Shana Nys Dambrot
Los Angeles based curator Chelsea Rana has organized a remarkable exhibition featuring 16 emerging and established L.A. artists, installed at the MAKI Gallery in Tokyo through the new year. Although the styles, mediums, and voices of the group reflect the widely eclectic character of the city, certain themes emerge — among them a passion for vibrant palettes, a knack for inventive, Pop-infused composition and patterning, an elevating embrace of cultural vernaculars, and a volatile sense of geography and atmosphere.
“It was important to me that the group show exhibited work by artists that either had never shown in Japan before, or they have had very limited exposure thus far,” says Rana of the undertaking. “Japan has its own very rich art history, and there are many incredible collectors in Japan, but Japan still feels like it is distanced from the art world that we know here in Los Angeles.” This show aims to shorten that distance, with the special power visual art has to both integrate and transcend languages, time, and place.
“Art has always served as a great connector, breaking cultural and geographical barriers,” says Rana. “And I feel very fortunate that I am able to bring these two art world’s closer together, and thus making the world feel a little smaller.”
December 4 – January 16, at MAKI Gallery, Tokyo. For more information visit chelsearanaartadvisory.com.
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