Circle Jerks

January 12–February 9, 2008

Opening Reception 7-10 pm January 12, 2008

Monte Vista is proud to present “Circle Jerks,” an exhibition of a collaborative painting project

initiated by Max Lesser and Brett Cody Rogers. Participating artists are Kathryn Andrews, Tomory

Dodge, Bart Exposito, Hadley Holliday, Max Lesser, Katie Lewis, Jay Lizo, Allison Miller and Brett

Cody Rogers.

Lesser and Rogers came up with the idea for an experimental, “exquisite-corpse”-like painting

project as an outlet for making paintings outside the realm of their personal practices and the

highly competitive nature driven by “personal style.” Several LA-based artists were asked to

participate and “Circle Jerks” was born.

Over the last eight months, the participants each started at least one painting. These paintings

were then passed from artist to artist, with each person reacting and contributing to the move

made by the previous one. Each painting was circulated until someone declared it “finished,” with

the end-result being a collaborative exhibition free of stylistic pretext. This exhibition features an

edited selection of these paintings.

“Circle Jerks” focuses on turning the solitary and masturbatory nature of artistic style into group

activity, and is inspired by the Los Angeles-based punk band of the same name, whose ‘80’s hit

song “Group Sex” invites group sexual exploration in a low-key setting, free from embarrassment.

Dee Williams

October 27-November 14
Opening Saturday, October 27 7-10 PM

Monte Vista is pleased to announced the first solo exhibition in the space, featuring the photographs of Dee Williams. For this exhibition, Dee Williams has photographed 4 office buildings built in the Los Angeles area between 1979 and 1986.

Dee Williams participated in the group show Beneath the Underdog at Gagosian Gallery in New York, June 2007.An untitled work, the daguerreotype project, is included in the book We All Laughed at Christopher Columbus, published this summer by Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam and Platform Garanti CAC, Istanbul. 

 

The Pyramid Show

September 15 - October 14, 2007

Monte Vista is pleased to announce The Pyramid Show, a truly monumental group show on a miniature scale. From the very first pyramids in ancient Egypt, to the glass pyramid of the Louvre, to the still-emerging mysteries of the Great Pyramid of Cholula, pyramids are among the most evocative and distinctive forms in the world. Their continued use as architectural and visual motifs in contemporary culture testifies to their lasting allure. They have long been potent multivalent symbols, representing, among other things, power, divinity, wealth, exoticism, human triumph, nature’s perfection, and the occult. The Pyramid Show celebrates the richness of pyramid lore
by presenting an exhibition of more than 30 artists, offering the pyramid as common ground to connect their diverse work.

The artists gathered together for The Pyramid Show have exhibited widely in the U.S. and internationally. For many of them, this will be their first pyramid-themed show. This is the second exhibition at Monte Vista, an artist-run space in Highland Park. The Pyramid Show was co-curated by Noah Peffer and Frank Chang.

The Pyramid Show opens on Saturday, September 15th, from 7-10 pm and will continue until October 14th, 2007.

Pyramid show artists are:

Yuki Ando
Raul Paulino Baltazar Lara Bank
Sadie Barnette
Chris Bassett
Dan Bayles
Alisa Benfey
Becky Brister
Jeff Cain
Frank Chang Marcus Civin
Irina Contreras
Mike Cronin
April Day
Chelsea Dean Michael Decker Lauren Dees Michael Dodge Diego J. Garza
Zeal Harris
Fiona Jack
Dawn Kasper George Kontos
Max Lesser

Katie Lewis
Candice Lin
Jay Lizo
Shana Lutker
Patrick Marcoux
Leah Morelli
Mahyar Nili
Sarah Olmsted
Gina Osterloh
Niki Pressley Maeghan Reid
Marco Rios
Colin Roberts
Shelby Roberts
Shizu Saldamando Marco Gimas Sanchez Sherm

Michael Underwood Max Warsh
Joel Westendorf Christie Williams Alexandria Wolff Marco Zamora

 

 

Art 2012 present Beyond Quoi? Connecting Parallel Universes

 Thursday, July 5th, 2007, 7 pm

Instigated by Japanese curator Mizuki Endo and his interest in discussing ways that alternative projects and spaces in LA can connect with similar ventures in Asia, the event is intended to initiate a discussion of practices in both these contexts. The resulting discussions will contribute to research for a publication by ART2102, Mizuki Endo and other participants on people and organizations wanting to collaborate and expand horizons for contemporary art practices.

Mizuki Endo will present two alternative spaces he established in Fukuoka, Japan and Manila in the Philippines that highlight the different situations of the art system in Asia. He will be joined by Mauricio Marcin, an independent curator based in Mexico City, who will additionally talk about a range of projects that are currently operating in the metropolis. A discussion will follow, coordinated by Danny Orendorff, curator-in-residence at ART2102.

See www.art2102.org for more information