 artists. Pieces are already starting to sell, so don't hesitate! That show opens this Friday, March 5th. 8-11 PM at La Luz de Jesus Gallery, 4633 Hollywood Blvd., LA, CA 90027.


This is the 13th anniversary edition. It's a rad show if I do say so myself. I've corrected and updated the listing in my last blog, which also links to the artist pages now. There are about 75 images per page, and the artists are indexed alphabetically by first name. There are many first-timers, some veterans and a handful of future museum pieces. Stop by, and I promise to give you my top picks, so when you visit or call, be sure to ask for me (Matt Kennedy).
See you this weekend!

Everything But the Kitsch 'N Sync group show Acceptance List

In less than two weeks (on Friday, March 5th) we'll be unveiling our annual Everything But the Kitsch 'N Sync group show. We sorted through tens of thousands of submissions and finalized the list of accepted works today. There are a handful of additional artists that will be included whom we are waiting to announce just before the show opens, but the vast majority are listed below. I know a lot of artists have been waiting to hear if they've made the cut, so if you are not included on the list below, the odds are fairly secure that you have not been accepted this year, but that doesn't mean that we didn't like your work. In many cases, pieces were too large to fit cohesively with the majority of approved selections. In some cases, the deadline prevented us from including some folks that otherwise would have been represented.

There were a lot of very strong contenders, but there's only so much wall space, so without further ado, I announce the 2010 Kitsch 'N Sync "Accepted" list:

Adam Strange
Adrian Dominic
Alan Kocharian
Alyson Souza
Amy Jeeye Lee
Andy Steele
Antonio Roybal
Apricot Mantle
Aya Masuda
Barry Fitzgerald
Benjamin A. Vierling
Bob Dob
Bonni Reid
Brad Parker
Brandon Morino
Brandon Steen
Brendan McCarthy
Brian Poor
Bree Hranek
Bruce Eichelberger
Bruce Gossett
Bryan Cunningham
Bryce Yoshito Takara
Caroline Hwang
Carl Lozada
Carlos Ramos
Cecilia Granata
Celene Petrulak
Chris Athans
Chris Madans
Chris Roberts-Antieau
Christopher Umana
Conrad Haberland
Cristina Paulos
Da Kim
Dale Sizer
Damara Kaminecki
Damian Fulton
Dan Barry
Dani Manning
Danni Shinya Luo
Daniel Lim
Dara Harvey
Dave Dziemian
David K. Rose
David Russell Talbott
Davidd Batalon
Delphia
Dennis Larkins
Dion Macellari
Domenick J. Calligaro
Eben Dodd
Edward Kunze
Eric Eyeball Richardson
Eunbyul Kwak
Everett Davidson
Flip
Frijol Boy
George Peaslee
George Thomas
Glen C. Davies
Heather Watts
Henry Stinson
Howard Hallis
Hsin-Han Su
Hyejoo Son
Jack Howe
Janet Kim
Jared Tharp
Jasmine Worth
Jason Houchen
JAW Cooper
Jayme Im
J.D. Fiedler
Jennifer Jelenski
Jennybird Alcantara
Jessica Dalva
Jessica Ward
John Stuart Berger
JoKa
Jon MacNair
Julia Romanenko
Junichi Tsuneoka
Katerina Perdue
Kathy Braceland
Kim Scott
Krystopher Sapp
Kyle Henry
Lance Richlin
Laura Borchert
Lea Barozzi
Leslie Ditto
Liane Shih
Liz Brizzi
Liz Mamorsky
Lyle Motley
Mark Gleason
Martin Kanshige
Mary Fleener
Mary Syring
Matjames Metson
Max Grundy
Megan Majewski
Michael Brown
Michael Pukac
Michael Stansell
Michelle An
Mickey Edtinger
Mike Maas
Mike Sosnowski
Mikel Parton
Miles Thompson
Miran Kim
Myron Conan Dyal
Nathan Ota
Nicholas Harper
Nicole Bruckman
Norbert H. Kox
Olga T. Mosqueda
Patricia Anders
Patrick “Star27” Deignan
Patrick Fatica
Paul Barrow
Peter Adamyan
Pol Turgeon
Rachel Bensimon
Rachel Fujii
Raya Golden
Richard Frost
Robin Fuqua
Rodrigo Cifuentes
Ron Adkins
Ron Tolentino Velasco
Ruel Pascual
Rusty Sherrill
Sae Soh
Scott Holloway
Sean Stepanoff
Shark Toof
Sheri DeBow
Stephanie Henderson
Stephen Holman
Steve Bartlett
Sunny Gu
Tamara Guion
Tammi Otis
Taylor Christensen
Tennessee Loveless
Thea Saks
Thomas Lynch III
Trevor Brown
Walter Hall
Winifred Johnson Brewer
Zachary Schoenbaum

The focus has always been to grant exposure to emerging talent while showcasing them alongside established names, and that esthetic remains more true than ever before this year. In fact, we have the highest concentration we've ever had of artists making their art gallery debut in this exhibition. Add to that a wide percentage of professionals making their Los Angeles and North American debuts, and that makes this an exhibition you really can't afford to miss. There are quite a few pieces that I would love to purchase outright, but I made a decision when I took this job to allow our patrons first right of purchase to insure that our artists' work makes it into the hands of collectors, helping to widen their buyer-base. I've always thought it a slap in the face of loyal supporters when the gallery buys the best pieces before the show opens.

But if you snooze, you will lose, because I am definitely going to be buying a few of these pieces in the second week of exhibition. So on your marks, get set...

A preview will be posted on Monday, February 1st, so be sure to check back soon.
If you spot someone on the above list for whom you want to queue for an advance purchase option, please shoot me an email at info@laluzdejesus.com or call me at (323) 297-0600.

Get in on the ground floor of some great careers building before our very eyes!

Punk Rock Weekend

When I was growing up in Lynn, Mass, the only link I had to the vibrant, angsty Los Angeles Punk scene was the photography of Ruby Ray in the seminal fanzine Search & Destroy. Her images of those bands (from The Dils to The Germs to X) were a window into a secret world that would became the soundtrack to my teenaged rebellion -about a decade later!

As I drifted from punk to post-punk and modern primitive industrial music, I came to realize that Ruby had beaten me to the finish line there, as well. When I moved here in 1991 and first stepped foot into the Melrose location of Soap Plant, I was greeted by a row of RE/Search publications, completely oblivious to the fact that Ruby Ray had co-founded the magazine that supplied the content for most of those books a little over a decade earlier.

That Ruby Ray has been influential to the counter-culture is indisputable, but the extent of her influence is criminally underrated. In the almost 25 years that La Luz de Jesus has been in existence, there have been about a handful of photography exhibitions. It's not a medium that we dabble in lightly, so when we actually do decide to host a photography show, you can bet your bippy that that it's going to be extraordinary. Convulsive Beauty: First Wave Punk Photography is that type of show, and Ruby Ray will be attending her opening reception, Friday, February 19th from 8-11 PM. To further cultivate the proper D.I.Y. spirit, we've got Drive-By Press in the back-lot doing custom woodblock printing on T-Shirts while their favorite mobile DJ goes full ninja on the wheels of steel.

Not enough for you? We've got a gourmet catering truck out front and two beverage sponsors! Sino Tequila and Nakhon Beer are providing a shot and a beer for select patrons of legal drinking age, too.

Still not enough? Ok...

On Saturday, we'll be hosting Joey Ramone's brother Mickey Leigh to read and sign his book I Slept With Joey Ramone, which is a compelling, behind-the-scenes biography of the punk rock life of the Ramones as told by someone who lived it. Mickey will be bringing along Rock n Roll High School alumni Alan Arkush and PJ Soles, as well as punk rock musician and disc jockey Howie Pyro. The event runs from 6-9 PM, so you can cruise in on your way out to the clubs!

PUNK IS NOT DEAD!

We've still got the Danni Shinya Luo, Kim Scott, Miran Kim and Transmission Atelier exhibitions hanging in the front gallery of La Luz de Jesus, so if you haven't seen them yet, you've now got a great second reason to do so.

And lastly, if you missed the Dave McKean opening reception last Saturday, you missed an incredible discussion about the significance of art and humanity between Howard Hallis, Brendan McCarthy, Dave McKean, Grant Morrison, and Danni Shinya Luo as Century Guild curator Thomas Negovan, Gail Potocki, Kent Williams and I eavesdropped. It was magical! While you can't see exactly that this weekend, you can see the video installation that Dave McKean assembled for his exhibit and the Century Guild poster collection that inspired his paintings. There are still one or two ink drawings available for purchase, too.

So from Punk to Steampunk, we've got all your bases covered. Check back here next week for the Everything But the Kitsch N Sync group show ACCEPTED list, and details about the Billy Shire Fine Arts closing party.