18th Street Arts Center

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By ajones, November 14, 2011 2:54 pm

October 2011-November 2011

Through a series of investigations Terje is looking into the omnicolors field of his artist identity in general and the self protrait in particular. Using an impulsive and roaming (situationist) strategy, Terje searches (intellectual) confrontation with a very many different artistic expressions and particularly that of the perfomative act. i.e the interaction he partly creates and partly within the social and professional sphere of the artworld where he works. The perfomativeness is also applied to the actual studio work, in the sense that he is looking for an expression created through skilless and accidental movement on paper; occurring through typewriter, wet brushes or by writing a song. Rarely he get’s the possibility to outline any linear or consistent presentation of his work for applications. The vast amount of material (work) Terje generates through this way of working, he collects and archives to bring out for assembly on shows. For the same reasons, it’s hard to tell what exactly it is he will be doing in LA, but keep on roaming impulsively through this fantastic city. Engaging himself in it. Continuing his search Perhaps buy a car. Go to Mountain School of Arts, talk to colleagues, get involved.

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By rlopez, January 7, 2011 7:45 pm

International Month of Exhibitions Features Artists from Iran, Tibet, South Africa, Korea and the United States

Public Reception is on Thursday, January 20, 2011 from 7:30pm – 9:30pm

Han Sungpil & Yvette Gellis, Open Water, photo based mural & mixed media, 2010

18th Street Arts Center is proud to present four exhibitions highlighting their award-winning International Visiting Artist Program.

Beginning January 7- 28, 18th Street is featuring exhibitions from Iran, Tibet, Korea and South Africa. The public reception for these exhibitions will be held on Thursday, January 20, 7:30-9:30 pm.

In the 18th Street Gallery a provocative and groundbreaking exhibit, Postcards from Tehran, a collaboration with the Aaran Gallery of Tehran, Iran, curated by Nazila Noebashari will be presented. Breaking down the barriers of political prejudice, the show will be the first Los Angeles exhibition of works by seven Iranian artists in conjunction with works by two artists from California who migrated from Iran. Both political and prosaic, Postcards from Tehran is a unique view of contemporary Iranian artists whose dissenting viewpoints may prove to be eye-openers to many Americans whose main knowledge about Iran is typically derived from corporate cable news channels. The artists include Arash Fayez, Siamak Filizadeh, Hadi Nasiri,  Behrang Samadzadeghan, Behnam Kamrani, Barbad Golshiri and Jinoos Taghizadeh. They are joined in this collaboration by Iranian-American artists, Ala Ebtekar and Amitis Motevalli, both well-known West Coast visual artists.

Norbu (Nortse) Tsering, (detail, 1 of 40), "Hidden Mantra", mixed media on paper, 14.2" x 22.8", 2010

In the Pasillos Gallery 18th Street will feature the Los Angeles debut of Tibetan artists Tsering Nyandakand Norbu Tsering. American audiences are familiar with conventional notions of Tibetan art, but will have the opportunity to experience the vibrant new representational narrative painting and mixed media installations coming out of Tibet’s contemporary art community.

18th Street is also thrilled to present videos of South African performance artist MLu Zondi. Mr. Zondi’s provocative performance videos will be on display in the Project Room and a live performance of his work will take place on February 19, at 8:30pm at Highways Performance Space located at 18th Street Arts Center.

Korean artist Han Sungpil has collaborated with Los Angeles painter Yvette Gellis to create a dynamic mural, Open Water, which will cover the facade of 18th Street Arts Center. Individually, the two artist have produced major installations in a number of public spaces. Han is known for his massive wrappings of buildings in diverse cites worldwide; and Gellis, a painter known for her huge canvasses, has recently expanded her work into installations of three-dimensional abstract paintings.

During the opening reception on Thursday, January 20, 2011, 18th Street Arts Center will also present a special preview of videographer Ben Caldwell’s interactive video installation which was commissioned as a public art piece at the new Santa Monica Place shopping center. The installation entitled ”Untitled” invites interactivity as it projects the work of several artists onto the floor of the Colorado Avenue entrance.

18th Street Arts Center is a long time alternative arts organization based in Santa Monica, California, whose mission is to provoke public dialogue through contemporary art making. For more information, contact Program Coordinator Ronald Lopez at rlopez@18thstreet.org, or go to www.18thstreet.org.

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By ajones, September 1, 2010 12:34 pm

September 2010

My proposal for my residencey at the 18th Street Art Centre is to produce a series of paintings and mixed media referencing Edward Ruscha’s photo series “Every buildng on Sunset Strip,”(1965) where he documented the buidings on the left and right side of Sunset Boulevarde. I propose to stage “Every Inhabitant of 18th Street” at the given time of my residency. I would like to research the cultural diversity of the communities of both international and local residents by researching the cultural differences of the performative nature of self-represenation. This will be contextualised through research of Hollywood film characters, superheroes and performers.The resulting work being a series of small scale paintings, photographs and videos exhibited on at least two walls of a gallery where the location of the work corresponds to the dwelling of its subject. The wall in this instance becomes a proscenium arch for the “staging” of life on 18th street in the immediate present.

I am interested within this project taking further my previous work concerning masks, facades where the subjects became ways of psychologically investigating notions of authenticity and personas such as the death mask of Marilyn Monroe. My previous work explored Hollywood nostalgia and b-grade cult horror cinema in relation to a fictional diary ‘Saga Moor’ which was a performative self-portrait where the characters eventual demise as the 50 Foot Woman showed the falibility of fiction and the fraility of the flesh, imagined or real.