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Category Archives: Contemporary Art

Preview: Kent Williams – “Convergence” @ Merry Karnowsky (Los Angeles)

On a busy Saturday night of art in Los Angeles, make sure you add Kent Williams’ opening at Merry Karnowsky to your gallery hopping itinerary. The collection of paintings entitled Convergence incorporates some of the work shown in New Mexico last September (covered) along with some new pieces all featuring his distinctive take on classical studies of the human form, some quite impressive in scale as you will see from these preview images. More after the jump.

Preview: Pakayla Rae Biehn – “Being There” @ Thinkspace Gallery

Showing alongside Jeff Ramirez (interviewed) for their two person exhibition, Being There (teased), Pakayla Rae Biehn is finally afforded the opportunity to let her talents shine through with a large body of work, after many inclusions in various group shows over the years. Opening Saturday, May 21st at Thinkspace Gallery, the SF-based artist will further develop her unique Double Exposure series of paintings, where two compositional themes are overlayed into a unified whole, certain elements clearly defined others muted in color and blurred in resolution. […]

Videos: Kehinde Wiley – “The World Stage: Israel” Documentary Short

While familiarizing himself firsthand with the local culture in preparation for the creation of his most recent The World Stage series of paintings, Kehinde Wiley was accompanied by filmmaker Dwayne R. Rodgers during his journey to Israel in July 2010. The experience resulted in The World Series: Israel exhibition (covered) currently on show at Roberts & Tilton through May, 29th. This documentary short film provides a rare glimpse into Wiley’s creative process, involving intimate street scenes from Jerusalem, Lod, and Tel Aviv and commentary from […]

Openings: Ryan McGinness – “Recent Paintings” @ Michael Kohn Gallery

Last night, deep in the heart of Los Angeles, marked the beginning of Ryan McGinness’ multi-show assault on the City of Angels. Separated into distinct body of works from his versatile arsenal, the first of seven exhibitions started at Michael Kohn Gallery with some of his signature iconographic work bursting with color and detail entitled simply Recent Paintings. If you love this particular aspect (last seen at Phillips de Pury) of the New York-based artist’s multifaceted work, you certainly do not want to miss this […]

Preview: Ryan McGinness – “Works on Paper” @ Country Club (LA)

Quickly following in the wake left by Recent Paintings (previewed), which opens this evening, the relentless stream of art events organized by Ryan McGinness for Los Angeles will continue without hesitation tomorrow night, this time spotlighting a series of works on paper. Hosted by Country Club LA, Works on Paper will see the screen-print guru present a collection of new and old pieces, collectively illustrating a subtler, more raw side to the production technique he has come to be renowned for. In conjunction with the […]

Preview: Kris Lewis @ David B. Smith Gallery

Tomorrow night in Denver, Kris Lewis (interviewed) returns to David B. Smith Gallery with a striking new body of work after a successful showing there in 2009.  The new collection of oil paintings feature his detailed renditions of mostly female characters all while focusing on capturing the emotional essence of each portrait. Also, as you will see, he continues to explore themes of the ocean and interplay of water in some of the works. More preview images after the jump…

Openings: Tracey Emin – ‘Love is What You Want’ @ Hayward Gallery

The major retrospective of work by Tracey Emin, Love is What You Want, is currently on at London’s Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre. AM attended the preview on Tuesday evening and was duly impressed. If you’re fond of Emin’s intensely personal, confessional and often provocative art, you’ll love this show. There’s certainly a great deal to take in, covering every phase of her career and the wide diversity of media she’s worked with: installation, embroidered and appliquéd blankets, neon, film, animation, photography, sculpture, painting, drawing […]

Previews: Cleon Peterson – “White Flag” @ Joshua Liner Gallery

Cleon Peterson is getting ready to unleash a new series of brutal works at Joshua Liner Gallery. The exhibition is entitled White Flag, which may mean surrender to you or I, but after checking out the graphic violence and gross depravity in these paintings, it may mean surrendering to the crazier side of human impulse. We stopped by the gallery to bring you a closer look at what you’ll be experiencing through his twisted landscapes. The show is officially on view already with a special […]

Preview: Ryan McGinness – “Recent Paintings” @ Michael Kohn Gallery

The Ryan McGinness extravaganza (teased) set to take Los Angeles by storm this month, which will see the artist bring his work in various forms to seven different venues, will be properly kicked off at the Michael Kohn Gallery. Opening tomorrow night, May 19th, the exhibition will mark the first solo effort by the New York contemporary heavy weight with the blue chip LA institution, presenting a brand new body of paintings to be complimented by a selection of classic works from a range of […]