Koyaanisqatsi: Through the contemporary lens
Exhibition Dates: February 22 - March 5, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, Feb 25, 2023, 5-8pm
bG GallerY
Hours: 12:00-5:00pm, Tuesday - Saturday
Location: bG Gallery, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave #A2, Santa Monica, CA 90404. Hours: 12-5PM Tuesday -Saturday> Phone: (310) 906-4211 Website: BGartGalleries.com Email: info@bgartdealings.com
Contemporary makers infuse philosophy, mythology, abstraction, counterculture as well as a discourse upon ethnography. In addition to exploring the pure physicality of materials through the fundamental elements and principles of design, Koyaanisqatsi also looks to explore the experiential nature of the Qatsi trilogy. Only now reimagined through the lens of contemporary artists.
Inspired by the Godfrey Reggio directed film, The Koyaanisqatsi exhibition presents contemporary art as phenomena. A frame for frame display that challenges the mind to develop its own meaning - in which the allure lies heavily in intrinsic value. So while there may be this or that intention within showcasing these works, any meaning or value Koyaanisqatsi might have comes exclusively from the beholder. The exhibition is to allure as well as raise questions that require one to engage with their own perceptions. Perhaps this is the highest intent of any tableau, not predetermined meaning, but meaning derived from one's own conditioning or discernment. Ethnography is of interest here, not meaning. So in the sense of contemporary art and particularly with this exhibit, the meaning of Koyaanisqatsi is whatever one’s mind shall perceive it to be. If there is anything to be achieved by merging this group of artists, it is blending the tactile with the unabashedly abstract. An effort that focuses on subjectively seeking ourselves in each other.
Artists; Mac Blackout, Emiliana Henriquez, Paul Rusconi, Martin Etem, Logan Alten, Chris Rocket, Steven Erebus, Ingrid Mathurin
Curator: Deandre Santee
Paul Rusconi
b 1965, California US
Rusconi's work investigates the portrait with photo-based images as well as found or sourced images from popular culture. His work is a digital screening process often combined with nail polish, oil paint, engine enamel and monochromatic photography. The work is layered and framed. The shadow image on the monochromatic photography is a simple projection through the plexiglass. There is no image on the actual photograph until one is projected on it by the digital screen.
Ingrid Mathurin
b 1986, California US
Mathurin's work explores the complexities of human emotion and identity. Her work particularly speaks to mental health and the stigmas that surround the topic. Her practice seeks to shed light on the often misrepresented struggles black Americans face in the wake of emotional dichotomy. Mathurin is currently based in Los Angeles and was recently recognized by the LA Lakers In The Paint grant.
Mac Blackout
b 1977, Indiana US
A genre defying musician and street artist, Mac Blackout became well known for his large scale public works and his prolific creation as a multidisciplinary visual artist. Blackout has released a myriad of experimental music including ten full studio albums, working with many prominent indie labels (Trouble In Mind, Sacred Bones). Mac’s visual work has been shown internationally and recently part of “The Long Dream” exhibition at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art.
Logan Alten
b 1987, Rhode Island US
An emerging painter and sculptor with recent works acquired by notable interior designers for The Stanley House. Alten is certainly destined for international renown. The artist is often applauded for his particularly keen sense of style that lends to his ability to create works that arouse the senses as well as challenge the traditional canonical landscape.
Emiliana Henriquez
b 1986 , El Salvador
Henriquez's hyphenated identity amidst the chaos of East Los Angeles has heavily influenced her artistic expressions. Despite her parents' complexities to keep her and her brother safe from a gang violence riddled Latin neighborhood, Henriquez found meaning in the creative arts. Her works reflect a fascination with the emotional connections that unite people across cultural spectrums. Through elements of mythology and unpredictability, Emiliana's work creates dreamlike landscapes that invite introspection and self-acceptance. Henriquez was recently awarded a grant by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Martin Etem
b. 1987, California US
Martin Etem is a multidisciplinary artist using drawing, painting, and sculpture to survey ideological and sociological frameworks. Influenced by past experiences as well as figments of imagination , Etem recontextualizes the art historical canon to create a visual language that embodies both a world view and personal narrative by calling attention to race, gender, value, and beauty. Etem holds a MFA from the University of East London.
Steven Erebus
b 1995 San Francisco US
A sculptural artist with roots in architectural design and fabrication, Erebus is poised to become a force within the landscape of contemporary and experiential art. Fascinated by the dark and the bright realities of life, Erebus exhibits juxtapositions such as life and death as well as growth and pain. Erebus received an MA in Architecture from USC.
Chris Rocket
b 1988 New York US
Christopher “Rocket” Descartes is a Caribbean American Artist. Brooklyn born, currently residing in Los Angeles where he has been producing a wide array of works focused more on the materials and created textures of the physical works as well as dialogue that come along with it to illuminate his subject. Sharing his abstract perspective of American culture through sculpture, painting, and story....
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