Saturday March 31st from 6-9pm

Curated by Martha De Perez & Edgar Varela (EVFA)

Featured artists include:

I feel divinely driven to tell, through my artwork, the stories of my family in Cuba and of my ancestors’ suffering, with a realization that I am their dream come true.
I attempt to thematically expose the paradigm of the suffering that we Cuban people have endured for generations, juxtaposed against the resilient faces and the splendid flora of the beautiful Caribbean island in which I was born. I don’t tire in telling our stories of suffering, for there is joy to be found even in suffering.

It was through my mother’s suffering in which I came into this world, and it will be in my children’s suffering through which I will depart to heaven. Similarly, it was through my parents’ suffering and great sacrifice in which I left Cuba and came to this country. As my friend, author Deborah Gregory once told me, “Suffering is the touchstone of creativity.”

Viredo

Much of what I paint comes from the complex Afro-Cuban culture of my childhood in Regla. I am not an expert on this culture, just a witness to what I experienced as a young man. That is the perspective of youth where everything blends together with no sense of logic. Later in school, I learned that much of what I saw originated beyond Cuba in Africa, China, Spain, and other parts of the world.

In school I learned such disciplines as perspective and rendering. These were useful to me when I worked with architects and designers in Cuba and later when I worked as a commercial artist in the United States. I was never ashamed of this work because it paid the bills and allowed me to live modestly so I could do my fine art.

The discipline and focus that is used in commercial art, I always applied to my painting. Over the years my technique has changed from the simplicity of childhood drawings, the abstract expressionism of my “Los Once” days, to the more reflective symbolic style that I use now, which has elements of the earlier phases. My subject matter has always been Cuba, whether it is workers in the fields, fishermen in ports, Afro-Cuban mythology, rural landscapes, or children playing in the street.

In my art I try to communicate my amazement at the diversity of humankind that I see around me. Sometimes I try to show the relationship between music and the visual arts. Other times I try to pay homage to the great artists of the past. I always return to the rich canvas of my childhood where so many elements blended together in so many colors and sounds.

Clay Lipsky

is an Emmy Award winning designer/director based out of Los Angeles. He has applied his unique visual style across a variety of mediums, from print and multimedia to TV and film. As a director, his music video work has been featured on MTV and shown to international acclaim throughout film festivals in Europe and Asia. Despite his varied interests, photography has always been a part of Clay’s life. Within the last couple of years, he has experienced a renewed interest with the medium. He is now passionately focused on pursuing photography as fine art, free from clients and limitless in creative possibilities. Clay is self-taught and strives to create images that can stand the test of time. “My work is inspired by the ever changing landscape of the modern world. In general I strive to capture the beauty of nature, depict the complex nature of man and find the hidden nuances in between.”

Juan Jesus Perez

was born December 21, 1935 in Sagua La Grande, Las Villas, Cuba. He had the resources to attend the largest private school “El Carmen” in the city of Sagua. While in school Juan had the opportunity to study under Professor Jorge Wong, who taught Juan how to paint a mural, watercolors and to work with textiles. Juan graduated from The School of Provencial Artes Plasticas Leopoerdo Romanach, one of the largest schools in the region.
Juan went on to become and educator and taught art in the City of Santa Clara, where he worked for the school district as a teacher of Industrial Arts. After years of teaching he was terminated from his position because he did not agree with the country political ideals, at this time Juan became a muralist and was enlisted to paint murals all over Cuba.

Juan moved to Spain in 1972 for a period of four years where he spent time painting political murals under the Franco Regime in Madrid and eventually landing commercial work as an artist.

In 1976 Juan arrived in the United States and settled in California. Juan eventually began to work with the Department of Water and Power until he retired. He maintained his artistic craftsmanship by painting all the signage for DWP. Now Juan is retired and paints in his Los Angeles studio and has had his work exhibited in numerous exhibitions.

Carlos Ulloa

I was Born in “Philli” in 1967. Dad is Cuban; mom is American. I am based in Hollywood. I have a BFA from Hartwick College and an MFA from Vermont College Fine Arts. I have exhibited in the USA, Germany, Spain, Ecuador and Argentina. One notable award: In junior high school I won third place in Dade County for showing how alcohol is distilled. I basically built a “still”. That’s a sculpture, right? Notable solo exhibitions include the Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Lehigh University and Miami Dade College. Both the Lehigh University and the Herbert F. Johnson museum were dedicated to my lighted works, which confirm that even in the dark, works of art can continue to provide expression. The Miami-Dade Community College exhibition was a retrospective of over forty works, including sculptures, paintings and collages. At the moment, my focus is in deconstructing the human body then reconstructing it in terms of visual metaphors and puns. The time consuming process of developing spatial relations is undeniable. The line is the basis for those spatial relations and the thread that connects and completes the visual narratives of my pieces. In essence, the talisman, masks and collages are all layered, profound and clever…..“one-liners”.

For more information contact Urban Sanctuary

Gallery Address: 2026 E. 1st, Boyle Heights, CA 90033

Gallery Number: 323-580-2422.

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Dec 2 – Jan 7 2011

• Nicola Atkinson/ NADFLY
• Stevie Jackson
• Lee Ivett/Baxendale

The Scottish word WEE is a small and a tiny word indeed.  (small = pequeño and tiny = diminuto ) As a word it has dual meaning for the artists, in the instance it is suggestive of something that is small and tiny and in the second instance it suggests togetherness and the work of the collective.

WEE series of public work brings together Nicola Atkinson/ NADFLY artist and curator, Stevie Jackson musician and songwriter with the band Belle & Sebastian and Lee Ivett/Baxendale, architect and urban designer, all based in Glasgow.  Nicola has collaborating with them separately on numerous works: public art, music, installation, shop, dance sets, design and environmental actions since 2005.

We arrive here in Boyle Heights as a collective to present several wee interventions including singing and exchanging objects/ structures for discussion about the impact of working in a wee way.

Historically we were inspired by the subsistence farming of the crofting communities in Scotland, which is almost lost. The movement of the ‘improvement’ in the early 20^th Century, that heralded the industrial revolution, was a catalyst for the breakdown of crofting communities and their traditional lifestyle. This was a lifestyle based around small scale, localised agriculture, productivity and culture which was to be replaced by a move towards larger scale production of the land, mass production, growth of the city, industrialised manufacturing and globalisation.

With contemporary concerns regarding the sustainability of modern lifestyles, there is a growing number of people exploring a move away from larger scale development and back towards a smaller more localised scale of production in an effort to re-create sustainable communities and values.

Stevie and Nicola have created new Scottish work songs with the themes of present day toil of production in the tradition of the crofters work tweed songs. The public are invited to attend live music performances and finally become part of the performance in the gallery. To participate, you can sign up for the four day Stevie and Nicola song master class in early December.

Lee and Nicola’s installation will takes on a useful form of exchange such as hand formed objects, which will act as a catalyst. Their installation is a proposal of ideas about how sustainability can be achieved by both the individual and the collective in a manner that is suggestive and reflective of current trends that advocate a move back towards localism in terms of agriculture, production, arts and employment.

Bio

Nicola Atkinson/NADFLY artist/curator has been actively involved in a wide variety of exhibition, Installation, Intervention, public art & design projects in places such as Belfast, Kirkcaldy, Huntly, Inverness, Dunfermline, Elgin, Glasgow, Paisley, East Kilbride, West Bromwich, Chesterfield, Lidköping, Järpås, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Costa Mesa, New York, London, Amsterdam, Banff, Tokyo, Karachi, Toronto, Nuremberg, Furth, Hamburg, Dublin, Havana and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

www. nadfly.com and www.nadflyshop.com

Stevie Jackson is a musician and songwriter. He plays lead guitar and sings in the band Belle & Sebastian.

www.belleandsebastian.com

Lee Ivett is an architect and urban designer who works collaboratively with communities, artists, designers, performers, makers to produce context specific works that communicate ideas relating to people and place. He is a studio design tutor at the Mackintosh School of Architecture and lectures across the school on themes of community participation and alternative architectural practice.

www.baxendale-dco.com and www.lovemilton.org

Exhibition Announcement

Our mantra in the past has been, “produce, consume, dispose and repeat.”
We may have missed a step and didn’t think about the waste we disposed
of. Many of us have taken note of this problem and are reducing our use
of plastics, recycling and cleaning up after ourselves for the sake of our
collective home, Earth.

“Shelf Life” brings together artists who are passionate about taking care
of our planet. Instead of contributing to the growing problem of waste
disposal some artists “upcycle” commonly disposed materials to create
art installations which engage the viewer into various ecological ideas.
Other installations are temporary and designed to deteriorate throughout
the exhibition; with the idea that they will be reclaimed by the Earth. The
photographers tell two different stories, one is a collection of photographic
images “situated within the slippery nature culture dialectic” and the other
a photo essay of a blogger’s journey to collect trash at a specific lifeguard
tower in Santa Monica for 365 days (non-consecutive).

UPCYCLING: is a component of sustainability in which the use of waste materials to
provide new products. It is generally a reinvestment in the environment. This process
allows for the reduction of waste and use of virgin materials.

"Upcycling is the practice of taking something that is disposable and transforming it into
something of greater use and value."

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/art

Artist Announcement

Heather Anacker

(Installation Art)

Heather speaking on her featured piece “Roots”

Using coiling and knotting techniques with paper from phone books and masking
tape on paper core I have constructed a human scale root system which hangs
from host architecture. Roots call to mind the idea of home, belonging, identity,
grounding, and growth. But, when exposed roots also imply being uprooted,
disconnected, death, and decay.

This work is exploring the idea of spontaneous growth and of nature reclaiming
man-made spaces. I am using natural materials that have been altered by human
hands, and using my own had to reclaim them back into natural forms. The
coiling technique lends itself to organic forms, and the knotting is used to hang
the piece.

This piece is inspired by the idea that if human beings ceased to exist, after a
long period of time nature would reclaim all man-made spaces, and eventually
all evidence of our existence would be erased. This is seen in a small scale all
around us, from sidewalk cracks to flourishing plant growth in storm drains.

My goal is to “reclaim” in thought a human space with the presence of my piece
which intrudes on the physical and psychological space of the viewer. This
work has a powerful but also fragile appearance, which calls to mind the fragile
balance of ecosystems, but is also a hopeful statement of the adaptability of
nature, and its ability to overcome.

http://heatheranacker.daportfolio.com/

Sara Bayles

(Photography)

Sara speaking on what inspires her photographs

I asked myself this question - How many pounds of trash could I collect from the
beach in one year?

I'm in the process of finding out. Here are the guidelines I set for myself.

1. Go to the same beach every time - life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa
Monica

2. Collect trash for only 20 min. at a time.

3. Take pictures of the beach, and some of the trash I find.

4. Weigh the trash and keep a tally of how many pounds I collect.

In a perfect world, I'd have time to go everyday. But going for 365 non-
consecutive days will have to do.

This blog documents my 365 day experiment.
Check back often to see new pictures, how many pounds I've collected and my
process.

Hopefully I'll raise awareness for how much trash is out there on our beaches
and getting into the ocean, that the solutions start with us right here on land, and
that everyday we can make choices in what we consume and buy that can add
up to make a difference.

Lets inspire each other to change the world. Seriously.

Here is the running tally of how many pounds I've found.
861.3 pounds
in
230 days
135 days to go

http://thedailyocean.blogspot.com/

Beth Elliot

(Installation Art)

Beth’s biography

Beth Elliott, is a sculptor and installation artist with an extensive and active
exhibition record including galleries, universities, museums and public venues.
She works with found and recycled materials as well as ceramics, metal, and
fiber. Her sculpture and installation art explores everyday events, ideas and
materials in playful, unexpected ways to give an inviting, positive entry with food
for further thought - often with an environmental focus.

Among many ongoing expressions of creativity she worked on Hollywood
films for 10 years as head of the scenic art dept., was a charter member of the
costume/performance art group “Friends of the Rag” invited to the White House
and had a successful upscale boutique clothing line selling in Beverly Hills in
L.A., Soho and Madison Ave. in N.Y. as well as in Seattle, Chicago, Denver and
Dallas. She now frequently references clothing or makes part of an installation
wearable sculpture. Her wearable sculpture and ceramic sculpture have both
been shown at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution.

Beth has been teaching art workshops for children and adults since 1970. She
has established and administered public arts projects in Seattle and Los Angeles.
She is fiercely dedicated to helping people find joy and confidence in expressing
their own individual creativity.

Beth lives and works in San Pedro with a studio at Angels Gate Cultural Center.

http://beth-elliott-art.blogspot.com/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/bethelliott/

Dawn Ertl

(Installation Art)

Dawn’s statement about her art

noun
1.
the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of
what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.
2.
the class of objects subject to aesthetic criteria; works of art collectively, as
paintings, sculptures, or drawings: a museum of art; an art collection.
3.
a field, genre, or category of art: Dance is an
art.
Upcycling: is a component
4.
of sustainability in which the
the fine arts collectively, often excluding
use of waste materials to
architecture: art and architecture.
provide new products. It is
5.
generally a reinvestment in
any field using the skills or techniques of art:
the environment. This process
advertising art; industrial art.
allows for the reduction of waste
and use of virgin materials.
"Upcycling is the practice
of taking something that is
disposable and transforming it
into something of greater use
and value."

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/art

Joshua Gagliardi

(Installation Art)

Joshua’s statement on what drives his art

Throughout my life, I have learned to appreciate and respect nature as a living
organism and to relate my life experiences to the cycles and patterns that exist
within. I believe in harmonizing with nature rather than resisting its inevitable
power. In this day in age, it seems the human race is coming closer than ever to
controlling nature through the use of man-made objects, machines, engineering,
and capital. This in turn, is throwing off the balance that is necessary for
sustained life on this planet. I believe these ideas have shaped my perception of
the world, and I choose to express my reactive thoughts and feelings through the
use of sculpture.

I am fascinated and compelled to incorporate the element of change in my work.
By using ephemeral materials such as unfired clay, birdseed, water vapor, fire,
ash, etc, I am able to create sculpture that has a span of existence--a beginning,
middle and end. Much of the art I create deals with creation and destruction,
and often brings up a struggle existing between human beings and the natural
world. I can’t help but correlate nature’s cycles to the lives that we live as human
beings.

I am curious about the lack of balance existing between humans and nature
(the very root/foundation of our existence). Humans, as a whole, are rushing
quickly toward self-destruction by exhausting the earths’ resources, developing
uncontrollably without real long-term plans or consideration of consequences,
and indiscriminately killing the living organisms that inhabit the planet. It is my
intention to explore the relationship between human beings and nature through
the use of experimental media and processes, and create sculpture that focuses
on the ephemeral. Humans continue to create, change, and modify nature to
better fit their needs and wants. Ironically, our methodology and organization
mirrors natures cycle of growth, connecting our path of destruction to the
perpetuation of life.

Chelsea Mosher

(Photography)

Chelsea speaking on how she visualizes her images

The images are situated within the slippery nature culture dialectic. Through
them I am looking for the garden in the machine.

http://chelseamosher.com/index.php?/root/mashups-2010/

Oct 22 @ 7pm retro sho and yes its this sat .

Yea its past works you may or may not have seen .

“Abstract” the show’s theme, is an attempt to free the photographer of current working day assignments without the restrictions or pressure of creating images for profit.    On display will be works from artists Bekka Melino, Carrie Camacho, Grace Oh, Janine Lim, Kerry Sawyers, Kyla Wright and Rosalinda Kooyman. Each of the featured photographers brings something unique to the table.  Directly influenced by their diverse backgrounds and multi-career choices, their common denominators include a camera and their love for Los Angeles.

Curating the show is artivist Azul 213, who by day juggles a dual career in broadcast network television and as a freelance photographer and by night a familiar face over the last thirteen years hosting and dj’ing some of Los Angeles’ most popular night spots. Azul had his first hand of curating while co-owner of UponShop Record Store in Silverlake hosting shows to show off his art peers Mear, Doug Murphy “Plastic God”, Frohawk Two Feathers, Hotchkiss, Augustine “Kofie”, and Jim Mahfood. Since then the focus on his own visual art path has taken him in many art directions.

This show is the first in a three part series of shows curated by Azul. In March, the incredible work by Mochilla capturing the Zapatistas March on Mexico City ten years ago will be displayed. The third installment of this series in April will feature the work of Azul’s mentor, renowned cinematographer, Johnny Simmons, who despite his busy film career continues to take still photographs and inventive portraits today.

More information on Abstract Vision Female Perspective is available on the Urban Sanctuary gallery’s website www.urbansanctuaryla.com or www.azul213.com.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS:

Bekka Melino

Photography is only one of the many ways in which Bekka Melino expresses herself. As a child she did so in the medium available to her, her clothes and hairstyles. High school introduced her to world of photography, and her early shots showed her talent for composing photographs worthy of design magazines, melding abstractions of lines and texture.

College provided new opportunities in creative expression, including welding, constructing furniture out of all sorts of materials (corrugated cardboard, steel, wood), sewing and painting.

Travels in Europe, India, Central and South America, Turkey, across the United States and in Hawaii, plus an extensive trip to Asia gave birth to exotic scenes and portraits of the world through Bekka’s mind and lenses. Professionally, she has pursued a creative career in the music, commercial and film industries. At present she is a Production Designer on a cable television series. http://bekkamelino.com/

Carrie Camacho

I’m Carrie Camacho and I’m a Los Angeles based lifestyle photographer. For me photography is much more than taking a great shot or capturing a moment, it’s about telling a story. A story can be full of hopes and dreams, pleasure and pain; it’s my job to encapsulate everything so that you can feel it in your soul.
-Soulsol Creations

Grace Oh

An artist since childhood, Grace has practiced her art of expression in various different mediums. She was greatly inspired and challenged in the perspective the camera lent when she picked it up in her early twenties. She realized photographs allows a different form of communication. With a naïve sensibility and excitement for this new world expression. Grace became enveloped by the infinite possibilities of capturing light and subject matter. 

Self-taught and mentored by artists ranging from photographers, painters, musicians, yogi’s, and sculptors, Grace has found a voice and rhythm with her growth as woman, artist, and spiritualist using the lens as a way to communicate a journey. With her perspective of a young woman’s reflection of budding into womanhood in her first black and white nude project ‘Naked’ was a collection that was exhibited in a group show called “Not only Black and White.” ( 2004) Taking time to journey a broad and within herself, Grace had grown interest in portraiture and landscapes till she took to the nude form once again. Her project ‘Humanature’ was inspired to merge the synchronicities of the human form and nature. She wanted to share a piece of silence as a reminder of the gentleness of human and nature as one. Grace began this project in 2006 in Taos, N.M. and photographed most of her project in the open landscapes of various parts of California. Grace’s most present endeavors include photographing local upcoming and established musicians and artists. She is also developing her filming skills and becoming more integrated with commercial work. http://www.graceoh.net/

Janine Lim

Words by Janine Lim // Janine Lim is a mother, photographer, filmmaker, writer, performance artist, spiritual alchemist, and student of Capoeira Angola. Her work is based on applying an alchemical process to traumatic life experiences. Through her work, she hopes to break generational cycles of violence and self-destruction, particularly against women.

Kerry Sawyers

Move Me Photography is made of the visual captures seen through the eyes of Kerry Sawyers. Anything and everything moving and meant to inspire or that is just intriguing caught through the lens.

“Everything in our direct environment is inspiring, these are just the things that MOVE ME”      -Kerry Sawyers

http://www.movemephoto.wordpress.com/

Kyla Wright

Kyla Wright is the creator of a notorious click called BLACKNBLING. This click has stolen the faces and emotions of thousands, and captured historical moments like no one else can do. The click comes from a camera, and it is through visual imagery that got BLACKNBLING its start. BLACKNBLING is an imaging house, photographing musicians and party people around Los Angeles with the intent of encapsulating a renaissance era in the art and music community. Through BLACKNBLING, Kyla Wright has one main purpose, and that is to work as historians for the generation, creating a platform for artistic expression, creating a place to perpetuate and manifest dreams of creativity.

Rosalinda Kooyman aka “DesertFlower”/”Rosalinda Paz”

A gardener by day (Los Angeles Unified School District teacher for 8 years and currently teacher of 1st grade blossoming seedlings), she is a cusp-y Aquarius /Pisces and peace activist. She likes to take pictures because she feels that the moments last longer. Her words of action are: silence, breathe, look, serve, listen, read, learn, create, meditate, love, and evolve.

She is of Mexican and Dutch parents, and grew up in America. She was born in the land of metal daisies and location of the Coachella music festival, Indio, California, hence aka Desertflower. Rosalinda moved away from California as a young kid and grew up all over Texas, predominantly Dallas. In mid -1998 she moved back to California and attended San Diego State University. She is the first in her family to earn her college degree. After she graduated, she moved to Los Angeles and received her teaching credential and began teaching for Los Angeles Unified School District. She recently received her Masters in Education.

Rosalinda has been taking photos since 1994. She considers herself an “Ethnographer” with a camera. Her intentions when photographing includes shooting from her heart and soul, with no true artistic goal, but merely to later share the beauty and wonderment of what unfolds before her on her journey through life.

Opening Night Soundscapes by:

DJ SHIVA

Born in London of Persian decent, L.A.-based DJ Shiva made her move stateside as a youth, settling first in Florida and then in Los Angeles in 2003. Forever the humble hustler, DJ Shiva casts a strong signal around Southern California and the world at large: her live sets are heard twice monthly on Sirius satellite radio, her mixtapes are featured monthly on HipHopDX.com (her first effort was top-rated by users), she has just returned from performing this summer in Germany, and most recently DJ’d for a Playboy TV broadcast alongside Jesse McCartney. A lover of all music, DJ Shiva is particularly keen on bringing the best out of 60’s soul and 70’s funk; 80’s dance and 90’s hip hop and RnB; native reggae and dub rhythms; and recently she’s been revisiting her roots in electronica music and global grooves.

]]> http://www.urbansanctuaryla.com/shows/%e2%80%9cabstract-vision-female-perspective%e2%80%9d/feed/ 1 http://www.urbansanctuaryla.com/uncategorized/pillow-thoughts/ http://www.urbansanctuaryla.com/uncategorized/pillow-thoughts/#comments Tue, 30 Nov 2010 07:39:10 +0000 admin http://www.urbansanctuaryla.com/?p=297 OPENING: Saturday, December 4, 2010 4-8 P.M.

CLOSING: Saturday, December 18, 2010 5-9 P.M.

CURATED BY: Rhoda Dizon, Heather Ellison, and Lyn Watanabe

“Pillow Thoughts” was conceived in part from an exhibition entitled, “Cup Thoughts” by Nicola Atkinson Does Fly (NADFLY).  78 white flannel pillows were on wall display in the NADFLY “Fika Shop” at the Los Angeles Municipal Gallery at Barnsdall Park. NADFLY has graciously gifted these pillows to us in the hopes that we will re-interpret these pillows in a participatory art project much like her “101 Cup Thoughts” event.

As one of the 78 artists that have adopted a pillow, you are to re-fashion these pillows in some way. Examples might be to embroider, re-stuff or paint them to re-fashion them in any way the artist is so inspired. Anything goes!  For those less crafty, you may choose to record the daily life of your pillow photographically whether it be while taking your pillow on your travels and recording it’s stay in various locales or simply it’s new life as your pet’s chew toy or bed. Again, anything goes…use your imagination and creativity.

“DON’T BE EVIL” is a collection of new and recent work using the medium of fine art to shed light on global situations. Each piece is thoughtfully provocative, inviting the viewer to form their own opinions. Featured in the exhibition are earlier works spanning from 2006 to present, highlighting his newest piece titled “Monsanto”. Bold colors in oil and acrylics are juxtaposed with iconic imagery on hardboard, wood, paper and other sustainable materials.

Peterson feels that fine art as a less disposable and more engaging medium by virtue of its aura and manner of viewing. Painting can be a fruitful medium where images encourage questions rather than profess opinions. Our world is at a crossroad and artists have the opportunity to make sense of our visual world and to illuminate what may be unseen by utilizing their talent as a tool to inspire and edify their viewers.

To learn more about Kuger Peterson and to view his works, click the links below:

Hearts and Minds (click )

Manifest Irony (click)

Painting Etc. (click)

or visit his website: www.kugerpeterson.com

“Buddha Cat” includes hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind prints which employ multiple processes, such as diffusion dot dither, metallics, glitter and CMYK.

Opening Reception: July 16th, 2010 5pm-9pm
Live printing and stenciling!

Stenciling Workshops:
July 17th and 24th 1 pm- 5 pm
July 31st, 12 pm- 3 pm

Closing Reception:
July 31st, 3 pm- 5 pm

Buddha Cat Press is a socially conscious fine art print shop located in Downtown Los Angeles specializing in fine art printmaking: silkscreen, relief and etching. They create and sell their own prints, give workshops, and publish fine art prints with visual artists of all kinds.

Buddha Cat Press has published and been contracted by such artists as Robbie Conal, Dave Kinsey, Shepard Fairey, Mear One, 3D, Chaz, Kofie, Winston Smith and El Mac. All of these collaborations will be shown, including the work of Master Printer Artist (AKA Print Goddess) Karen (the Fury) Fiorito

Buddha Cat Press is under the direction of Karen Fiorito.

Bio:

Karen Fiorito is a political street artist and curator residing in Los Angeles, California. Her art contines to be exhibited nationally and internationally and has appeared in such publications as Art in America, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Hustler Magazine, the LA Weekly, URB Magazine and the Seattle Weekly.

She also owns and operates her own fine art printmaking studio and socially conscious publishing company, Buddha Cat Press, which produces prints for such submersive and visionary artists as Robbie Conal, Winston Smith and El Mac.

Fiorito received her Master’s in Fine Art in Printmaking from Arizona State University and her B.F.A. in Printmaking from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. In 2005, Fiorito received a Puffin Foundation Grant to install a billboard in Santa Monica, California, and in 2004, she was a recepient of a Change, Inc. grant.

For more information please got to buddhacatpress.com and www.urbansanctuaryla.com
or follow us on twitter: twitter.com/buddhacatpress and twitter.com/urbsancla

or contact us at info@urbansanctuaryla.com

Salvador Dominguez’s solo exhibition “Fractions,” explores relationships between parts to a whole in four bodies of work, each reflecting a narrative. The series of work will continue on after the solo exhibition is over to denote the constant progression, as a cyclical, ongoing series.

“Orchards” is the main focus of the show and addresses the Latino immigrant family, and the symbolism behind the orange motif. The orange grove represents the vital importance of maternal care on humanity and nature. Large scale, painted wooden panels are weaved together within a larger frame to explore a more complex narrative.

In “Cuentos de Adas,” Dominguez explores the current information age, and how an individual navigates through the influx of ideas and information provided by social devices connected to the Internet. Collages of newspaper and phonebook clippings, as well as everyday figures against the sea of information are used to piece together new nursery rhymes and fairy tales.

“Ok then, flux.” is a series of calendars composed of three inch by three inch panels depicting oranges painted daily on newspaper collage. The months of January to April of this year are documented. These calendars present the minute differences of each day, details that are often overlooked with the progression of time.

“American Landscapes” investigates the metropolitan cities of America during this time in history where the influx of consumer culture and information continue to reshape the land and people. Chicago and Los Angeles are depicted through Xerox, black and white collage skylines against background designs, referencing their fundamental differences through architecture.

The idea behind “Fractions” is considered using the familiar structure of the narrative to convey four unique stories. Salvador Dominguez conveys to the viewer his personal experiences and interactions with the world at large through the use of various mixed media. Each aspect of the exhibition is a fraction of life’s experiences, parts to a whole.

Date:
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Time:
5:00pm – 9:00pm
Location:
urban:sanctuary
Street:
2026 East 1st Street
City/Town:
Los Angeles, CA