Gardar Eide Einarsson, “All my friends are dead” at Honor Fraser

Honor Fraser opened in a new space on December 1 that is almost twice the size of the former gallery in Venice. Gardar Eide Einarsson lines the wall with inkjet prints on plywood showing images of policemen taken from a 1960s manual. The men themselves are slightly smaller than life size, and the ink blurs and drips on the porous surface of the wood, making the figures less rigid and uniform. Einarsson is perhaps best known for his black-and-white paintings, which lift political and revolutionary language from known slogans; in this show, he is still invested in playing with institutional and social politics. He also shows framed, masklike sculptures that reference those worn by rebel forces in other countries as a disguise, but Einarsson’s masks are fashioned out of the legs of sweatpants. Also included are several paintings and a light-box piece that reads “white tower.” Einarsson has been selected to participate in the 2008 Whitney Biennial.

2622 S. La Cienega Blvd., L.A. | www.honorfraser.com | (310) 837-0191 | Tues.-Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. | Through January 17

“You are not here, you are still there and think you are here” at High Energy Constructs

This three-person show features the work of Christian Cummings, Michael Decker and Marie Johnston, who all went to CalArts as undergraduates. Michael Decker’s main piece, Craftsman, is a large sculpture that is sort of a portrait of the artist and investigates the ideology of a craftsman. The lone giant is a headless figure that stands on top of a platform with a hammer in hand next to a fallen flesh-colored sphere covered in googly eyes. Johnston’s sculptures of alien life forms are made from simple and recognizable materials such as rope, wire and newspaper. Cummings’ tiny sculptures steal the show. All are untitled, and cast and painted to resemble groups of everyday objects such as a pencil eraser or a piece of shredded wheat. The individual objects are joined together to create a strange hybrid that may or may not signify something functional or familiar. Don’t miss the opening: Fri., Dec. 7, 7-9 p.m., with performances by Ing and Mad Gregs at 10:30 p.m.

990 N. Hill St., dwntwn. | (323) 227-7920 | www.highenergyconstructs.com | Thurs.-Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m., and by appointment | Through January 19

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