March 3 2006
The Cottelston Bulletin
Michael S. Sellinger
Los Angeles has all the trappings of a great art scene: five major art schools, beautiful weather, strong collector base and affordable space. Following the success of Chungking Road in Chinatown, Culver City is the newest art district in the making. With white box galleries sandwiched between industrial shops, its Chelsea like appeal is attracting not only LA based gallerists, but also a number of New York galleries. Two recent shows I enjoyed there were:
John White Cerasulo at Sandroni Rey Cerasulo’s oil on linen paintings appropriate imagery from the past, while upholding a certain contemporary integrity. Space is littered with virtuoso transparent glassware, raw linen and hollow eyed masks. Cerasulo’s paintings appear completely déjà-vu and slightly off-putting, maintaining human dignity while exposing our vulnerability.
Ryan Trecartin at Q.E.D. This chaotic collaborative effort consists of many handcrafted artworks which explore ideas of rebirth and art production. Trecartin's star is on the rise, as his video: A Family Finds Entertainment was selected for the 2006 Whitney Biennial and his mad scientist style has been collected by Saatchi.
The appeal of Los Angeles will be further enhanced in March as ‘Los Angeles-Paris’, a 30-year survey of L.A. art during an invigorating period, opens at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Additionally, 16 L.A. based galleries have organized their own show, March 10-13, which runs concurrent with The Armory Show and Scope New York. Scope, located at 636 Eleventh Avenue (46th street), will have 80 exhibitors and be open 11am - 8pm daily. If you have not received your passes yet, please let us know.