Michele StuevenOn Saturday, Aug. 29, the Sexy Beast benefit for Planned Parenthood returns to downtown Los Angeles after a four-year hiatus. The event will take place at Night Gallery from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m, hosted by comedian Robby Hoffman, who was nominated for an Emmy for her role as Randi on Hacks.
New artworks by Jesse Mockrin, Patricia Iglesias Peco, Yunhee Min, and Paul Mpagi Sepuya, among other artists, will be offered for private sale to raise funds, in addition to ticket sales.
Raffi Kalenderian and Alberto Cuadros (Raffi and Al’s) will also build a basketball-themed bar in Night Gallery’s East Gallery space, where they’ll curate a show with work by Mira Dancy, among other artists.
A scarce 48-by-33-inch promotional poster for the Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen,” the notorious 1977 punk anthem released during Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee (Courtesy Potter & Potter)
A cache of Tony Alva’s personal skateboarding memorabilia that spent nearly four decades in an abandoned storage locker will come to auction for the first time on Thursday, Aug. 20, as part of Potter & Potter Auctions’ Skaters, Punks & Rebels: A Countercultural Cross-Section. The 661-lot sale brings together relics from the worlds of skateboarding, punk rock, music, art and literature, including rare material connected to New York’s legendary CBGB and the collection of punk musician, DJ and historian Howie Pyro.
Bidding begins at 10 a.m. CDT on Thursday, Aug. 20, and will take place live at Potter & Potter Auctions’ Chicago gallery, as well as online. Phone and absentee bids are also welcome. Interested bidders can view the complete catalog and register to participate at www.potterauctions.com.
Among the most significant offerings is a group of material documenting Alva’s rise as one of the defining figures of the Dogtown and Z-Boys era of skateboarding. The material offers a rare firsthand record of the period when the unruly Southern California skate scene helped transform skateboarding from a niche pastime into a global cultural phenomenon.
The sale coincides with the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Dogtown and Z-Boys teams, whose aggressive, surf-inspired style changed the trajectory of skateboarding in the 1970s. At the center of that movement was Alva, a founding Z-Boy and one of the sport’s most influential early professionals.
Courtesy Smtih/Adler Gallery
A particularly unusual piece is a Z-Flex deck signed at Alva’s 33rd birthday in 1990 by an extraordinary group of friends and fellow skateboarding figures. Among the signatures is Tony Hawk, who wrote, “Tony – How’d you ever ride these things?” The deck is also signed by Christian Hosoi, who signed as “Tuff Skates,” Mike McGill, Rick Blackhart, Danny Sargent, Ray Flores, Jeremy Henderson, Thrasher photographer Bill Thomas, and Tom Scott, founder of the Jaks Team.
Beyond the Alva material, Skaters, Punks & Rebels traces the rebellious spirit across generations and creative disciplines, from the punk scene of 1970s New York to contemporary music and underground art. The full sale catalog is available here.
Celebrating 50 years of Dogtown, the Smith/Adler Gallery in Santa Monica has a retrospective show that runs until Sunday, Aug. 23, featuring original photos, decks, and memorabilia.
The Grammy Museum has added pieces from the 50th, 67th, and 68th Annual Grammy Awards to its On The Red Carpet exhibit, including outfits worn by Addison Rae, Amy Winehouse, Billie Eilish, Doechii, Sabrina Carpenter, and Taylor Swift.
OTRC Billie Eilish (Rebecca Sapp)
Billie Eilish at the 68th GRAMMY Awards (John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
OTRC Sabrina Carpenter (Rebecca Sapp)
It’s been 10 years since Fulton Leroy Washington, known as Mr. Wash, was granted clemency by President Obama after serving 21 years of a wrongful life sentence. While incarcerated, he taught himself to paint, and since his release, he’s become a celebrated artist and Compton community advocate, with work shown and acquired by LACMA, the Hammer Museum, and the Huntington Library, and a 2024 solo show at Jeffrey Deitch L.A.
Anniversary programming at The Philosophical Research Society will feature an in-conversation event featuring artist Tala Madani on Thursday, Aug. 27. Copies of Mr. Wash’s book, Artists in Space, will be available for purchase. All sales go to the Art by Wash Studio & Community Center, a space in Compton that will offer all-levels art classes and workshops, creative residencies, and housing and reintegration resources for individuals returning home from prison. Get tickets here.