Shana Nys Dambrot
From urgent conversations on pursuing environmental, economic and social justice through the arts, to cheeky celebrations of outsider celebrity, investigations of institutional cultural responsibility, exhibition-inspired dance, and the poetry of perfumery — it’s time to start thinking about the world that awaits us.
Greg Gorman, Mick Jagger and Bette Midler, New York City, 1983 (Fahey/Klein Gallery)
Thursday, March 25
Greg Gorman: It’s Not About Me at Fahey/Klein Gallery. Greg Gorman’s portraits of the famous and infamous not only reflect the true essence of larger than life cultural icons, but also provide a record of the personalities that defined their time and influenced future generations. Gorman’s connection with these figures is evident, and his ability to recognize early outsiders who became cultural titans of the future was profound. Fahey/Klein, 148 N. La Brea, Hollywood; by appointment March 25 – May 1; free; faheykleingallery.com.
Oxy Arts
Panel: All of us or None of us: Environmental Racism and Intersectionality at the Forefront, at Oxy Arts. East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (EYCEJ) is a community-based organization that works to facilitate self-advocates in stolen Tongva territory, also known as East Los Angeles, Southeast Los Angeles and Long Beach. Through grassroots organizing and leadership-building, EYCEJ works to enable communities of color to be heard, which in turn influences policy change. This powerful panel of East Yard womyn and gender non-conforming members will speak to the intersections of their identity and our collective fight against environmental racism. Thursday, March 25, 5pm; free; oxy.edu.
Eric Grosfils, Mt. St. Helen’s, 2017 (Chan Gallery)
Kindling: Art and Environmentalist Awakenings at Chan Gallery. The Chan Gallery of the Pomona College Art Department presents a virtual exhibition to showcase artwork by members of the Claremont community. Kindling represents both destruction and awakening: an object may be burned, or a person’s emotions and thoughts may be sparked. Hoping to bring our threatened natural world to the forefront of viewers’ minds, Kindling will focus on work that explores our relationship to the environment. This encompasses a range of subject matter, from images of nature to work addressing the climate crisis to art made with sustainable materials. The website goes live on Thursday, March 25; pomona.edu/chan-gallery.
The Armory
Conversation: Active Voice Part 1: Lockdown, One Year Later, at the Armory. Despite the closures and challenges that have come with this global pandemic, many artists and arts organizations have continued to work, create, and fight for a better future. Join artists William Camargo and Dan McCleary for a conversation moderated by the Armory’s Heber Rodriguez as we look back at the events of the last year, discuss their impact on the arts in Los Angeles, and consider their lasting effects on cultural production moving forward. Thursday, March 25, 6pm; free; armoryarts.org.
Stature #8, 2020, Rodrigo Valenzuela. Photograveur (Courtesy of the artist)
Friday, March 26
Art Break: The Politics of Labor with Rodrigo Valenzuela, at the Getty Center. Art Break, a new online program series, offers unique perspectives on works in the Getty’s permanent collections. Featuring creative voices in dialogue with Getty experts, the series considers artworks in relation to contemporary social issues and artistic practices. The inaugural episode focuses on the role of labor in artworks selected by Los Angeles artist Rodrigo Valenzuela and curator of Latin American Art Idurre Alonso. Moderated by photography curator Arpad Kovacs. Friday, March 26, noon; free; getty.edu.
TEDxIU: When a Tree Falls
Saturday, March 27
TEDxIU: When a Tree Falls. When a Tree Falls addresses the question of whose stories get to be told, and who hears them when they do. This year’s conference centers around the impact created by groundbreaking narratives in a world of information saturation. From global crises to personal triumphs, shockwaves are being sent through every institution, belief, and relationship we have — will you be there to listen? Featuring seven diverse speakers from the worlds of art, science, and politics, including curatorial activist Dr. Kelli Morgan. Saturday, March 27, 11am Pacific; free; tedxiu.com.
Installation View of Chakaia Booker, Future Equity at M+B
Chakaia Booker: Future Equity, at M+B Gallery. Chakaia Booker is best known for her complex sculptures made from reclaimed rubber tires. In repurposing industrial materials, Booker fuses ecological and technological concerns with explorations of racial and economic differences. This solo exhibition is the artist’s first in Los Angeles—it introduces Booker’s vital visual language and features work in the artist’s signature medium of sliced, cut and reconstructed rubber and rubber tires. M+B Gallery, 470 N Doheny Dr., West Hollywood; opening: Saturday, March 27, noon-7pm; by appointment through May 1; mbart.com.
Temple Beth Israel
Exodus: Passover Walking Tour. A self-guided audio tour narrating the Jewish exodus from Egypt set among a 2-mile (4 miles round trip) walking route pegged to a series of historic locations in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Begins at Temple Beth Israel and ends at Hermon Park. Download the original audio works by eight interdisciplinary artists, and move, contemplate, and mull at your own pace. Passover begins at sunset on Saturday, March 27; free; exoduswalk.com.
Matt Bollinger, Sick Night, 2020 (The Landing)
New Iconography: Artists Raising Children, at the Landing Gallery. Eleanor Antin, Edgar Arceneaux, Matt Bollinger, Patty Chang, Tony de los Reyes, Amir H. Fallah, Victoria Fu, Daniel Gerwin (who also curated the show), Julian Hoeber, Paul McCarthy, Rebecca Niederlander, Catherine Opie, Umar Rashid, Heather Rasmussen, and Alison Saar are just some of the many artists contributing to an evolving discourse about art and parenting by examining artists’ responses to parenthood, investigating and critiquing existing cultural dogma. The Landing, 5118 W. Jefferson Blvd; West Adams; by appointment March 27 – May 8; thelandinggallery.com.
Liz Larner, Meerschaum Drift (detail), 2021 (Courtesy of Regen Projects)
Liz Larner: As Stars and Seas Entwine and Make-Shift-Future curated by Elliott Hundley at Regen Projects. Liz Larner is engaged with the plight of the natural world, beset by rapidly depleting resources and the massive waste that accompanies our industries. A large low floor sculpture, constructed of conjoined plastic refuse collected by Larner over the course of three years, serves as a meditation on the pervasive and exponential presence of plastic in the world. Hundley’s adjoining curation examines how assemblage art is assimilated into the canon as it hybridizes and folds back on the more traditional genres. The work of the artists in this exhibition includes the full spectrum of the found and the fabricated, and in most cases those distinctions are softened again through artistry. Regen Projects, 6750 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; by appointment March 27 – May 22; regenprojects.com.
Kandis Williams, candyman urban threat modeling, becky, karen, nike, athena: a future foreclosed to all but king kong and faye wray, 2020 (Courtesy of Regen Projects)
Backhausdance at OCMA (Photo by Adrien Padilla)
Sunday, March 28
Backhausdance With(in) OCMA: Mesh. Immerse yourself in this moving exploration of human connection and empathy created by choreographer Jennifer Backhaus in collaboration with Backhausdance dancers. Based on the exhibition Alexandra Grant: Telepathy is One Step Further Than Empathy, the dancers move in duets fraught with conflict, ultimately finding connection and understanding with each other. Danced and filmed in the OCMA galleries, the performance captures the dynamic interplay between contemporary dance and visual art. Sunday, March 18, 5:30pm; free; ocma.art.
Elizabeth AI Powell at the Institute for Art and Olfaction
Monday, March 29
Workshop: The Poetics of Scent at the Institute for Art and Olfaction. Language is sometimes inadequate to the challenge of describing scent, but poetry is the genre of writing that gets at the unknown and unknowable realities. In this class noted poet, Elizabeth AI Powell, will talk about the poetics of perfume, noticing the collisions between the art forms of poetry and olfactory art. In this class, we will (as the poet Rilke said) live the questions, as they pertain to our lives in scent. Monday, March 29, 10-11:30am; $20; artandolfaction.org.
John Waters, Los Angeles, 1992 (Fahey/Klein Gallery)
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