New David Hockney & Alison Saar Works At L.A. Louver!

There was a packed house at the L.A. Louver last night for the opening of David Hockney: Something New In Painting (and Photography) [And even Printing] ... Continued as well as a new sculpture from Alison Saar almost exactly a year after their dual show this time last year. The crowd was abuzz with anticipation to see the new work from one of the most celebrated living artists in the world, but certainly in Los Angeles, which is almost always the star of Hockney's work. Bright colors and swimming pools made his name, and we were all here to see the latest.

It was almost intimidating to arrive to see the absolute longest line to get in I've ever seen stretching down Venice Boulevard all the way to Speedway. Indeed, it was too much for some who chose to sit it out at James Beach or the Canal Club rather than wait in line, but that's too bad because the line moved very quickly, and the reward was great once inside the door of the Louver.

The first floor was all Hockney, with large scale murals depicting "photographic drawings" of people in chairs taking in the more familiar, colorful works from Hockney. The drawings of mostly men were a little creepy to me, but it's cool to see such a range from someone so known for the almost tropical hues of his beautiful paintings of the great and sunny outdoors.

I've loved the Australian artist, Ken Done, since I was a little kid, and several of the bright new works from Hockney reminded me of those gorgeous visuals from the hemisphere to our south.

This will be a show worth revisiting, as there was really no way to take it all in with so many people crammed in there to see and be on the Art Scene. You couldn't take two steps without running into a longtime Venetian art lover, and that's really the best part of these show openings. That, and the confirmation that ART is still very much alive and well in our fair town. I overheard a girl in line saying in her Millennial drawl, "It's smart that they're putting art galleries in Venice now, there's so much money here." I had to step in and let her know that this venerable gallery has been here in Venice since 1975 ... and that Venice has always been about art, money or none. And always will be, if we the People have anything to say about it. And we do.

The upstairs gallery featured more of the bright works, and a series of drawings of Hockney friends, from Ed Sheeran to this lady that I thought was Jane Goodall, but was really a woman called Erica Bolton.

I loved the piece called The Walk To The Studio, 2018, as it features the wonderful flora and fauna outside of Hockney's Hollywood Hills studio. Lucky fella!

In the Skyroom outdoor galley, there was the new sculpture from Alison Saar called Grow'd, depicting one of her Topsy characters based on the girl in Uncle Tom's Cabin. It is pure power, and the now grown girl/woman commanded the room beautifully. I love Saar's work, and I'm not alone, because there was a hushed and reverent aura over the room from everyone who entered. The importance of good art cannot be understated.

What a great show! And night - as the party continued on to James Beach, the Venice Art Crawl mixer at Canal Club, and then an extra fun whiskey tasting party over at The Stronghold. This was one of those Venice nights that make all the rest of the things going on here all the way worth it. Kind of like standing in the line to get into this show ... there's hassles, sure ... but the art and community you get once you're here is WHY you're here. I love you, Venice. I love you, Art. Thank you!

David Hockney Something New in Painting (and Photography) [And even Printing] 
Alison Saar : Grow'd
L.A. Louver
Venice
February 7 - March 23, 2019

David Hockney And Alison Saar At The LA Louver

I couldn't make the big opening for the new shows at the LA Louver last Wednesday evening, as I had a prior engagement, but I'm not mad. I just went to check out the art the next day, up close, sans crowd, where I really got to appreciate it. Downstairs at the Venice Boulevard gallery is showing Topsy Turvy from Alison Saar, and it is excellent. "Topsy" refers to the character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the wood sculptures and paintings on vintage linens portray the slave girl as a symbol of defiance.

The room is dominated by the five life-sized girls holding tools that were used in southern plantation crops: a machete, tobacco knife, hoe, sickle, and bale hook. They are going after the masters and are camouflaged by cotton branches. Someone had called my friends at Fiore Designs to order an arrangement to gift Saar on the night of the opening, and had asked for something featuring cotton blossoms, and now I understood why.

The Wrath Of Topsy sculpture shows off the little pigtails that remind one of Medusa  ...

... and High Cotton has the young girls ready for war.

From the press release, "For Saar, these works summon the collected rage and frustration for our current times" and were inspired by the poet Audra Lorde, who said that, "Racism and homophobia are real conditions of all our lives in this place and time ... I urge each one of us here to reach down into that deep place of knowledge inside herself and touch that terror and loathing of any difference that lives there. See whose face it wears. Then the personal as the political can begin to illuminate all our choices." That is so heavy, and so true. Kudos to Saar for portraying these truths in such a beautiful and touching way.

Upstairs is the new David Hockney show, in celebration of the classic L.A. artist's 80th birthday. It's a lot lighter fare, both in theme and colors used. Each piece was created on either an Ipad or an Iphone, showing just how far technology has advanced in the art world. As Hockney has said, "Anyone who likes drawings and mark-making will like to explore new media."

All of the work was done between 2009-2012, and the Louver show marks the first time they will be on view in Los Angeles. The portability of the phone and Ipad gave Hockney the means to create anytime, anywhere, and as his proficiency on the technology grew, so did the drawings. It's extra impressive, considering many of his generation have trouble just sorting out how to text. Hockney gets it.

With subjects ranging from oranges to ashtrays to his own self-portraits, Hockney turned his screen drawings into prints, which are what you will see at the Louver. Some of the works were originally shown in Paris at the Musée Yves Saint Laurent, where they were actually displayed on phones and pads. The prints make it much easier, I imagine, to view all the subtle strokes and colors of Hockney's vision.

Those saturated colors cheer you up the moment you reach the room at the top of the stairs, and make one want to have them all, as it's pretty hard to choose a favorite from such a bright and sunny collection. If pressed, I'd go with the bowl of oranges or the sunrise from Hockney's bedroom window. I love the quote in Hockney's press release - "I draw flowers every day on my Iphone and send them to my friends, so they get fresh flowers every morning ... and my flowers last." Well, if Hockney is still accepting new friends ... please count me among them. I love eternal flowers. 

It's Good Friday, and checking out this wonderful exhibition could make it a Great Friday. In fact, it kind of goes with the holiday weekend ... the darkness and uncertainty of Good Friday (and our current world), followed by the beauty and hope of Easter Sunday (with the optimism that things can be reborn and light will come again).  Wherever you are, I hope you will feel that hope.

David Hockney Iphone and Ipad Drawings 2009-12

Alison Saar Topsy Turvy 

Both showing at LA Louver now through May 12, 2018