Rogue Taxidermy on CBS/KCAL & KTLA News!

The Rogue Taxidermy Exhibit (which runs through May 30th) was covered by KCAL 9 and KCBS 2 this weekend! Click here or the Liz McGrath image at left to link to a video of that news clip hosted by Rita Garcia. Click here for the KTLA 5 clip with Dave Malkoff.

That report includes a brief tour of the show and highlight's Brian Poor's incredible, animated, mechanical/taxidermy hybrid, "Deerhead Chingadera," mentioning his most famous collector, who can be seen on video here at the time of that purchase.

The Rogue Taxidermy opening on Friday, May 7th was huge, and as promised, here are some photos:


The Live Taxidermy Masterclass and Squirrel chili gamefeed were just as busy the following evening (Saturday, May 8th), and a whole new collection of famous faces stopped by to shop, chat and view the exhibition, ranging from rockers Glenn Danzig and Billy Corgan to Oscar Winner Christoph Waltz!

Jeanie M's mouse dissection and Scott Bibus' squirrel autopsy were succeeded by Miss Winter Rosebudd's tasty squirrel chili banquet. A vegan option was supplied by guest curator Robert Marbury, and the brewskis were supplied by Schmaltz.
And if you're wondering what squirrel tastes like? It tastes like chicken.




*Special thanks to Lee Joseph for supplying all the photos.

Day of the Animals

Last night's opening for the Rogue Taxidermy Show was a veritable zoo!

The momentum we built from the Scott Hove installation has spawned and multiplied into ocean of faces both fledgling and familiar. There were a handful of famous folks, too -rubbing elbows with the rest of us and in complete awe of the remarkable creations from the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists (and others).

Ex-Germ Don Bolles, tattoo mogul Kat Von D, and director James Gunn took particular interest in pieces by Scott Bibus, Sarina Brewer and Robert Marbury, respectively. I've never seen so many Gallery-goers snapping away furiously with their camera phones -for the art! Jessica Joslin's bone-and-antique-hardware constructs and Enrique Gomez de Molina's fantastic hybrid creatures were highly populated areas for most of the evening, as was the television broadcasting attendee reactions to Brian Poor's motion-sensor activated, mechanized deer head.

In the next post, I'll include pictures from last night's opening along with images from tonight's Live Taxidermy Demonstration and Squirrel Chili Gamefeed.

Meanwhile, enjoy these shots from last month's Dennis Larkins and Max Grundy exhibitions, and the aforementioned Iced Out installation from Cakeland mastermind Scott Hove, which will soon be on view at the Scion Space in Culver City.

Christopher Ulrich's Demoneater

Click here, if the video player doesn't work.


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!