Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Matthew Ritchie at L & M Arts

One of my favorite rainy day things to do in Venice (though rare, it does happen) is to slosh my way up the block to L & M Arts to see the latest exhibition. The one up right now (through December 10th) is Matthew Ritchie's Monstrance - a show featuring New York based Ritchie's paintings, drawings, sculptures and a multi-media installation.


For some reason, I usually have the entire gallery to myself whenever I've gone, which I love, as you can let yourself get fully into the works without distraction.


The paintings are of trippy Angel type forms, said in the press release to be inspired by the "Liturgy of Hours" - the Catholic cycle of eight daily prayers. Heavenly, Constellation looking, they kind of reminded me of the wordless parts of The Tree Of Life.


The angelic theme continues in the East Gallery, where circles on the floor and walls are filled with the images of a video installation, that plays while New Age-y music encircles you in the hallucination effect of the room.


With the rain pouring outside, and the sounds and scenes of an otherworldly place (Los Angeles itself? City of Angels?), it was a fine respite from real life, indeed.

Check it out for yourself, but don't wait until it rains again, because you've only got a month, and it's pretty gorgeous out again.

L & M Arts
660 Venice Boulevard
Venice
Now - December 10, 2011

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