Shana Nys DambrotFrom intriguing talks to a livestream variety show, a hit annual poetry slam, a limited-run work of new video art, several virtual gallery exhibitions and even an art fair (stop saying online viewing room, it’s a website), here are a ton of ways to get your art at home this weekend. P.S. weekends start Thursday now because there are no rules and linear time is just a convenient illusion.
Nicolas Party, from Canopy at Hauser & Wirth
Thursday, May 7
Hauser & Wirth unveils a suite of new watercolors by Nicolas Party, an artist known for his stylized and lyrical soft pastel landscapes and portraits. This exhibition follows Party’s “Sottobosco,” at the gallery’s Los Angeles space earlier this year, however in these watercolors we see a new medium-driven direction for Party. Rather than draped in shadows and rich, crisp detail, the works in “Canopy” are both more elusive and more intimate and all have been made in quarantine in upstate New York. Party will donate 10 percent of his proceeds to the World Health Organization, matching the gallery’s support of the Fund. Opens Thursday, May 7; hauserwirth.com.
The Craft Contemporary hosts its weekly BYOC (Bring Your Own Craft) session moderated by Marisela Norte. It’s a Zoomy show and tell, where Norte leads a group share of your craftiest quarantine projects and coolest hacks, “whether it’s a zine, a sweater or a mask. Share your inspirations, techniques and how you’ve been sourcing materials.” Thursday, May 7, 5-6:30 p.m.; craftcontemporary.org.
Star Montana, Frankie, 2019. Alicia Piller, Nature of a stately being. Outstretched arms, bursting with newborn stars., 2019. Mixed media. 135 x 107 x 53 inches (Photo by Ruben Diaz)
Art + Practice hosts a live-streaming talk with curator Erin Christovale and artists Star Montana and Alicia Piller. Listen in as three powerful women of color discuss the manifestations of personal identity and community history at the intersections of Piller’s affecting textile-based sculptures and Montana’s intimate Boyle Heights portraits, Christovale’s independent and institutional curatorial perspective, and issues of representation in the broader art world. There will be a short Q&A after their discussion. Thursday, May 7, 7-8:30 p.m.; artandpractice.org.
Art Share L.A. launches its new Homeshare Weeklies — a Thursday night Variety Show format showcasing musicians and performers from the extended Art Share family. Hosted by Mathew Cuban, their inaugural edition features musicians Ryan Whyman, Jenna Noelle and Molly Peace, a jazz concert by Time and Energy, and performance art by Stephanie Fuentes. Thursday, May 7, 8-9 p.m.; artsharela.org/home-share.
Frieze Viewing Room
Friday, May 8
Frieze Fair opens online. The biggest proponent of the idea that the internet can offer more than a slick website, Frieze Viewing Room opens as the virtual version of what should have been its marquee New York edition, promising AR enhancements that let you closely examine works and even mock-up their installation in your home. They may not be able to recreate the densely populated physical experience of visiting 200+ galleries and countless collateral talks and screenings, but they’re doing their best to keep the elitism alive, with an invite-only, BYO champagne preview on May 6-7, before the site opens to the public. Friday, May 8-Friday, May 15; frieze.com.
Vielmetter Los Angeles has organized a limited-run stream of gallery artist Stanya Kahn’s epic new film-based work, No Go Backs. A piece rendered in 16mm whose recent premier at the Wexner Center is of course inaccessible, Vielmetter and the Wex have teamed up to offer it online for one week only. May 8-15; vielmetter.com.
Get Lit! Classic Slam
Get Lit’s Classic Slam Finals. For this year’s grand finale, each team will be assigned a virtual theater where they will compete. Every theater will have a host, judges, competing poets and an unlimited virtual audience. The Classic Slam will be streaming on YouTube Live and on the Classic Slam Finals website. Friday, May 8, 7-10 p.m.; get lit.org.
Saturday, May 9
L.A. Art Tours has been hosting popular walking tours of the Arts District street art scene since 2007, but like everything else, they had to figure out how to proceed with caution. Now through mid-June, they’re offering one-hour, live guided neighborhood tours almost daily (at least five times a week). Saturday, May 9, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; facebook.com/pg/LAartTours/events; free but donations are welcome.
L.A. Art Tours, Downtown Arts District Graffiti Tour
Sunday, May 10
The Wende Museum presents In Search of Our Times Lecture: Fact and Fiction: Art, News, and Propaganda — a streaming discussion about how artists have addressed the perniciousness of “fake news” throughout history and today. “In our current moment,” prompts the text, “how do we remain (self-)critical in a world of politically split realities? What can art teach us about fact and fiction?” Sunday, May 10, 3-4 p.m.; wendemuseum.org.
The Wende Museum
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