The Art of OddZoo
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 6th, 2008, 8PM – Midnight
1257 N. La Brea Ave.
West Hollywood, CA 90038
Exhibition Dates: September 6 – September 28, 2008

Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art is proud to present DIVERGE, the solo debut of OddZoo. The Hawaii-born and Los Angeles-based artist will showcase works of acrylic, oil, pencil and ink that reflect upon the adjustments we make, opportunities we gain, and things we learn when life unexpectedly shifts itself from its anticipated path. An opening reception with the artist in attendance will be held on Saturday, September 6th, 2008, from 8pm – Midnight. The exhibition will be open for viewing through Sunday, September 28th, 2008.

Whilst there has always been an intrinsically timeless quality to the work of OddZoo, there is a marked maturity in his newest pieces. Combining creative and life experience, the young artist continues to forge a unique identity in subject matter and style.

 
Opening Reception Friday September 5 , 7 – 9 pm

September 5 – October 11, 2008

Circus Gallery is proud to announce Sarah Cromarty’s debut solo show Diamonds and Rust. Cromarty’s paintings bring new visions of the American landscape and American Dream. She brings her simmering and dreamy ideas and style to cowboys, ravers, motorcycle riders, sports cars, and Los Angeles.

“Well, I’ll be damned, here comes your ghost again”
Joan Baez from the song Diamonds and Rust

“Diamonds and Rust” is a semi autobiographical show. She starts with images of herself and an ex-boyfriend in a canoe--two lovers out on a canoe looking at the viewer. She cuts out the canoe and puts it in relief to the rest of the image. Cromarty uses the image of the canoe as an obvious reference to Peter Doig. She knows her place in art history and particularly California art history with hippy themes, dream catchers, and using accessible glamour. 

In conjunction with Giant Robot, Scion presents Insiders, Outsiders & The Middle at its 4,500 square foot Installation L.A. Gallery. At Giant Robot, the definition of art ranges from straight contemporary painting to sculpted figures (which were considered action figures just a few years ago). This exhibition celebrates not the disparate mediums, but the divergent mindsets of artists--as well as the gray areas.

Insiders are artists who work so hard in front of their computers that they don’t leave their chairs long enough to hang their pieces on walls. More often, their art is found onscreen, in print, and on T-shirts. Adrian Johnson is an example from the U.K., with a retro drawing style inspired by children's books. The other Insiders are from Japan. Noriko Ashino runs the A Piece of Design firm, and specializes in a variety of disciplines including character design and graphics. Sometimes known as ZariganiWorks, the duo of Taro Mukasa and Yoshitane Sakamoto are responsible for the infamous Suicide Bomb Button, have created the Kore Janai Robo (which has gone from handmade wood figurines to vinyl characters with a TV show), and freelance design toys, characters, and products. 

Ed Fox and the people from Taschen Books have done it again with their newest release titled Ed Fox: Glamour from the Ground Up. Exploring the sensuality of a woman's body while paying special attention to her feet, Ed Fox takes us on a sexy and erotic journey of sensuality with several of the adult entertainment industries most famous stars. The book also includes a wildly entertaining DVD which redefines the meaning of erotic art. - Joe Dirosa

The most tempting part of a woman's body is her feet. Feet are a woman's second body, the one I can visually enjoy without her being offended or even aware, and never would I have imagined that my little secret would attract so many people. —Ed Fox

Ed Fox has been called the new Elmer Batters, but he's clearly no imitator. Yes, there's that "little secret" he shares with the late Mr. Batters, but Fox celebrates the female foot in his own way, creating a style that is unique, contemporary and technically impeccable. Because he draws inspiration from both still photography and music video there's a strong sense of movement in his photos, reflecting his own energetic personality. 

The Los Angeles Film Festival, held annually for ten days in June, showcases the best of American and international independent cinema. With an expected attendance of over 100,000, the festival screens over 175 narrative features, documentaries, shorts, and music videos. Now in its fourteenth year, the festival has grown into a world-class event, uniting new filmmakers with critics, scholars, film masters, and the movie-loving public.

www.lafilmfest.com

OUTSIDE/INSIDE
A GROUP EXHIBITION FEATURING STENCIL ART FROM AROUND THE WORLD
 
March 1 – 16, 2008
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 1, 8 p.m. – Midnight
 
(West Hollywood, CA – February 3, 2008) Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary art is proud to present OUTSIDE/INSIDE, a showcase of some of the most exciting stencil artists from around the world. More than twenty artists representing eight different countries are exhibited, including artists from France, Australia, United States, Portugal, Norway, Brazil, Poland, and the United Kingdom. Featured artists include: Adam5100, C215, Dotmasters, Rene Gagnon, Pam Glew, HaHa, Hush, Jef Aerosol, Brian Jones,Kaleb, Adam Koukoudakis, Mantis, M-City, Amy Rice, Skran, Chris Stain, Martin Whatson.  
 
In OUTSIDE/INSIDE, the geographic exoticism of the artists runs parallel to their distinctive styles; each artist embraces a sweeping variety of hybridized media and innovative techniques. From American artist Logan Hicks’ hyper-detailed, meticulous renderings of urban city scenes, and the highly technical CMYK ink paintings by British artist Adam Koukoudakis, to the Pop Art of Brian Jones and life-size, black-and-white portraits of French artist Jef Aerosol. Playing with our unconscious attraction to fear and the trappings of the American dream, British artist Pam Glew uses materials that have inherent history – vintage American flags, brocade fabric, aged copper, and antique pages from horror fiction, are used as a canvas and treated with ink, bleach, stitch, ammonia and spray-paint to achieve an aesthetic which pays homage to both street art and confessional art. The mesmerizing faces of France’s C215 and fluid hip-hop aesthetic of Portuguese artist Minimal Animal are as different from each other as American artist Rene Gagnon’s fusion of graffiti and abstract expressionism and British artist Hush’s vibrant rushes of color, yet there is a marked artistic through-line which draws all of the pieces in the show together.