A view of Shannon Finley’s solo show at Susanne Vielmetter gallery (photo by Robert Wedemeyer, via vielmetter.com)
This week, Neckface hits LA, last chance to see Shannon Finley’s multilayered abstractions, Byzantine chanting fills the Getty Villa, the first major show to explore the influence of African cultural astronomy opens, and more.
Neckface: Drinking on the Job
When: Opens Friday, August 22
Where: New Image Art Gallery (7920 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, California)
For the last year, graffiti artist Neckface has been working on a series of pieces for a solo show opening this week. Drinking on the Job, an exploration of bar culture, takes you into “the world of alcoholic hedonism through the eyes and mouth of Neckface himself.” Each piece was drafted while the artist under the influence of alcohol (on materials such as a bar’s napkin) and was later fully realized, coming together to create a show that’s both inquisitive and comical. —CV
Shannon Finley at Susanne Vielmetter
When: Closes Saturday, August 23
Where: Susanne Vielmetter gallery (6006 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, California)
Berlin-based painter Shannon Finley is a fan of layered psychedelic abstractions that look like the lovechild of Bridget Riley and Victor Moscoso. Big, colorful, and mesmerizing, the work is facilitated by digital tools, but its impact is very IRL.
Icon with the Monogram JHS (c. 1450–1500 CE), Andreas Ritzos, Candia, Crete, Greece; tempera and gold on wood (courtesy the Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens, via getty.edu)
Byzantine Chanting
When: Saturday, August 23, at 11:30am and 2:30pm (free)
Where: Inner Peristyle, Getty Villa (17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, California)
When was the last time you explored the music of ancient and medieval Byzantium? Well, now you can get an earful during this “intimate performance of sacred melodies,” which complements the Getty Villa’s current Byzantine art exhibition.
The Sculpture of Stoney Lamar
Stoney Lamar, “Suspended Vase Vessel” (1988) (via stoneylamar.net)
When: Closes Sunday, August 24
Where: Craft and Folk Art Museum (5814 Wilshire Boulevard, Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles)
This retrospective of American woodturner Stoney Lamar closes on Sunday, and it features 30 of his works (1987 to the present). Using a unique approach to multi-axial lathe work, Lamar’s technical prowess is impressive.Lamar describes his process this way:
The development and use of multiple axis techniques as a way of applying texture or sculpting asymmetrical forms on the lathe has allowed me to transcend the round object and to create a sense of image and movement that is suggestive of what I see while the object is being formed on the lathe. A multiple axis approach has also allowed me to draw from a wider range of influences and to develop a more personal imagery and narrative.
African Cosmos: Stellar Art
(via lacma.org)
When: Opens Sunday, August 24
Where: LACMA’s Hammer Building, Level 3 (5905 Wilshire Blvd, Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles)
Africans have consulted natural phenomena for millennia, with bodies such as the sun and the moon having significant influence over the course of their daily lives as well as their art. This exhibition is the first major show to explore the influence of African cultural astronomy on both traditional and contemporary African arts and brings together in one place a wide range of works from masks to light projections. —CV
Buddhist Art of the Himalayas
When: Closes, Monday, August 25
Where: Norton Simon Museum (411 West Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California)
The museum’s first large-scale exhibition of Himalayan Buddhist art brings together Indian, Nepalese, and Tibetan sculptures along with significant thangka (flat field) paintings from throughout the Himalayan region. In his review of the show, David Pagel of the LA Times wrote, “You don’t need to be an expert to enjoy its beauty or to understand its wisdom.”
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With contributions by Zach Alan and Claire Voon
