Chaos Into Clarity: Re-Possessing a Funktioning Utopia

I first came upon Hassan Hajjaj's work when I was looking into the exhibit Chaos Into Clarity: Re-Possessing a Funktioning Utopia by the Sharjah Art Foundation in United Arab Emirates. It was a group show that just recently closed and included Hajjaj as well as the amazing textile artist Xenobia Bailey and filmaker / sculptor Zak Ové.

All this radical work in one space! I wish I was able to go in person. I'm in love with crochet art and am a fan of Bailey's mandalas / artwork in general. Also, I'm starting to do work in stained glass and find Ové's piece very inspiring.

images via Xenobia's blog, courtesy of the Sharjah Art Foundation

Hassan Hajjaj

Moroccan-born, U.K.-based artist, Hassan Hajjaj has two solo exhibitions currently running in the U.S.

My Rock Stars: Volume 2 at Gusford in Los Angeles, California

images via Gusford

The gallery explains "Draping traditional woven mats on the street, [Hajjaj] outfits his subjects in colorful and quirkly costumes that he has designed. Suits sewn from found fabrics and industrial food packagings are combined with bold accessories, and the resulting portraits are encased in wooden frames lined with products sourced from Moroccan markets – items such as food tins, matchbooks, pigment bottles and Arabic alphabet blocks."

Hassan Hajjaj  |  My Rock Stars: Volume 2

on view now until February 22, 2014

Gusford  |  7016 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038

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Kesh Angels at Taymour Grahne in New York, New York

images via Taymour Grahne

In this exhibit, Kesh Angels "pays tribute to the biker culture of the young women of Marrakesh in a series of photographs, limited edition objects, an installation and a video." Motorcycles and mopeds are prevalent part of every day life in Marrakesh, so it is not that they are girl gangs, rather a play on this concept celebrating the vibrant street culture of Morocco. NPR and The New Yorker had short and insightful stories on this exhibit.

Hassan Hajjaj  |  Kesh Angels

on view now until March 7, 2014

Taymour Grahne  |  157 Hudsoon Street, New York, NY 10013

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Also the LACMA, has some of Hajjaj's work on exhibit:

Fútbol: The Beautiful Game, a piece included in the multi-artist exhibition, running through July 20th

My Rock Stars Experimental, Volume 1, 2012, a 3-channel video installation 

The museum's interview with Hassan here

LACMA | 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036

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Thank you Trevor for turning me onto Hassan Hajjaj!

The Nasher Museum just purchased Hajjaj's piece "Nlsrn" - so it'll be traveling to the south once the show closes. 

Studio Visit: Heather Levine Ceramics

A couple weeks ago, I swung by Heather Levine's ceramic studio in Los Angeles, California for some hang time and photo snapping.

Not only is the finished product heavenly: at each stage, every hand-made piece unfolds its own beauty before the final stunning transformation unveils its individual personality.

Perfect complements to Heather's designs:

Wood Bench and Wood Lamp Bases by Matthew Rosenquist  |  Wood stool by Dewey Ambrosino (in the following photo)

Pierre!

Each wall hanging possesses a unique energy and is carefully balanced to hang so exquisitely. Many of these will be on exhibit from April to May at Esqueleto, jeweler Lauren Wolf's shop in Oakland.

Heather is currently working on a large scale (8 feet long!) commission to be installed in March for Gracias Madre, the newly opened West Hollywood Vegan Mexican restaurant and bar.

Thanks so much for the visit, Heather!

It was amazing being surrounded by her stunning collection of work, creative vibes, textures, colors, Beach House tunes... Pierre! It was also a major practice in restraint as I wanted it ALL - every single piece - for myself!

Paramount Ranch

What a whirlwind of an art weekend Los Angeles had. One of the many events was the fair at Paramount Ranch – bringing together 32 galleries and artist-run projects in the old western town for its first year.

left: Alfred Boman (see also below)

Limited edition scarves (above) by Richard Nicoll & Linder Sterling, Stewart Uoo and Jean-Michel Wicker at Artists Space. Also available for purchase online.

left: Oscar Tuazon's barber shop chair at Paradise Garage

For photos of the art, this is a fun place to peruse and the New York Times T Magazine Art Matters write-up here.

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This is Angelica Bazzana, who along with Valentina Suma runs Fluxia Gallery in Milan, Italy. Below are a couple of the artists they represent.

Benjamin Valenza - Move series on marble. Look closely!

Alfred Boman

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One of the many galleries included, was 356 Mission / Ooga Booga here in LA. Currently on view is work by Scott Reeder, including parts of the set from his film, Moon Dust. Now until March 16th. Wed - Sun from 11am - 6pm. 

356 Mission  |  356 Mission Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90033

And coming in late spring, is the Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest & Folk Festival. We went a couple of years ago with the kids and it was some serious hot'n'dusty Bluegrass goodness.

All pictures of Paramount Ranch were taken by photographer Andrea Wyner on her iphone. Andrea grew up in Los Angeles and now splits her time between New York, California and Italy. Her work has been featured in Martha Stewart Living, Monocle, New York Times, Travel + Leisure and Outstanding in the Field – a farm to table cookbook. I've been lucky to know her for at least 15 years and she was sweet enough to even photograph my wedding.

Photos of artists' work via gallery sites

The Mothership Opening

Some snaps from the opening night at The Dilettante of The Mothership Show on January 16th.

My 4 year old, Reed requested that I ask Jacqueline Suskin for a poem each for him and his brother. When asked which word to use, I chose "portal" for Reed as he noticed that much of the artwork show are portals and "golden" for Evan since it's his favorite color. Here's a video of Jacqueline creating Reed's poem.

The above photograph I took post-opening. The poems are on top of a Mociun dress. 

The online catalog is here and another link of a nice review by The New York Times T Magazine.

The exhibit is on view from 11am-5pm daily until mid February. 

Dilettante | 120 N Santa Fe Avenue, Los Angeles, 90012