Material By Merchant - A Neighborhood Art Show

There are always so many things going on around Venice, that sometimes you can lost track of all the events and dates. That was the case last night, when I was strolling down Abbot Kinney with my friends. We were on our way to picking up a bite at Casa Linda, when we noticed a crowd inside the BAM space. That's when I remembered that Denise Portmans from Merchant Modern (and previous owner of Gotta Have It) was putting on an art show, and the opening reception was this night - right then.

What a fun event to stumble upon, as the place was packed with familiar Venice faces there to check out the show Material, that "explores the relationship between local LA artists and vintage Moroccan rugs." Cool.

The work was mainly textiles and wall hangings, with some paintings mixed in, and featured the local artists Tom Lieber, Lila Roo, Sara Marlowe Hall, Jesse Salto, Mattea Perrotta, and Marischa Slusarski. All were wonderful, and I especially enjoyed the ultra-feminine pieces throughout.

Everyone particularly liked the piece that we referred to as "the vulva", by Lila Roo. Right?

It was wonderful to just chance upon such good work, and such good people, and catching up with some friends I hadn't seen in a while was the best part.

Portman's husband, Joel Marcus was out on the back patio on D.J. duty, spinning tunes and yarns alike. Drinks were flowing, as was the fine conversation.

Each time I turned around, I saw another friendly face to greet, making me so happy that so many of our old school Venice friends will still brave Abbot Kinney, and show everyone that we're still here. The only bad news was that we had called in our food order to pick up to go, and were very aware of it sitting there getting cold as we hob-nobbed with all the good people. We had to go, regretfully.

Walking back down the sidewalk, seeing all the fun happening inside the art reception amid all the change and new slickness of the boulevard gave me the spring in my step that was needed. Gentrification can happen, corporate entities can try to come in and take over our storied town, but what they can never do is steal our vibe.

That excellent Venice vibe ... alive and well. And today the sun came out and chased away the June Gloom too! Have a fantastic weekend out in it, Everybody!

Material is on at B.A.M. through this weekend, with a closing reception on Sunday, June 11th from 5-9 p.m. Enjoy!

B.A.M.
1306 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Venice