9/22/2013

Upper West Features the Art of Carol Surface, September 29th Through January 26th!


On Sunday September 29th, Upper West Restaurant will host an opening reception for a new exhibition of work by Los Angeles artist Carol Surface. The event will take place from 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Surface has been showing her work for twenty-five years. She started creating when she was a child. She explains, “When I was in the first grade I won an art contest and my parents sent me to Lochhaven Art Center i Winter Park, FL, which today remains a prestigious art institution.”

Her work stems from her urban environment. She is inspired to create art that mirrors her surroundings.  She is especially drawn to sidewalks, billboards and anonymous postings. Surface explains,  "I see a snapshot of the human condition: the growth and development of the psyche, impressions of communication, the depths and subtleties of relationships. I see the tearing down and regeneration of urban layers as an incarnation of the life cycle; each of my works follows such a path."

She starts with the canvas, paper or metal, then adds paper, paint, acrylic, dress patterns or bits of photographs on fabric. She explains, “I create a sort of subliminal chaos and then, after some time and development of the work’s personality, guide it towards its natural, renewed life. The patterns and structures found in the completed works are at once revealed and concealed, just as are our own thoughts, feelings and patterns of behavior.”

The art will remain on display at Upper West Restaurant from September 29, 2013 through January 26th 2014. The opening reception will be held at Upper West located at 3321 Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica on Sunday, September 29th from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. http://www.theupperwest.com/  http://www.carolsurfacestudio.com

9/06/2013

The Art of Julienne Johnson, On View at LA Artcore Union Center for the Arts!

LA Artcore Union Center for the Arts presents the work of Julienne Johnson as part of “The Franklyn Liegel Memorial Exhibition,” a group exhibition curated by Lydia Takeshita.

See image: Julienne Johnson Touched #3 2013 mixed media on canvas

A driven artist, Johnson continues to push herself to the next level spending over forty hours a week in her studio. Johnson had attended an exhibition featuring the work of her late teacher Franklyn Liegel, back in 2007. Now Johnson’s work will be included in an exhibition along with his own, opening at LA Artcore this Sunday.

Johnson has been working on a new series. She explains, ”This body of work that the curator (Lydia Takeshita) is selecting from is called TOUCHED and is a series within a collection of work that I’ve been involved with since January of 2012; that collection is called TOUCH ME TOUCH YOU and was the title of my last SOLO exhibition in June/2012 at TAG Gallery.” In March of this year, the artist exhibited earlier paintings from that same collection at LA ARTCORE Gallery (Brewery Annex).

“TOUCHED, a new series of work which is part of and culminating the TOUCHMETOUCHYOU collection,  is boldly different than my other work,” admits Johnson.  Peter Frank, Art Critic Huffington Post, Associate Editor, Fabrik Magazine,  says of the work, “……indeed they are the most tactile and the most physically aggressive artworks she has ever produced.”

Johnson continues, “All ten pieces are disturbing, some more than others.  Quite unsettling really…….and they are meant to be so:  a portrait of our  FaceBook/Twitter world  that’s not to be overlooked.  A world that is not delivering it’s promises”.  She continues, “I’m sorry, but we do not have 973 friends just because 973 people wished us a Happy Birthday on Facebook. They do not love us or care for our well being;  they haven’t earned our trust (although they may be trustworthy);  nor have they shown commitment – except to inform us of what they are eating for breakfast each morning – with a snapshot of a bagel. TOUCHED is about all of this; we are caught in this net together;   how could my work,  not reflect this sense of connection or lack thereof?  We are in a world of technological connectivity:  instantly, it’s bringing us closer – yet distances us from those emotionally and physically closest to us.  My work is a portrait of technology and it’s capability of dissolving context.  It had to be made with my hands and it had to be made of surgical gloves.”

TOUCHED consists of ten mixed media works made from  surgeon’s gloves. For the past year, Johnson has saved gloves at the suggestion of her husband, Keith Edwards.  Since she only works with her hands (no brushes for this artist), she goes through 4 to 5 pair of gloves a day. “I tend to make art with whatever is in the vicinity when I need it, and one day, there I was…”

Johnson is currently preparing for her exhibition in Bangkok, February 2014, a solo exhibition at Taylor University in Indiana, and other projects out of the country.

TOUCHED – the book, Foreword by PTOUCHED consists of ten mixed media works made from  surgeon’s gloves. For the past year, Johnson has saved gloves at the suggestion of her husband, Keith Edwards.  Since she only works with her hands (no brushes for this artist), she goes through 4 to 5 pair of gloves a day. “I tend to make art with whatever is in the vicinity when I need it, and one day, there I was…”

Johnson is currently preparing for her exhibition in Bangkok, February 2014, a solo exhibition at Taylor University in Indiana, and other projects out of the country.

TOUCHED – the book, Foreword by Peter Frank, Art Critic, Huffington Post, Associate Editor Fabrik Magazine. Soft covers will be available for $25. Hard covers, special order for $75. Johnson is donating all proceeds to the Franklyn Liegel Legacy Foundation and LA Artcore Gallery, a not for profit gallery which is committed to art that captures the culturally diverse spirit of the city. Both books will also be available on AMAZON.

Johnson’s work will be featured in the Franklyn Liegel Memorial Exhibition on Sunday, September 8, from 3pm-5pm at Artcore Gallery, at Union Center for the Arts (120 Judge John Aiso St. in Little Toyko). Art Talk at 4pm.

Artists, featured in addition to Johnson and the late Franklyn Liegel include: Joseph Piasentin, Hei Myung Hyun, Kaoru Mansour, Robert Walker, Ramone Muñoz, mRheuban.
PH (213) 617-3274, http://www.laartcore.org/ http://www.juliennejohnson.com/
eter Frank, Art Critic, Huffington Post, Associate Editor Fabrik Magazine. Soft covers will be available for $25. Hard covers, special order for $75. Johnson is donating all proceeds to the Franklyn Liegel Legacy Foundation and LA Artcore Gallery, a not for profit gallery which is committed to art that captures the culturally diverse spirit of the city. Both books will also be available on AMAZON.

Johnson’s work will be featured in the Franklyn Liegel Memorial Exhibition on Sunday, September 8, from 3pm-5pm at Artcore Gallery, at Union Center for the Arts (120 Judge John Aiso St. in Little Toyko). Art Talk at 4pm.

Artists, featured in addition to Johnson and the late Franklyn Liegel include: Joseph Piasentin, Hei Myung Hyun, Kaoru Mansour, Robert Walker, Ramone Muñoz, mRheuban.
PH (213) 617-3274, http://www.laartcore.org/ http://www.juliennejohnson.com/