Eurotrash @ Lazarides - Beverly Hills (6/9/10)

Should be a good one. Some nice pieces going up around LA.

Some prints like the ones below will be released at 8pm (UK time) on June 9th around the time the exhibition itself opens to the public at 12pm (LA time). shopatlazarides.com

Antony micallef.
This piece was shown at his show at laz last year. Stunning piece, with wonderful textures. I wonder what medium the prints are?

i remember we talked about the incorporation of the text at the last show back in october mike.
personally, i enjoy the clean text against the tags. it echoes his realistic paintings style alongside the more chaotic elements. but i am a bit of a freak for type at times.

i agree about this piece though, i'm not keen on the directness of the title of the painting being presented in text. i presume it's a hip-hop reference. not feeling this one as much as some of his other work.
i presume this piece will be in the show...
look forward to seeing the other work in the show.
sounds like he is flying out to LA tomorrow, so you locals may get some muralistic treats ahead of the opening.

Here is a look at his last show including out interview with him for those interested.

arrestedmotion.com/tag/micallef-laz-09/

so, any of you folks go last night?
what did you think?

Loads of fun last night...great show all around. MY only wish was that it was split into 2 shows. More work than you could see and nothing i hate more than when work is hung higher than my head... and im 6'2".

Conor's new work is stellar...and glad prices were nearly doubled up otherwise i would have some 'splainin to do too...

I was very close to buying the chiseled woman's face piece. It's iconic Vhils, and a once in a lifetime opportunity because it's not like you could ship it. The walls came from a tear-down somewhere in LA. I'd measured the one space at home where I thought I might be able to put something so large and it was 8" short of fitting. Unfortunately I don't need another wall, because if I did... Clearly, the takeaway is that I need to move to a bigger place.

Highlight of the evening was chatting with Vhils. His new works are much more polished and refined, although I continue to prefer his earlier pieces like mine from the Compro Logo Existo series that are closer to the work he was doing on the streets of Lisbon and more strongly reference that experience. The chiseled pieces likewise. That being said, the pieces show a very clear evolution of Vhils as an artist, at least technically, translating the street to these beautiful and still mostly very interesting pieces. I like it where he plays off the images in the poster in the portraits, the best example of which was the woman's portrait with a man's head from one of the posters representing her iris. He used elaborate layering of poster and spraypaint in resin to great effect, particularly in the play of overhead light. Alex has been working like crazy. I hope he gets a few moments to enjoy LA to relax and catch his breath. From our conversation, that seems doubtful. He said he's got a show in the works at the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art opening July 16. Blu and some others will be showing there as well.

I will say that whomever Laz hires to do their lighting, I want them to come to my home and light my art. It'd be worth it even if my electricity bills were $1,000 a month, I had to keep the fire department on speed dial and the colors got bleached out within a week. It gives the impression that pieces are back-lit. That was particularly apparent in the large, dark Micallef with the human body and animal face, which really popped off the wall.

This was the first time I'd seen the works of Antony Micallef. He is extremely talented-- all the buzz about him is warranted. But his talent as a painter applied to his grotesque subject matter results in work that creeps me out. A little creepiness can add a certain level of fascination, but Micallef's work in this vein too often crosses a line with me. My favorite Micallef was Plasticoid Spasticoid, which showcased his talent but also fun-- although I was disappointed to see that the very effective upside-down lipsticked lips below the animated eyeball and the balloon ends were collaged on rather than painted. Some of the charcoal pieces were nice, but for me not enough to justify the price tag-- I will say they looked much better live than in the digital images I saw.

I personally was not impressed at all by the Harrington pieces. I expected them to be very colorful and really pop. Instead they seemed muted and flat, which is saying something under Laz's lighting. And I didn't get any sense of a point from the soldiers mixed in with the spraypaint, and they left me cold. I very much appreciated the great storyline behind the making of the JR pieces, even if they were not really my particular taste.

All in all a great show from Laz, keeping the momentum going from the Choe show. And I'll certainly say these shows are fun to attend.

I'm particularly proud to make it though and stick to my collector's hit list, which represents enough financial irresponsibility.

Those are Weezy's 2 cents

Great to read all the impressions! Jemappellekat, I looked about for you to say hi, but I didn't see you. Maybe next show. I almost missed Commandax, but fortunately I ran into her when she was leaving. The whole point of going to a preview is seeing everyone you know in addition to the art.

Also posted up some of our pics here for those interested.