KrossD Awards (2016 Can Fuck Off Already edition)

"Images of Police Brutality #4" by Steven Thomas Higgins

This is gonna be short and sweet. I didn't even want to do it all. Just 10 days into this year, I woke up to the news that David Bowie had died. I was completely unprepared for the degree to which that would hurt me. The shit snowball just gained velocity after that. Merle, Prince, Leonard. Then, in November, because of an arcane electoral system (that was put in place to exploit slaves), my country elected a megalomaniac racist, peeping tom, pussy grabber to the most powerful position on the planet. But even that wasn't enough for 2016. No, it had to take Carrie Fisher and her Mom away too. Fuck you 2016!

I'm forced to write this one because the best art of 2016 was so damn great, and I worry that you didn't notice. I've been kind of selfishly busy with my own career and haven't been writing about others as much as usual. I'm sorry. I owe you this much.

ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Steven Thomas Higgins

The one single shining, glorious bright spot of this horrible year, has been watching Steven Thomas Higgins work. He hasn't been loud about it. His name doesn't turn up in every group show around town. He's just been quietly, diligently, slaving away in his studio, exploring color, tonal duality, textures, and themes.He has dedicated himself to his craft, and doesn't seem to care if you're paying attention. I am. I know a few gallerists who might read this. I'm writing this for you. You need to be watching this guy. You need to be showing this guy. We need his art. Pay attention!

"In Groups" by Steven Thomas Higgins

"Lines in Blue and Red" by Steven Thomas Higgins

BEST SOLO SHOW OF THE YEAR: Public Secrets - Abel Alejandre at Coagula Curatorial

You've heard me fawn about Abel before. He has a way with line that just wrecks me. "Public Secrets" was a show that delved into myth, conspiracy theory, and family that may have been the most honest exhibit of the year.

"Ebola" by Abel Alejandre

BEST GROUP SHOW OF THE YEAR: "Sticks and Stones" curated by Douglas Alvarez at Cactus Gallery.

The theme seemed simple enough, create something that reflects childhood lessons/experiences. Who knew that that this would take every artist in the show out of their comfort zone (and signature styles) to create deeply personal, and touching work? Who knew that Alex Schaefer and Jennifer Korsen had shared memories of prismatic fascination? I spent a good chunk of the opening sitting on a forklift and being fittingly delinquent with good friends before we had to chase zombies (long story). Also, this show had my single, favorite work of art of the year in it, by Snow Mack.

"Jackson Browne Goes Downtown in his Jacks on Brown gown" by Snow Mack

NINTH WONDER OF THE ART WORLD: Leigh Salgado's laugh.

If you've never felt the healing powers of this woman's laugh, I feel sorry for you. It makes everything okay.

MOST TEARS SHED: Tfail (aka Tina St. Claire).

Although we had many mutual friends, and rubbed artwork elbows a few times, I never got to meet Tina. But her art always grabbed me by the throat, and made Los Angeles an insanely beautiful place to live. For all the heroes that fell this year, I cried the most about losing Tina. Please remember her!

Tfail

...and while I'm at it...


WORST ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Milo Moire

Yep. Her again. This year Milo actually invited strangers to grope her through a mirrored box. For fucks sake! You can talk to me until you're blue in the face about how this was a profound statement regarding consent. I'll quietly listen as you tell me that the mirrors reflect our inner perversions. I might even nod as you talk. But after you finish explaining art to me, I'm gonna walk far, far away from you and hope to never see you again.

Fuck off, 2016!

A Special Valentine with Douglas Alvarez and Terri Berman

I'm not really sure where I first met Douglas Alvarez and Terri Berman. But if you spend any amount of time in the Los Angeles art scene, you are bound to run into them. They are pretty much fixtures. I wanted to do a special Valentine's Day post featuring an art couple. Doug and Terri were the first couple I thought of. I asked them each to paint a Valentine. They both agreed, but Douglas warned "They might be dark." That was curious. Dark, isn't a word I'd usually associate with Doug or Terri. Their work is typically witty and charming, as are they. Doug's Valentine (seen above) ended up being an exploration of oral fixations, while Terri created a little 8 bit heart. I'll let the armchair art psychologist within you dissect that.

I recently dropped by the couple's "tree-house" to chat about how they met, how they work together and what they fight about.

How did you two meet?

Douglas: Art school. CSUN.
Terri: In the computer lab.
Douglas: Yeah, I was the lab tech.

Did you start dating right away?

Terri: No, just friends. We'd go to the museums, get coffee.
Douglas: Real, super-casual.
Terri: We were hanging out, then we'd stop hanging out. But basically we were friends and we just hung out a lot.
Douglas: It was funny, because you know, I had my place and she would show up. But then, it was such a gradual thing. There was that moment where I gave her her own key, so she could come in at any time. That's how gradual it was. Then eventually I moved into another place, and I had keys made, and their were two of them, so I ended up giving her one. So, that was a moment.
Terri: And I moved my stuff in! (laughs)

Were you showing in galleries right out of art school?

Douglas: Mostly group shows, like underground group shows.
Terri: Cannibal Flower. We would show there all the time.
Douglas: At first we were focused on graphic design, and she was focused on web design. Fine art painting wasn't our top priority, when we got our degrees, it was to get a job. The only way to get a job out of an art degree was the web, or print. But we still like to render things by hand. Somebody introduced us, first to L.C. (aka L. Croskey aka Cannibal Flower).
Terri:We met other artists, they'd tell us 'Hey, we're having a show.' and then we met Walt (Hall), and actually on Myspace we met people. Because we'd post our art, and then Walt met Doug. That's how they met, on Myspace. So, they'd see our art, and it was 'hey, do you want to be in this show?'
Douglas: It started very organically. You develop a little art family. We kind of shared our opportunities.
Terri: I think Myspace really helped. Because, remember Myspace was just images. It wasn't like Facebook, where you'd write 'This is what I'm doing today, blah-blah-blah,'
Douglas: You could decorate your page.
Terri: Yeah.

Has there been a competitive aspect to your relationship at all?

Douglas: Competitive? Not really. We have different opportunities. It's interesting. I mean, a lot of times we don't get invited to the same show. She has opportunities that I don't have. She has artwork on T.V. shows, like Two Broke Girls. She has an agent that provides artwork for sets, and her stuff works.

Douglas, you probably get approached by a lot of restaurants, right?

Douglas: I used to, not any more
Terri: He has a whole bunch of work in Redondo Beach, at Umami Burger. They bought them.

Do you two ever collaborate on a piece?

Douglas: Rarely. If we're in a show that required it, yeah, but...
Terri: We should do one.
Douglas: Our motivations are different.

Yeah, but both of your work has a sense of humor to it, so I imagine you influence each other.

Terri: I think so.
Douglas: Yeah, that's bound to happen.
Terri: The one good thing is, you know, you're working and you'll say 'Do you like this? What do you think?' You have somebody to ask, versus if you're just working by yourself. Sometimes I just want to know, 'Do you like it?' and he might not answer. Maybe he wants me to figure it out myself.
Douglas: Sometimes I'll be working on a painting and you won't like it, and I'll fight it. Like, 'Well you don't understand what I'm trying to..." She's pretty honest with me. I'll just paint over a piece.
Terri: Or I won't like it, but everybody else will like it.
Douglas: It's good to have that honesty though. Sometimes you'll ask your friends and they'll be super positive about everything. But that's not entirely productive.
Terri: Right, and I want to know. Not everybody likes your art work.

Are there any silly things you fight about?

Douglas: Music, sometimes.
Terri: Or like I was saying, I'll ask him 'Do you like this?' and he won't answer. He's so in the zone.
Douglas: And she'll wonder why I'm ignoring her, and I just don't have the energy to answer her question. I have my own questions going on in my head. We're both painting.
Teri: Yeah, I'll say 'Can you come over here and look at this?' and he's not listening.
Douglas: Like anything else, you're concentrating. You'll have a flow going, and you know those flows. You can accomplish so much in one hour, that might take a week to accomplish otherwise, and you don't want anything to break it, right? And suddenly she's bombed me with a question.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

You can see both Douglas and Terri's work in the upcoming Loteria group show at Cactus Gallery on March 14th. See flyer below.

You can also buy Ali Rossi's childrens book "Gimme Gimme Gimme" illustrated by Terri Berman at the Daniel Rolnik Gallery.

Terri Berman;s 8 bit Valentine

Douglas' take on his High School Yearbook

Terri Berman

Douglas Alvarez

Terri Berman

Douglas Alvarez

Terri Berman

Happy Valentine's Day

Sneak Peek: Summer Flies at Flower Pepper Gallery

Summer Flies opens tomorrow night at Flower Pepper Gallery.  The show was curated by Walt Hall, and features a stellar line-up that includes Douglas Alvarez, Alex Schaefer, and Mike Street. Below you'll find a little sneak peek of what's in store.

Flower Pepper Gallery
121 East Union Street
Pasadena, CA 91103

Summer Flies opening reception June 28th, 6:30 pm
Runs through August 1st, 2014

Sunny by Douglas Alvarez

Lampyrids Dance by Jaclyn Alderate

At The Lake by Kelly Thompson

Along A Wire by Lacey Bryant

Evening Cooling by Lacey Bryant

A Parade For Summer by Walt Hall

Ice Cream On Sundays by Walt Hall

Summer Flies by Walt Hall

Up High Above The Summer Canyons by Walt Hall

5 Questions with OM BLEICHER

Om Bleicher hails from Australia. He came out to California to visit family about nine years ago, and was taken with what he calls 'the wild west art scene' in Los Angeles. This led him to open bG Gallery in Santa Monica. Om is an interesting cat to say the least. He's a soft spoken gent, but in the short time I've known him, I've overheard him debating the relative merits of self-importance, and seen him strike up a spur of the moment chat about quantum physics.

Om has just opened a second gallery at Bergamot Station. The first show at the new space, Spectrum Gestalt (co-curated with Daniel Rolnik), is a sprawling group show hung salon style and grouped by color. Hanging the work this way ends up having a unifying effect on the art. Nothing is clashing, or at odds with one another. It's fascinating, and strangely soothing.

The second of his 'Spectacle' shows Art of the Spectacular opens this Saturday. I caught up with Om yesterday to throw 5 Questions at him.

1) It’s hard enough to run one gallery successfully. What possessed you to open a second?

Well, I just saw the space and it seemed pretty cool. I don’t know, I just have ideas and I want to make them happen.

2) Is Spectrum Gestalt an exercise in color theory? What prompted the idea?

I’m an artist as well as a gallerist. I have a few installations that use gestalt ideas. It’s a way to bring all the artists that I’ve worked with in the past together and introduce them to a new audience.

3) What kind art are you looking to show here?

I’m not afraid to show art that crosses genres. For instance, I’m not going to NOT show an artwork from the illustration world next a conceptual artwork. I’m looking for art that taps into the human condition, across fields.

4) What do you consider the most nauseating trend in art?

Hmmm, Damien Hirst dots? I think I’m sick of seeing, just people not taking risks, and gallerists second guessing their audience. Trends just come and go, you know?

5) Has a work of art ever made you cry?

Brought tears to my eyes? Yeah. There’s a piece by Courtney Reid, whose one of my artists, about three years ago. It’s called “Bald People” or something like that. Just the way that she paints---like, there’s no eyes in her paintings. So, it allows you to connect with it on a visceral level.

"Art Of The Spectacular" opens March 25 

bG Gallery at Bergamot Station
2525 Michigan Avenue
Space G8A
Santa Monica, CA 90404

Stunning cross-stitch by Ellen Schinderman

Stu Rappeport stacked.

"A Freedom To Be Free" by Daniel Rolnik

"Untitled" by Mary Delioussina

"Blank" by Douglas Alvarez

"Scooter" by Hadia Finley

"Bob Floated To Tiffany's" by Nancy Larrew