Michele StuevenArtist Patrick Guetta, the brother of street artist Mr. Brainwash, will have his first-ever solo exhibition in Los Angeles, Time is the Essence, at Hamilton-Selway from Thursday, June 4, through Sunday, July 5.
In Time is the Essence, Guetta transforms some of the world’s most recognizable images, such as corporate logos, slogans, and cultural symbols, into a new visual language. Universally understood and deeply embedded in collective memory, these familiar signs are repurposed in new paintings to confront one urgent reality: time is running out.
Classic L.A. Blue, Acrylic on canvas (Courtesy Patrick Guetta)
After more than three decades working at the intersection of art, commerce, and global image-making, including fifteen years managing studio operations for a major artist, Guetta has developed a precise understanding of how images are created, positioned, and absorbed. By redirecting imagery created to drive consumption and desire, Guetta shifts its meaning. Recognition becomes awareness. Comfort becomes tension. The works challenge viewers to reconsider the messages they see every day and the systems behind them.
The exhibition draws on Guetta’s ongoing use of photography and painting, merging real urban environments with subtle visual interventions. Within these altered scenes, the familiar appears slightly off, just enough to reveal what is often overlooked.
Recurring throughout the exhibition are the Junglenuts, a group of animal figures holding protest-style placards. Silent yet direct, they echo the language of demonstration, reinforcing the idea that urgency must be made visible.
Sound of Water: Feminine Expressions of Fluidity at Descanso Gardens is a group exhibition of contemporary Japanese women artists exploring water as both a source of serenity and a force of disruption. Opening on Saturday, June 20, at the Sturt Haaga Gallery, the exhibition is curated by Japanese art historian Meher McArthur and commemorates the 60th anniversary of Descanso’s Japanese Garden.
Bringing together six artists based in Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom—Mineko Grimmer, Yumiko Glover, Miya Ando, Emiko Aida, Yuko Kimura, and Ayomi Yoshida—the exhibition will highlight a distinctly nuanced approach to the subject. While water has been a central theme in Japanese art for centuries, these artists will explore it through a quieter, more contemplative lens, focusing on subtle movement, material transformation, and emotional resonance rather than spectacle.
Emiko Aida, Reverie (Courtesy Descanso Gardens)
This summer, Southern California’s funky creative institution, Sawdust Art Festival, turns 60. The artist-founded, artist-run festival is celebrating the anniversary by staying true to its founding roots with artists, community, and the creative energy that has helped define Laguna Beach for six decades.
From Friday, June 26 to Saturday, Sept. 6, Sawdust returns to its eucalyptus-lined Laguna Beach Canyon grounds, welcoming more than 180 local artists. What began in 1965 as a small gathering of local artists seeking an independent space to show their work has grown into a cultural institution.
Founded on the belief that art should be made by, and accessible to, the community, Sawdust quickly established itself as the authentic, artist-powered counterpart to Laguna Beach’s more formal gallery circuit. Six decades later, it remains rooted in those same founding values: education, community, and the idea that the best way to experience art is to meet the person who made it.
Courtesy Sawdust Art Festival