Category: Los Angeles Art Scene

Opening | Duality

11/5/2017

Duality
A Solo Exhibition by Amabelle Aguiluz

Branch Gallery
1031 W. Manchester Blvd #3
Inglewood, CA 90301

Exhibition Dates | November 11th, 2017 - January 5th, 2018
Opening Reception Saturday, November 11th, 3pm -6pm

Inglewood, CA – Branch Gallery is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition, Duality, featuring new work by Amabelle Aguiluz. Aguiluz is a local fiber artist incorporating clothing and textiles in her fiber sculptures and installations. Duality will consist of several site-specific installations, exploring the concepts of light vs. dark and creation vs. destruction. The installations will be constructed from upcycled knitwear and previous yarn installations by Aguiluz.

Free Form

Aguiluz’s method of unraveling existing garments and re-knitting them into different forms breathes new life into the material. This process provides a coherent rhythm of making that Aguiluz refers to as “a journey of transformation.” The repetitive motions of unraveling and re-knitting allows her to meditate on notions of self exploration, especially rebirth. The work in Duality references this rebirth, urging the audience to examine the material transformations in each installation.

The opening reception on Saturday, Nov. 11 will have a dance performance around 5pm. This reception also coincides with Inglewood’s Open Studios 2017 event, in which Branch Gallery is participating for the first time.

The Branch Gallery is a fiber art space in Los Angeles dedicated to exhibiting local artists. We provide opportunities exclusively for the fiber arts, lending a platform for artists to share their work and techniques with the broader L.A. arts community. The gallery is owned and operated by The Knitting Tree, L.A., a local yarn store located next door. We hope to bring more attention to

fiber as a fine art, along with its presence as a craft, between the two spaces. Branch Gallery has recently received the 2017 Best of Inglewood award in the Art Gallery category (“Branch Gallery Receives 2017 Best of Inglewood Award”). The Branch Gallery is a project of The Knitting Tree, L.A., a fiber retail space located next door.

The Knitting Tree, L.A. is Inglewood's local sanctuary for fiber arts enthusiasts of all skill levels. We offer an extensive selection of high-quality yarns and supplies for knitting, crochet, spinning, weaving, and needle felting, as well as hands-on instruction by skilled artisans of diverse backgrounds. Our passion is contagious, inspiring beginners to embrace new skills, while challenging more advanced fiber artists to expand their creative horizons. Fertile soil for yarn enthusiasts of all strands to "Grow Here"!

Changes II

Amabelle Aguiluz lives and works in Los Angeles. Her practice incorporates clothing, textile, fiber sculpture, and installation processes that are presented as free form sculptures and are often incorporated into live performance, video, and photographs. She studied at Politecnico di Milano, Italy and graduated in 2011 from the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York BFA in Fashion Design. Aguiluz’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including the La Triennale Internationale des Arts Textiles in Outaouais, Canada.

@amabelleaguiluz
@branchgallery
@theknittingtreela

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Review | A Narrow Passage

11/3/2017

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A Narrow Passage
Noysky Projects
6727 ⅞ Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Exhibition Dates | Oct 14th - Nov 12th, 2017
Closing Reception | Sunday, Nov 12th, 3-6pm

Installation shot including James Gilbert's "It May be Time to Rethink the Way You Think"

Noysky Projects is tucked away between souvenir shops in the heart of Hollywood, Los Angeles. As you approach the building, you’re invited to walk down a corridor of shops, a seemingly narrow passage, where you’re met by a quaint water fountain. It’s as if A Narrow Passage was meant to be curated by Noysky Projects. If I’ve learned anything from Elizabeth Gilbert, it’s that the right concepts meet the right people at exactly the right time. The theme of concealment, constriction, and compression invite us to consider the restrictions laid upon each other socially and politically, whether mentally or physically.

Review by Nazish Chunara

You’re immediately immersed in the theme of the show when you arrive, which is the best way to experience art. It May be Time to Rethink the Way You Think by James Gilbert towers over you as you enter the gallery. With the use of wood, wax, rope, and hand dyed canvas - materials commonly utilized to create art, this piece explores the loss of it, whether by natural disaster or systematic oppression, creating the need for protection. This piece is comfortably overwhelming, questioning structure and safety with all its weight. It May be Time to Rethink the Way You Think acts as a barrier that provides comfort, but simultaneously makes you wonder if you should cross it and continue inside.

A Boat Rock // vinyl, plaster, metal chain, rope // 19' x 19" x 33" // 2017 // Lana Duong

Unititled (Ground) // vinyl, tuffstone, strapping // 12" x 14" x 18" // 2017 // May Wilson

From Lana Duong’s A Boat Rock, hanging freely but tied at its waist acting as a buoy, that itself needs saving, to Katya Usvitsky’s Connection, which alludes to the body with its stocking weighed down by what look like molecules, to May Wilson’s Untitled (Ground), literally on the ground and easy to miss in its dark and neutral color, as if a person was to curl up into a ball and make itself as small as possible, you can see that they are each waiting to expand - waiting for that moment they will be given permission to breathe.

Jenny Rask’s Clear Baby, created with spandex, tulle, salvaged cord and wool -- all of which we wear on our skin in some way, and Megan Mueller's Ssssss, created with hydro dipped frame and rope, materials that sound like they could be found in the shed in the backyard, make you want to touch your skin to explore whether it's tightening or shedding, or compressing into a surface of softness or roughness.

Clear Baby // spandex, tulle, salvaged cord, wool // 19" x 11" x 4" // 2017 // Jenny Rask

Sssssss // hydro dipped frame and rope // 24" x 14" x 1.5" // 2015 // Megan Mueller

on or off (documentation is underway) // archival pigment print // 30" x 40" // 2017 // Jenalee Harmon

Jenalee Harmon’s on or off (documentation is underway) is bright and so very immediate. The person shrouded in red satin hovers over something, and whether they're ready or not, the photo will be taken. This sculpted-like figure echoes a sense of concealment tied to a world that will keep rotating, no matter what.

Nicolas Shake’s works, as stated by the artist, begins as "theatrical in nature..." and broadly stated, is influenced by the communities in Los Angeles. TPV:EGG.1.2017 triggers the feeling of being bandaged, building with layers upon layers, action upon action, and when the light is just right, you can see it shine through an indentation at the bottom right.

Connection // nylon, fiberfill // 40" x 10" // 2011// Katya Usvitsky

TPV:EGG.I.2017 // polycaprolactone, petroleum, palm frond // 44.5" x 37.75" x 6.5" // 2017 // Nicolas Shake

The varying textures next to each other give way to a roller coaster of experiences in one room. The use of material is fascinating, as most of these pieces do not use traditional or commonly used art materials to convey message or feeling. This is a show not to be missed. A Narrow Passage runs through November 12th, with a closing reception on Sunday, November 12th, 3pm - 6pm.

Press Release

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Opening | A Sense of Things

10/11/2017

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A Sense of Things
presented by Durden and Ray & Paper
1923 S. Sante Fe Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90021

Opening Reception | Saturday, November 4th, 2017, 4pm -7pm
Exhibition Dates | November 4th - November 25th, 2017
Gallery Hours | Tues - Sat 10am - 6pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — The Sense of Things follows on from the exhibition The Surface of Things presented at PAPER gallery in Manchester over the summer. That exhibition drew inspiration from Piet Mondrian’s 1911 scribble on a note in his sketchbook, "The surface of things gives enjoyment; their interiority gives life." This was the starting point that led him inexorably towards a pure abstraction in the years that followed.

Sharon Leahy-Clark // Ghost Hand // watercolor and ink on hanmade paper // 40 x 34cm // 2017

As might have been anticipated, this move towards abstraction did not hail the death knell of figuration in painting and drawing, particularly in those artists who strive to challenge and conceptualize a figurative practice. The Sense of Things, therefore, attempts to represent a group of contemporary artists, whose work has emerged through the 20th century rhetoric that sought the death of realism swiftly followed by painting. In no way is this exhibition anti-abstraction; instead the work presented here has developed from the symbiotic dialogue of abstraction and figuration in contemporary painting. These artists are adept at shifting between the two poles of abstraction and figuration as they seek to find their own language within painting and drawing, whilst simultaneously providing a commentary on the society in which they live and work.

David Leapman // Breath be rude // watercolor on paper // 22 x 30" // 2017

This exhibition also comes out of a dialogue between the USA and the UK and Ireland. Never before have the populations of these two countries become more polarized. In a climate of openly hostile, far right extremism, now more than ever is there a need for artists to speak out. Within the work of these artists is a desperate need to voice their concerns. Yet there is no sloganeering, each artist has subtly embedded their concerns within the surreal, the abstract. They challenge the audience to seek out their meaning and engage in dialogue. These are dreadful times, yet there is a spark of hope below the surface of things, a sense of things in motion and transition.

The Sense of Things showcases the work of established, mid-career and emerging artists, all of whom believe passionately in the capacity of painting and drawing to offer a purposeful means of examining the world and our relationships, our exteriority and interiority, and meaning beneath and beyond the sense of things.

Featuring works by:
Tom Dunn, Jack Duplock, Roni Feldman, Jon Flack, David Hancock, Thomas Wittaker Kidd, Ilona Kiss, Paraic Leahy, Sharon Leahy-Clark, David Leapman, Richard Meaghan, John Mills, Sarah Sparkes

Paraic Leahy // The unknown part of the self // watercolor on paper // 65 x 50 cm

Facebook: @DurdenandRay
@PAPERgalleryManchester
Instagram: @durdenandray
@papergallerymanchester
Media Contacts: Dani Dodge, dani.dodge@gmail.com
Sean Noyce, sean.noyce@gmail.com

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Opening | A Narrow Passage

9/29/2017

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TPV:EGG.I.2017 // Polycaprolactone, petroleum, and palm frond // 44.5” x 37.75” x 6.5” // 2017 // Nicolas Shake

A Narrow Passage
Noysky Projects
6727 1/2 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Opening Reception | Saturday, October 14th 3 - 6pm
Exhibition Dates | October 14th - November 12th, 2017
Gallery Hours | Thursday - Saturday 12pm - 6pm or by appointment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Noysky Projects presents A Narrow Passage, a multidisciplinary exhibition that explores themes of constriction, compression, and concealment as a way to relate to personal biographies. Abstract works from A Narrow Passage are comprised of materials that twist, turn, choke, or smother to the point of entropy, while others have approached constriction in a more gratifying way, like the euphoric sensation of pleasure derived from pain.

Artists have used the compression of space as a visual device to relate to the body for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians wrapped the body in ornate sheaths that accentuated the unique forms of the individual, while the Japanese developed shibari during the Edo period as a way to decoratively display prisoners with bondage. Twentieth-century post-minimalists like Eva Hesse and Jackie Winsor put the body back into abstraction, using hands-on processes and tactile materials that actively rejected the impersonal qualities of the minimalists.

Mainmise // Spandex, cotton, salvaged wool yarn, polyester swim suit remnants, polyfil, thread // 16.5” x 13” // 2017 // Jenny Rask

Some of the works in A Narrow Passage relate to the quirks of the body, straddling the line between fragility and rigidity, using irregular, organic forms. Others have used tension to reveal internal conflict, illuminating our efforts to adapt to our new political realities.

Moreover, the works in A Narrow Passage touch on core tenets of materialism, the theory that all objects are alive because of their capacity to make a difference in the world, influencing each other in a complex web of interrelationships. These works can be seen as a bridge between animate and inanimate objects, combining to produce effects that are both dramatic and subtle.

Participating artists:
Lana Duong, James Gilbert, Jenalee Harmon, Megan Mueller, Jenny Rask, Nicolas Shake, Katya Usvitsky, May Wilson

It May Be Time to Rethink the Way You Think // hand-dyed canvas, polyester rope, wood, wax // 88” x 40” x 27” // 2017 // James Gilbert

On or off (documentation is underway) // Archival pigment print // 30” x 40” // 2017 // Jenalee Harmon

Curated by Sean Noyce
Contact: info@noyskyprojects.com
@noysky_projects

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Weekly Blog

Opening | Duality

Duality
A Solo Exhibition by Amabelle Aguiluz

Review | A Narrow Passage

A Narrow Passage
Noysky Projects
6727 ⅞ Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Exhibition Dates | Oct 14th - Nov 12th, 2017
Closing Reception | Sunday, Nov 12th, 3-6pm

Review by Nazish Chunara

Opening | A Sense of Things

Opening | A Narrow Passage

Author

Categories

Weekly Blog

Opening | Duality

DualityA Solo Exhibition by Amabelle Aguiluz

Review | A Narrow Passage

A Narrow Passage​Noysky Projects​6727 ⅞ Hollywood BlvdLos Angeles, CA 90028

Exhibition Dates | Oct 14th - Nov 12th, 2017​Closing Reception | Sunday, Nov 12th, 3-6pm

Review by Nazish Chunara

Opening | A Sense of Things

Opening | A Narrow Passage

Author

Categories

Duality
A Solo Exhibition by Amabelle Aguiluz

A Narrow Passage
Noysky Projects
6727 ⅞ Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Exhibition Dates | Oct 14th - Nov 12th, 2017
Closing Reception | Sunday, Nov 12th, 3-6pm