Santa Monica Is the Center of the Art Universe!

Spectacular New Exhibitions at SMMoA

Mixing Up Old Metaphors

Musings of an Office Worker

Smooth Jazz at the Broad Center

Four Poets and a Fifth......Poet, that is

Michael McMillan, Bulls Eye's Last Voyage (critical thinkers struggle to distance themselves from a foundering theory), 1997

What do Richard Diebenkorn, Judy Chicago, Ed Moses, Charles Garabedian, Roberto Chavez, John Baldessari, Tony Berlant, Don Bachardy, Steve Galloway, Michael C. McMillen, Robin Mitchell and James Turrell have in common? It's simple - each one created brilliant work right here in Santa Monica.  Indeed, most of them stll call our little beach town home. Santa Monica art maven Bruria Finkel has assembled works by all these internationally known artists along with 37 other great talents into one exhibition: Emphasis Santa Monica. It's mind-boggling to think that all these enormously talented artists have produced so many incredible works within the boundaries of our fair city. You'll be astounded at how much Santa Monica has contributed to the world of visual art after a walk through this exhibit.

The show has been open for a couple of weeks now but the opening reception is taking place this weekend. Here's your chance to meet some of the best living artists who all just happen to have found their inspiration right here. So, don't miss it!  Any buy the catalogue - it's so worth it!

Martin Kersels, Rickety, 2007

Martin Kersels: Heavyweight Champion
Project Room 1: Henry Taylor: Girrrrrl
Project Room 2: Bruce Pollock: Circling West
Opening Reception
7:00 - 9:00 pm
Friday, September 12
Through December 13
Santa Monica Museum of Art
Building G
Bergamot Station
2525 Michigan Avenue
310/586.6488

You'll be dazzled by the phenomenal array of talent displayed in the Santa Monica Museum of Art's galleries this weekend. In the main gallery you'll find Heavyweight Champion, the first retrospective of Martin Kersels, one of Southern California's most influential and pioneering artists. The pieces collected in this exhibition range from small sculptures to large-scale photographs and monumental installations.

From there head into Project Room I where you'll find the West Coast debut of a SoCal artist whose paintings poignantly examine the profound social, political and racial disparities that persist to this day. Henry Taylor's: Girrrrrl! is comprised of 4 major new works depicting scenes from Taylor's personal life and urban community. Mixing together lush strokes, an exuberant color palette, pop culture logos and language with vivid portrayals of friends, loved ones and local characters, Taylor has created a series of riveting immediacy, almost like they've just been pulled from your dad's old Polaroid camera.

Then, slip into Project Room II where Bruce Pollock's series of seven monochromatic abstract oil paintings, packed with ornate webs, honeycombs, and spirals, mimicking the logic of organic forms like corals, mollusks, and plants. You'll also discover an expansive, site-specific wall drawing, a linear interpretation of the geometric scheme used in the paintings.

Mashup
Opening Reception
Saturday
September 13
12:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Wednesday - Saturday
Through October 11, 2008
ARENA 1
Santa Monica Art Studios 
3026 Airport Avenue
310/397.7456

Curator Ivan Limas has assembled a group of artists dedicated to exploration of their heritage through a variety of unorthodox devices.  Seeking to dodge being pigeon holed, the artists have mashed up common indicators of identity, class, background and traditions with some very provacative results.

Jow
Work Week
6-9 pm
Opening
Friday, Sept. 12
Through Sept. 18
See Line Salon
See Line Gallery
1812 Berkeley St
310/829.1727

This month the See Line Gallery will host a series of artist salons targeting people of social and intellectual distinction - and I know for a fact that everyone reading the Palette is of immensely distinct both socially and intellectually. If there was ever an event designed for us, this is it. The first in this cycle will feature artist Jow who assumes the role of a Girl Friday who sketches on the company stationary rather than pursuing her mundane job transforming the vintage objects of corporate communication into canvasses of playful daydreams. After tomorrow night's opening reception, Jow will be in residence at the gallery from Monday through Thursday of next week creating work and interacting with gallery visitors. Wouldn't it be fun if we could all get a task like that incorporated into our job descriptions?

Known affectionately as "Brandino," Kevin Charles Brandon is one of the most prominent and successful bassists of our time. A two-time Grammy award-winner as well as a two-time Emmy award winner, Brandon's particular brand of music has been described as "hard swinging and intensely energetic. Seating is strictly on a first-arrival basis, and tickets are $10.

Michael C. Ford

Annual 4 Poets Poetry Bash
7:30 pm
Saturday, September 13
The Church in Ocean Park
235 Hill Street

Four remarkable poets Gerald Locklin, Michael C. Ford, John Harris and Patricia Cherin, along with Zachary Locklin (which is actually five poets but who's counting?) will be featured in this literary event that has been treasured by the community for years. Each poet is well know to Southern California's poetry scene - Locklin and Harris are fathers of today's thriving Los Angeles spoken word scene, Cherin and Locklin's chapbook was published by Raindog of "Lummox" fame and Ford is a long-time champion of the LA poetry community and a gifted kazoo player. The four of them are introducing Zachary Locklin so the lucky folks that attend that evening will be early witnesses to this nascent young rhymester's accomplishments.

Admission ranges from $5 - $15 depending upon your ability to pay, and if you can't pay anything, just let them know and I promise they'll let you in anyway. Poets are nice like that - it's not like anyone's going to get rich by writing poetry these days so they're always understanding when you're broke, too!