Three Times Charmed in Culver City

3 galleries, 3 shows, and a bevvy of many interesting artists enchanted me this past Saturday in Culver City. In attempt to keep this blog short and sweet, I’m just going to discuss all my favorite artworks of the night, but there are a number of other artworks captured in this photo gallery which I enjoyed as well.

First I went to visit Linda Jacobson at George Lawson Gallery‘s intimate group show, Paper. The literal theme inspired a collection of mainly small abstract works on paper, and I found it interesting to see the ways each artist used the delicacy of their paper to create different results.

I’d have to say Linda’s was my favorite, and no wonder, since I came already a fan of her surreal and dreamy landscapes. For this show she surprised me by venturing into full abstraction, but yet one could still recognize her signature style of organic, undulating shapes and adventurous use of color, this time via carefully orchestrated watercolors that oozed and bleed off the paper in sumptuous shapes.

Next, I went down the street one block to Brandi Milne‘s solo show at Corey Helford Gallery. I’ve never been to an opening yet which seemed so much like a nightclub, but they had a lot to celebrate, with Milne’s completely sold-old solo show!

Brandi’s pop surrealist paintings skillfully balanced a seriously somber mood of loss and tragedy in her elf-like girls with a cotton-candy-colored charm of playful animals and fairytale settings. Looking at her previous work it appears her technical skill has deepened considerably, as she now develops richer and more detailed backgrounds which contribute to a fuller story.

Lastly, I ended the night at Merry Karnowsky Gallery, showing the works of Nicola Verlato in the front room and Vonn Sumner in the back. Without question, Nicola is one of the greatest modern masters of painting I’ve ever met, and his complex pop surrealist paintings blew my mind with uber-dynamic compositions that literally exploded across the canvas.

Verlato’s show is called Zero Gravity, and true to the title features a myriad of painstakingly-rendered beautiful bodies, urgently contorted in free fall from car crashes and tornadoes, along with maelstroms of intriguing trappings suspended in mid-air, all caught in a frozen moment in time. The artist passionately describes his vision  as exploring the subconscious fears that many of us dream, of falling or flying, and he delights in portraying these figures in such unusual positions that one rarely sees in real time.

All in all, it was a fantastic night, and I feel re-energized with all this fantastic art, inspired artists, and challenging gallery curation. Please feel free to share your thoughts as well!