A bit reluctantly, I went on the Culver City Art walk yesterday. My hesitation was due to past visits when much of the artwork seemed conservative; even lackluster.
I won't dwell on the work that was dull or bad, except to mention that there was one (alleged) artist owned space where a patio with 12 huge, horrible spattered paint canvases, disturbed my hopes for this event. As my friend said, "it looks like the colors came from the paint mixing mistakes pile of Home Depot." Worst of all, this guy has been there for seven years, and as with any crime I think there should be more severe punishment for repeat offenders.
On a more positive note, we saw appealing sculptures at two of the galleries along the east side of La Cienega. We crossed to west side to srutinize a vertical garden on the walls of an anonymous building, which had intrigued me for some time while driving past. It turned out to be The Smog Shoppe, an event space. There was a wedding taking place this afternoon allowing us to peek into the interior. Walking along the outside we admired how beautifully installed and maintained the selection of plants were on these walls. I have always wanted to live in one of the walled gardens, of the sort called a Carmine, in Granada. Here was the hip update to that concept. I did some research the following morning, and I've provided a link to The Smog Shoppe, which was created by a very interesting designer-artist named Miguel Nelson, who has also turned his downtown loft into another event space. Now I just have to get invited to some event there!
Next stop, Blum and Poe gallery. Even though I always admired the fact that they were the ones that kicked off the whole Culver City gallery movement, I've actually never cared much for their space or the work I've seen there. But this was their new mega-gallery and it was incredibly impressive. The largest, or certainly one of the largest galleries in Los Angeles, it is a beautifully designed sequence of differentiated interior spaces. To your right as you enter there is a very appealing, though private, art research library. We then entered a series of rooms, which fortunate for me were filled with works by Tim Hawkinson, who is perhaps my favorite Los Angeles-based artist. As usual, an excellent show. Upstairs, there was a more rustic space, wood floors exposed trusses, showing perhaps 15 huge redwood sculptures by J B Blunk, well known to me from my explorations of Bay Area furniture artists.
Blum and Poe obviously have incredible confidence, and what they've created makes a lot of the nearby galleries feel like amateur efforts. Since it's only two blocks from my own studio, I look forward to many repeat visits.
We continued down Washington Boulevard, becoming more selective about which galleries we would venture into. Why do some gallery owners think that anyone can enjoy looking at artwork in a hot, stuffy space, with incredible humidity? When I go to openings at physically uncomfortable spaces, I usually turn on my heel, without even looking at the work.
A few nice galleries, and a couple of spaces that were focal points for the cigarette smoking tattoo crowd. They had burnout, it was a beautiful day outside, and it made me wish that we had weekly, or daily promenade spaces, like many Spanish cities do.
All in all, the kind of day, and the kind of event, that makes me glad I live in Los Angeles.
We finished up at Royal-T, a cafe and gallery.
Last time I went there, I had dragged a friend about six extra blocks to show it to him, but our entry was prevented by a line of 150 teen girls, and teen-like adult women waiting dutifully to be allowed entry to the boutique in order to purchase the just-released, latest and greatest, "Hello Kitty" product. Yikes!
This time, no line. We wandered through the 10,000 or 12,000 square feet of space which features beautiful bowstring trusses, and exposed brick walls. There is an art exhibit secured behind thick plexiglass barricades, and in the middle of the space, there are perhaps a dozen café tables. The most novel thing about royalty is the fact that the servers there wear French maids costumes. Pity that all of them are girls.
This is my second time eating at Royal-T. It's affordable, friendly, and the service is excellent. I enjoyed my veggie burger, and my friend liked his chicken Katsu sandwich. I had a very nice, and large, French beer, and all was right with the world.
