Special Announcement – ‘Looking West’ @ Santa Monica Art Museum during Frieze week
Semi-regular posts will resume next week
January had been a busy month. Between reading, writing, and working at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, I hosted a few studio visits and finished some long overdue ash paintings, which were then sent to the Santa Monica Art Museum for their inaugural exhibition ‘Looking West’ curated by Tom Venditti of Heather James gallery. I’m really stoked to be taking part in this exhibition alongside some fantastic artists like Russell Young, Brett Foraker, Feldsott, Tatiana Wills and Nathan See.
My work in this show was made over the past two years and it represents a bit of an existentialist riff on our current socio-political zeitgeist, but without any of the overt political signaling so prevalent in contemporary culture. It consists of black and white images painted in a mixture of ash and oil on burned panels, a style and technique I developed after witnessing Southern California wildfires for the first time in 2016.
Frieze week is coming up fast, so without much ado, here are the details of the exhibition. If anyone is in the Los Angeles-Santa Monica area consider dropping in to see the show and the space.
Saturday, Feb. 18th, 5:00 - 9:00 PM
Looking West Reception & Afterparty
RSVP Required
Saturday, Feb. 18th, 5:00 – 9:00 PM at SMAM and 9:00 PM onward at 1212 Santa Monica.
From 5:00 – 9:00 PM, join us at the Santa Monica Art Museum to celebrate the new museum’s opening to the public with its inaugural contemporary fine art exhibition Looking West. There will be complimentary wine and spirits.
At 9:00 PM, visitors will walk across the promenade to the Looking West Afterparty hosted by 1212 Santa Monica to continue the celebrations.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 2023
The New Santa Monica Art Museum Introduces Third Street Promenade to Regional Artists & Evolving Immersive Art Experiences Currently Open & Upcoming Throughout Frieze Week Los Angeles
With its first regional exhibition Looking West & programming during Frieze Week, SMAM brings together artists and creative partners to define the role of the contemporary art museum & raise funds for its future
Santa Monica, CA – The new Santa Monica Art Museum (SMAM) debuts its first immersive and evolving art experience and exhibition to the public, inviting visitors and artists to see and participate in Los Angeles’s newest art ecosystem with Looking West, on view now and upcoming throughout Frieze Los Angeles.
In December 2022, museum director Christoph Rahofer opened the 7,000 square foot museum along Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade with intentionally blank walls, allocating space and rooms to regional artists invited to participate and help define what the museum should be and shape the future of art in California.
Now, the space has evolved into the current exhibition Looking West, titled by co-curator Tom Venditti, featuring several regional artists on view to the public and those visiting during Frieze Los Angeles in February 2023.
In addition, SMAM will be hosting a series of events, exhibitions and panels with experts in art, curation, and museum innovation, as well as showcasing curated VR (virtual reality) exhibitions by leaders in the genre, Vortic and GAZELL.iO throughout Frieze Week.
As the museum continues to evolve, stay tuned for more details regarding exhibition news related to SMAM’s ongoing digital art program, activations, and discussion panels throughout Frieze Week. To learn more about the museum’s programming during Frieze Week, please visit here.
Looking West
Throughout the museum, visitors are invited to see the regional exhibition Looking West, featuring a diverse array of work from both emerging and established artists. These artists include: renowned British-American artist Russell Young, presenting selections of silk screen paintings from his iconic series WEST; Gretchen Andrew’s mixed media Vision Boards; Joachim Castañeda’s assemblage made from unconventional materials; Casey Baden’s mixed-media tapestries and weavings; Daniel Sackheim’s film noir-inspired street photography; and Lindsey Price’s surreal collage paintings. Other artists include: Dhiren Dasu, Feldsott, Brett Foraker, Jessica Goehring, Bob Landström, Tom Pazderka, Max Rippon, Nathan See, Philip Vaughan, Tatiana Wills, and Jody Zellen. Together, these artists add an evolving and important regional voice to the conversation about contemporary art in California through a variety of thematic explorations.