Shana Nys Dambrot
Even if you aren’t fully back in the swing of things just yet, the arts community in Los Angeles surely is. See new exhibitions of portable paintings, AI photography, eccentric fables of the local landscape, a late, beloved artist’s final works, collage-like mixed technique compositions, 40 years of curatorial Japanophilia, and the intersection of personal history and post-pop contemporary. Catch a cinematic retrospective of a screening-room titan, spoken word at the museum, a festival of new dance, a one-woman show about Black joy (and also clowns), a one-woman show about laughing through the pain, a lively stand-up comedy cabaret, a book release party for a mind-bending illustrator, and a free family museum afternoon for MLK Day.
Alejandro Cardenas: Porta-MANTIS Prototype, 2023 (Courtesy of Anat Ebgi)
Thursday, January 11
Alejandro Cardenas: Porta-MANTIS™ at Anat Ebgi. Portable, from the Latin portare meaning to carry, suggests a lightweight object that can be easily moved; and Cardenas has created a series of paintings ready for instant transport, framed in a custom anodized aluminum case. Whether setting out on a pleasure cruise, or fleeing the country under duress, these works are not simply static objects, but like medieval tapestries, or Japanese painted scrolls, they are meant to be packed up quickly and carted off for the next adventure. 4859 Fountain Ave., Melrose Hill; Opening reception: Thursday, January 11, 5-7pm; On view through March 2; free; anatebgi.com.
Bennett Miller: Untitled, 2023, pigment print of AI-generated image, 33 3/4 x 33 3/4 in, Ed. 3 (Courtesy Gagosian Gallery)
Bennett Miller at Gagosian Beverly Hills. The Oscar-nominated director’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles links the emergence of artificial intelligence with the history of the photographic image, posing questions around the contingent and enigmatic nature of perception. The results are imbued with a melancholic aura that manifests from the experience of loss and the inexorable passage of time. 456 N. Camden Dr., Beverly Hills; Opening reception: Thursday, January 11, 6–8pm; on view through February 10; free; gagosian.com.
Wim Wenders (Photo by Peter Lindbergh, 2015)
Wim Wenders Retrospective at American Cinematheque. Join legendary filmmaker and pioneer of New German Cinema, Wim Wenders, in person for a 15-film retrospective that attempts the impossible: to capture the curiosity, profundity, and pure cinematic joy central to the auteur’s films. Running January 11 – February 28, the films screen across three AC locations: The Aero in Santa Monica, Los Feliz Theater on Vermont Ave., and the Egyptian in Hollywood. Screenings happen afternoons and evenings; tickets range from $8-$20, and several screenings are members-only. americancinematheque.com.
John Baldessari at the Broad: Buildings=Guns=People-Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog), 1985, black-and-white and color photographs with vinyl paint and oil tint, mounted on five panels, 185 1/16 x 446 1/8 in (Photo: Douglas M. Parker Studio)
Smog Check Thursdays: Myriam Gurba and Michelle Tea at The Broad. Literary readings, spoken word, and acoustic performances against the backdrop of the John Baldessari artwork that inspired the title of the current exhibition, Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog). Writers Myriam Gurba and Michelle Tea both subvert societal norms with candor and wit. Gurba’s writing has been described as “profoundly insightful, thoroughly researched [and] incredibly inventive…” by Kirkus Reviews. Tea has received honors from Lambda Literary, The Rona Jaffe Foundation, PEN/America, and the Guggenheim Foundation. And consider taking Metro—the Grand Ave Arts/Bunker Hill Station stops directly behind The Broad. 221 S. Grand Ave., downtown; Thursday, January 11, 7-7:30pm (the museum is open until 8pm); free w/rsvp; thebroad.org.
Dance at the Odyssey: Archetype, based on the dance film “Red Football” (Still photo from the film by Lily Chumas)
Friday, January 12
Dance at the Odyssey. For the 7th year, the festival’s mixed programs offer a wide range of dance over six weeks hosting six companies, twenty choreographers, forty-nine performers, a “dance wrecking” and four world premieres. Reminding us that the language of dance is universal. Celebrated choreographers and companies include Rebecca Pappas, Lily Chumas, Punto de Inflexión, Goblin Party, Azuki Umeda and Galiana&Nikolchev’s Useless Room. Curated by Barbara Mueller-Wittmann. 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West LA; Performances January 12 – February 18; $25/any three shows $60; odysseytheatre.com.
Sam Gilliam: Untitled, 2018, acrylic on Cerex nylon, approximately 152 x 32 x 32 inches (Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery)
Sam Gilliam: The Last Five Years at David Kordansky Gallery. Infused with the sense of discovery that accompanied every phase of Gilliam’s long career, and that only seemed to increase at the end of his life as he found new possibilities in some of his most enduring formal vocabularies, this exhibition documents the comprehensive way in which Gilliam surveyed his own artmaking, so that each addition to his total body of work not only added to his range, but served as a reassessment and reconsideration of everything that came before. 5130 W. Edgewood Pl., Mid-City; Opening reception: Friday, January 12, 6-8pm; On view through March 3; free; davidkordanskygallery.com.
Jessie Homer French: Los Angeles Evening, 2023, 24 x 30 in (Courtesy of Various Small Fires)
Saturday, January 13
Jessie Homer French: Normal Landscapes at Various Small Fires. Following her inclusion in the 49th Venice Biennale and the Hammer Museum’s Made in L.A. 2023 biennial, Normal Landscapes presents a collection of anti-pastoral paintings that playfully reflect on the absurdity of earthly existence through French’s whimsical depictions of death, environmental catastrophes, and rural life. 812 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood; Opening reception: Saturday, January 13, 5-7pm; On view through February 17; free; vsf.la.
January Exhibitions at Thinkspace Projects
January Exhibitions at Thinkspace. Super A’s Atypical presents Dutch artist Stefan Thelen’s hyperreal murals and studio paintings that explore the world of human contradiction. Make Them Real is the debut U.S. solo show from Philippines-based artist Humbly—imaginative and adventure-filled worlds, characterized by children donning extravagant costumes and embarking on journeys. Gustavo Rimada’s Campo Santo draws on his personal history, from his early childhood in Mexico, to his adolescence in Indio, and his time in the Army. Anthony Solano’s Alive & Well is the fourth chapter of an ongoing story in which the artist interrogates “the thriving life that so strongly existed before.” And in the Dog House, L. Croskey’s Cuttin’ It Close is a dark and funny diary of emotions. 4207 W. Jefferson Blvd., West Adams; Opening reception & Night Market: Saturday, January 13, 6-10pm; On view through February 3; free; thinkspaceprojects.com.
Susumu Koshimizu: From Surface to Surface (Wooden Logs Placed in a Radial Pattern on the Ground), 1972, Installed at 3rd Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition, Suma Rikyu Park, Kobe, Japan, 1972 (Photo © Estate of Shigeo Anzaï, courtesy of Zeit-Foto, Artwork © Susumu Koshimizu)
Thirty Years: Written with a Splash of Blood at BLUM. A milestone exhibition celebrating the gallery’s 30th anniversary, installed across its three locations—Los Angeles, Tokyo, and New York. Co-curated by Tim Blum and postwar Japanese art historian Mika Yoshitake, this presentation is an inter-generational survey of Japanese art from the 1960s to today. This exhibition strives to present a snapshot of the tremendous influence Japan has had on the gallery, and the vital exchanges that catalyzed the gallery’s groundbreaking work with Japanese and international artists. 2727 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City; Opening reception: Saturday, January 13, 5-7pm; On view through March 3; free; blum-gallery.com.
Carolyn Ratteray in Both And (A Play About Laughing While Black) at the Wallis
Both And (A Play About Laughing While Black) at The Wallis. A rare and extraordinary piece of theater, conceived, written, and performed by Carolyn Ratteray. Through clowning, poetic text, and a tour-de-force performance, Both And (A Play About Laughing While Black) deeply investigates the nucleus of Black joy. As her mother is dying, Teayanna finds herself in a netherworld between life and death as she struggles to help her mother cross over. The journey reveals the wisdom of the ancestors, invokes the legacy of the Middle Passage, and unfolds the surprising secrets within her mother’s purse. 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; Performances January 13-28; $10-$39; thewallis.org.
UnCabaret at the Nimoy
UnCabaret: Beth’s UnBirthday Party at the Nimoy. UnCabaret is a legendary forum for wildly fun, idiosyncratic, intimate, conversational comedy. Arguably the original “alt comedy” show—and a bona fide Los Angeles comedy institution—UnCabaret has long been an incubator and venue for what reads like a who’s who roster of innovative and subversive performers. Joined by musical director Mitch Kaplan, comedians Michael Patrick King, Dana Gould, Julia Sweeney, Byron Bowers, Joey Soloway and special musical guests, UnCabaret is a must-see experience for any comedy lover. 1262 Westwood Blvd., Westwood; Saturday, January 13, 8pm; $32; cap.ucla.edu.
Jonathan Casella: For the love of handsome women IV, 2023, Acrylic on canvas on panel, 63 x 57 in (The Pit LA)
Sunday, January 14
Jonathan Casella: This Palace at The Pit LA. At first glance, the pictures appear as mixed media collages, but upon closer inspection, it’s clear that all the elements are painted, either screen printed in acrylic, brushed, or stenciled. The flattening effect eliminates depth and texture, forcing all forms onto a single plane. In one sense, the graphic shapes and hard edges are reminiscent of comic book cells, where the representational content unfolds narratively from left to right. Meaning is linguistic and temporal and requires movement on the viewer’s part through the labyrinthine spaces. This is the final exhibition in the Pit’s Glendale location. 918 Ruberta Ave., Glendale; Opening reception: Sunday, January 14, 3-5pm; On view through February 17; free; the-pit.la.
John Lewis, an unidentified nun, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Rev. Martin Luther King, Ralph Bunche, and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. Selma, Alabama (©1965 Matt Herron, Courtesy CDEA)
Monday, January 15
MLK Day at the Skirball. In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and in honor of the legacy of Dr. King, the Skirball is opening its doors and offering free admission to This Light of Ours: Activist Photographers of the Civil Rights Movement. The exhibition (on view through February 25) showcases rarely-seen photos of Dr. King alongside more than 150 photographs taken by Movement insiders who chronicled the fight for civil rights. The day includes docent tours, access to all museum exhibitions, food and activism programs, and more. 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Brentwood; Monday, January 15, noon-3pm; free; skirball.org.
David Edward Byrd (Cameron Books)
Tuesday, January 16
David Edward Byrd: Poster Child: The Psychedelic Art & Technicolor Life of David Edward Byrd at Book Soup. Beginning in the late 1960s, graphic artist David Edward Byrd pioneered the iconic visual styles that have come to define rock ‘n’ roll graphics. Byrd created poster, concert, and album art for Jimi Hendrix, the Who, Lou Reed, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shankar, Traffic, Van Halen, the Grateful Dead, the 1969 Woodstock Festival, and KISS—as well as iconic imagery for Broadway shows including Follies, Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar, Little Shop of Horrors, and more. Poster Child )Cameron Books) shares Byrd’s artwork along with anecdotes about his encounters with rock ‘n’ roll legends. 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; Tuesday, January 16, 7pm; free; booksoup.com.
Kate Berlant at Pasadena Playhouse
Wednesday, January 17
Kate Berlant at Pasadena Playhouse. In her widely celebrated one-woman show, revered comedian and boundary-pushing performer Kate Berlant explores the events of her life that have brought her to this moment. Embodying many characters in this tour de force performance, in KATE, she expertly morphs before our eyes and exposes a truth she has, until now, kept hidden. Directed by Bo Burnham. 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena; Previews begin Wednesday, January 17; Opening night: January 21, performances through February 11; $39-$137; pasadenaplayhouse.org.
Dance at the Odyssey: Goblin Party (Photo courtesy of the artists)
Gustavo Rimada at Thinkspace Projects
Bennett Miller: Untitled, 2023, pigment print of AI-generated image, 33 3/4 x 33 3/4 in, Ed. 3 (Courtesy Gagosian Gallery)
Super A at Thinkspace Projects
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