PETER LODATO: DIAMONDS/DIVISIONS/VOIDS - Exhibition Catalog Now Available

Santa Monica, CA - William Turner Gallery is pleased to present, solo exhibition of exceptional new works by Peter Lodato, opening  January 13th, 2024. 

Peter Lodato’s (b. 1946) artistic journey reflects an evolution, from immersive light installations, to captivating paintings that explore the complexities of human perception over the course of his six decade-long career. In addition, Lodato would himself influence a number of artists, teaching Art History at Art Center in Pasadena, and University of California Irvine with notable students such as James Turrell and Chris Burden.

His initial foray into art consisted of environmental light installations,  characteristic of the West Coast's Light and Space movement in the 1960’s, which sought to transform physical spaces into immersive experiences for viewers. He credits the Roman Pantheon’s oculus for his interest in interpreting his experience. This body of work led to his inclusion in the 1981 Whitney Biennial.

As Lodato transitioned back to painting, he carried forward his fascination with perception, creating works that initially appear as austere, geometric abstractions but upon closer inspection, reveal layers, brushstrokes, and vibrant colors that play with space and depth. The dichotomy of vision—its capacity to both reveal and conceal—serves as a thematic cornerstone in Lodato's artistry. His reductive compositions, often featuring divided forms and bold colors, engage viewers in a visual dialogue between simplicity and complexity. Inspired by the Abstract Expressionist’s Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, Lodato's use of vertical bands of color draws viewers into the canvas, inviting them to experience the artwork both physically and transcendentally. Hard edges feather out into diaphanous atmospheric vapors, creating luminous, Color-field suspensions floating on a colored ground– the formal consequences appear to both recede and project, dematerializing the art object and simultaneously constructing a void of flat, hard-edge, matted pigment. The artists hand is evident in the textural materialization of paint executed with an expert hand. In reasserting the picture plane in favor of the flat form, the abstractions are not in fact “subjectless”, regardless of their  reductive nature, they are intended to elicit a deep emotional response and expose the paradoxical nature of human perception.   

Informed in part by Eastern philosophy, Lodato’s palette observes the color schema assigned to the various corporeal chakras and their corresponding color assignments. Red for example symbolizes the root chakra at the base of the spine, characterizing strength and vitality, whilst white on the other end of the spectrum, illustrates the crowning light of spiritual wisdom.    

Lodato holds a Graduate degree from California State University. His artistic contributions have been recognized through a solo retrospective curated by the Frederick Weisman Foundation (2000), and exhibitions at prestigious institutions such as PS1 in New York City (1978), Whitney Museum of American Art’s Biennial (1981), the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. His works grace esteemed collections in various public and private institutions, including the Brooklyn Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art. This extensive presence in renowned collections underscores the impact and significance of Lodato's artistic vision within the realm of contemporary art. He lives and works in Venice, California.

ARTNOWLA - Andy Moses: Recent Paintings

William Turner Gallery will present Andy Moses: Recent Paintings, a compelling exhibition of new large-scale works by Los Angeles-based artist, Andy Moses. The exhibition will run from September 9th through November 11th, 2023.

Andy Moses: Recent Paintings is an excitingly ambitious new body of work, showcasing an artist fully engaged and at the height of his creative process. Blurring the line between abstraction and a new kind of pictorialism, Moses utilizes techniques that facilitate his almost obsessive study of the alchemical properties of paint. The paintings that emerge articulate the abstract nature of perception, reaching beyond the material and tapping into the visceral.

The images reveal undeniable traces of natural phenomena, seeking not to replicate the natural world, but rather to suggest the forces of nature itself. The artist’s complex process of mixing and pouring paints conveys a sense of undulating energies pushing and pulling within the rectilinear and circular forms of the canvases themselves.

The paintings are sweeping and luminescent, their lustrous surfaces seemingly executed with an impossible combination of absolute precision and wild improvisation. Meandering lines of psychedelic chroma oscillate between vivid sharpness and dissolving washes of color, achieving works of captivating presence. Viewing the work from multiple perspectives, one is swept into an interactive dance, as light plays across the surfaces in lustrous ever-changing hues.

Speaking about his work, Moses says, “I want the work to stop you in your tracks, to shake you out of your head and into the moment, into the present, where you can become receptive to a more meditative experience that hopefully begins to attune you to the transcendent beauty of the natural world.”

Born in Los Angeles in 1962, Andy Moses attended the legendary CalArts from 1979-1981, studying with John Baldessari, Michael Asher and Barbara Kruger. In 1982, Moses moved to New York where he worked as a studio assistant to Pat Steir and quickly became part of New York’s nascent art scene. Moses began exhibiting with Annina Nosei Gallery, shortly after Jean-Michael Basquiat. During that time Moses also developed close ties with artists such as Jeff Koons, Marilyn Minter, Rudolf Stingel and Christopher Wool, who were also just emerging onto the scene.

After eighteen years in New York, Moses returned to Southern California in 2000, where the change in coasts led to a significant shift in his work. In New York, the artist’s work had explored the macro / micro influences of nature, conveying a sense of gravitational and geologic forces. In returning to California, the scope of Moses’s work expanded, as he was once again inspired by the unique effects of light glancing off waves, and the vast sky-scapes he encountered on his daily drive down the Pacific Coast Highway. The artist began exploring materials that would capture the mercurial aspects of perception, where slight shifts in perspective would reveal dramatic shifts in impression. Accordingly, Moses’ work began to incorporate many of the qualities now associated with the Southern California Light and Space movement, where the work of art became less an “art object”, and more of a “catalyst” for one’s experience of what and how they perceived. Suggesting panoramic space, Moses began introducing concave and shaped panels to further investigate how light and its wave-lengths would curl and flex with refractive paints. These bold new paintings quickly found their audience and brought Moses to the attention of museums and major collectors alike.

Andy Moses’ work is included in the permanent collections of Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Orange County Museum of Art, Laguna Art Museum, and the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation. He currently lives and works in Venice, CA.

PRESS: LA WEEKLY - MEET LIGHT FIELDS PAINTER CASPER BRINDLE

Content Link Block

Select a page and create a visual link to it. Learn more

News

MEET LIGHT FIELDS PAINTER CASPER BRINDLE

Abstract painter Casper Brindle renders pure color in aerated layers that capture and refract light, creating breath and a sense of motion with their awe-inspiring luminosity. Heartily influenced by the legacy of the Light and Space movement—which embraced the qualities of wonder in newfangled materials like resin and airbrush, as well as the imagination-fueling advances in interstellar travel—Brindle updates that art historical framework with a modern-day love of the surf and car cultures of his Los Angeles youth. Using automotive paint to enhance that space-age shine as well as an elusive sense of nostalgia in the super-charged palette, Brindle layers delicate coats which seem to capture light in between—later to release it to viewers in an eternal glow. Seeming to change as the viewer moves past them, and carrying the illusion of distant horizons or doors (of perception) as a framework, the magic in Brindle’s canvases actually happens in the eye of their beholders.

By: Shana Nys Dambrot - June 12, 2023

Alex Couwenberg Videos by EMS

Two Alex Couwenberg Videos from EMS…

ABOVE: View a video of Couwenberg’s exhibition “SuperGlide” currently on view at the William Turner Gallery through February 11th, 2023. 

BELOW: Alex Cowenberg was featured as the subject of Los Angeles based filmmaker Eric Minh Swenson’s project titled “The Making Of La Fonda,” which focuses on the artist's process and studio practices. Learn more here.

HYPERMODALITY - Casper Brindle @ THE LUCKMAN - CAL STATE LA

Casper Brindle, Light Glyph, Light Glyph VF, 2022, pigmented acrylics, 44 x 74 x 12 in.

Curated by Mika Cho
On view September 29 through November 19, 2022
The Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State LA

Artist Reception:
Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 5:00 pm

With great pleasure, I invite you to the exhibition “Hypermodality” which highlights the selected work of Casper Brindle. The exhibition opens on September 29, 2022, at the Luckman Gallery in the Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State LA. Casper Brindle is well known and has long been admired for his aesthetical experiments on color, light, and form. The varied structural arrangements of his compositions, partly reminiscent of the Light and Space movement, transcend the circadian and engender metaphors that unfold various Interpretative and ontological values. The simplicity of Brindle’s work is impressive as it gives rise to mystery - a mystery that can only be called sublime.

Mika Cho, September 2022

“Brindle’s art turns our attention to its minimalist composition as much as despite its luminous, disembodied color and pristine, machine-tooled surfaces. He does not set our eyes afloat in unvariegated light, but thwarts such an optical free fall, deliberately compromising the “ganzfeld” – the surrounding light ambience – with strongly posited horizontal and/or vertical devices. These structural devices encourage our eyes to apprehend the visual field either as a recessional space or as a surface structure. Brindle does not set up an ongoing dialogue between vertical and horizontal works, or even between the verticals and the horizontals occurring in the same works; rather, he proposes the physical and metaphysical presence of each from the outset as contrasting discourses. This is not Light & Space; it is Light WITH Space.”

Peter Frank, September 2022

The Luckman Gallery | Public Viewing Hours
Wednesday through Saturday
11:00 am until 5:00 pm

The Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State LA
5151 State University Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90032
(323) 343-6600
www.luckmanarts.org

ARTIST RECEPTION - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2022, 5 - 8 pm

SEPTEMBER 29 – NOVEMBER 19, 2022

 

ON THE EDGE BRINGS QUINN COLLECTION TO ARMENIAN MUSEUM - Andy Moses, Ed Moses, Charles Arnoldi Featured

ON THE EDGE

Los Angeles Art 1970s - 1990s from the Joan & Jack Quinn Family Collection

INTRODUCTION

Joan Agajanian Quinn and her late husband Jack represent a key moment in the history of contemporary art, as Los Angeles came to symbolize an innovative and prolific brand of creative freedom. Few individuals have left such an indelible mark on the artistic landscape of Southern California than Joan and Jack Quinn. Joan found herself both muse and promoter of several Southern California artists, while Jack used his skills as a prominent and influential attorney to help an array of emerging artists and their dealers navigate the worlds of law and business.

This exhibition highlights the couple’s collection primarily amassed from the 1970s to 1990s, a period rich in significance and defined by a unique spirit of anti-conformity, a play of new materials and a celebration of light and the California cool ethos. Much of the work was collected directly from the artists and has never changed hands or been shown publicly. Works in the exhibition will explore themes such as Ferus Group “Cool School,” Light and Space, Minimalism, Chicano Art, Pop Art, and international artists and influences.

PRESS FOR THE EXHIBITION

BOSTON GLOBE
NPR
BOSTON PUBLIC RADIO
ARTSCOPE
ART NEW ENGLAND
W MAGAZINE
HYPERALLERGIC
WBZ
MIRROR SPECTATOR
WATERTOWN TV SPOT

ANDY MOSES - Three Concurrent Museum Exhibitions - ShoutOut LA

Gallery artist ANDY MOSES is currently in shows at Laguna Art Museum, Ronald H. Silverman Gallery at CalState LA, and the Armenian Museum of America in Boston.

Shout Out LA sits down with the busy artist to discuss his recent work and multiple museum exhibitions.

Be sure to check out all of these exhibitions and stop by the gallery to see an installation of a breathtaking new large scale painting installed in the gallery offices. We will be open this Saturday for the FALL OPEN and a talk by gallery artist LAWRENCE GIPE from 3-4PM.

TEDx Wan Chai - Featuring Artist Simon Birch

Simon Birch Speaking at TEDx Wan Chai

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. As a renowned artist in Hong Kong, Simon Birch takes us through the turning points in his life, highlighting how he was able to turn challenges into a series of adventures shaped by creativity.

Simon Birch is a renowned UK-born artist based in Hong Kong, recognised for his kinetic oil-on-canvas paintings and for his ventures into multimedia projects integrating paintings with film, installations, sculptures and performances.

Born in Brighton in 1974 and of Armenian descent, Simon taught himself how to paint at a very early age, before making a name for himself in Hong Kong, and more recently venturing into the international art scene with solo shows in Beijing, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Miami, and Singapore, as well as group shows at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Haunch of Venison in London, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo. Notable large-scale projects have included the 20,000 square feet multimedia installations HOPE & GLORY: A Conceptual Circus (2010), and Daydreaming With…The Hong Kong Edition (2012) at the ArtisTree in Hong Kong’s TaiKoo Place.

ART NOW LA / SIMON BIRCH and The Da Vinci Questionnaire

The artist at 14th Factory Hong Kong, photo by Scott Sporleder

British-born, Hong Kong-based Simon Birch, who has been awarded the prestigious Louis Vuitton Asian Art Prize and the Sovereign Asian Art Prize, and whose work has encompassed sculpture, painting, photography, performance, video and large-scale multi-media installation projections – often guiding the viewer through narrative sequences – plumbs his own psychological depths only to discover what makes him love work and life.

What historical art figure would you like to have lunch with and why? Caravaggio…drunken adventures, brawling, insulting the beast, the guy carried a sword and cut some guys balls off..all while painting some of the most brilliant works in human history….would be a colorful lunch.

What did you purchase with the proceeds from your first sale? A 1980 Ferrari Mondial. Sounds extravagant but was barely running and only cost about $10k. I eventually rolled it on purpose for a video installation for my project in LA, The 14th Factory. The stunt team, cameras, lighting, etc, was far more expensive than the car. The car became a video installation and 300 sculptures cut from the wreckage, and a photography work by Stanley Wong. Far more valuable than the original car and also shared as art for all.

What words or phrases do you overuse? That’s what she said!

Coachwhip SuperCharger, 49"x100” & Shutdown Danger Pink, 78.7" x 78.7"

How do you know when a work is finished? No work is ever finished, it’s just a stepping stone that brings you closer and closer to making something decent, I hope. Still working towards making good art. As one progresses, you learn, and realise how little you know, and how you lean on all of art history, consciously or not, especially painting but now, more so for me, concept driven work. So you feel at once excited to create something new, and defeated because it’s all been done. One of my first impactful criticisms was that my work is stylized and derivative. I agree but then what isn’t? Working on it. But also making the art I am compelled to make, while being more and more self, and historically, aware.

When and where were you happiest? Strangely, one of my happiest times was when I was closest to death. Something about clarity of mission. I was diagnosed with terminal cancer, but woke up the next day knowing I could crush it and received overwhelming and rapid support. I invited anyone I thought was a real friend to dinner to announce my situation (yes, all about me!) and asked for help. Only 1 of those 20 people walked away. Seeing all these people help with research, shopping and delivering supplies, taking me to hospital, working together on a survival plan….though it was life or death, it showed me who my real friends are, then and forever since. I’m happy to have passed on my process, network, advice, to many people ever since and ever more.

He Willed Himself Into Passivity, Became the Passenger Behind Her Eyes, 72”x72”

What is your most treasured possession? I possess nothing, so it’s not so relevant. Maybe my answer, cliche as it is, friends and memories. I’ve had a very rich life to be grateful for, but also lost so much over many years, had to sacrifice so much to try to achieve my goals – apartment, cars, artworks, vacations, all gone….in pursuit of something truly great. My new project, that is still very much in the balance.

Where is your ideal escape destination? Oh, that’s easy, escape to see my godson in Australia, my goddaughter in Denmark, my mum in London and a few other jokers along the way.

What’s the worst survival job you’ve ever had? I was a bouncer at a rough club in the Midlands in the late 80’s. Seeing blood many nights, and occasionally my own, was a clear message to get away from that environment. Even my brother got stabbed, lost 5 pints of blood and should have died. He’s fine now. Other friends, not fine. Second place was working in a factory on the production line, same thing every day, just awful. Bring on the robots.

What TV series from your youth best describes your approach to life? We were poor, so TV access was rare. I’d say more influential was my addiction to comic books. The Dark Knight, V for Vendetta, Watchmen, Sandman….outsider heroes. All of those influences have made me try to be and do good and also obsess about drawing and painting the human figure.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? A lot of things! But all the things I would change are repercussions from my upbringing, and if I could change that, I would have gotten decent education, mentorship and opportunity.

 What is your most treasured memory? Too many. Hiking through Iceland. Surfing waves of consequence with my BFF. Freediving to the darkest depths. Making a good painting. Falling in love. Maybe one of the nicest was, after recovering, helping a friend who was desperately ill, and seeing him survive. I still claim I saved his life when we bump into each other but the truth is, it was all him.
What makes you smile? Grease, the movie. Queen at Live Aid, Bill Hicks, David Cross, Prince, School of Rock, Ricky Gervais, Fawlty Towers, Public Enemy, Star Wars….and a million other movies and TV shows….my dog Frankenstein, all my friends constantly mocking me.

 What makes you cry? Everything. The more you know, the more empathy and clarity you have, the more you realize there are endless real-world problems that could be so easily fixed. But we are far from utopia and corporations, media and governments have all the power and seem corruptly intertwined.

What is your go-to drink when you toast to a sale? Old Fashioned. Sale or not.

After an all-nighter, what’s your breakfast of champions? I don’t do all-nighters, too old for that, we are all into Brazilian Jiu jitsu, so we eat well, rest, which works for mind and body. Plus my current project is all absorbing so there’s no days off.

Who inspires you? Boyan Slat.

Money Folder, 86.6" x 86.6"

What’s your best quality? Maybe rushing into the fray to help a stranger. Quite recklessly but it’s been a recurring thing in my life, being confronted with an urgent crisis in the street and just diving in.

What’s your biggest flaw? Maybe same as previous question.

 What is your current state of mind? Utterly stressed. My last project was The 14th Factory in Los Angeles. I nearly went bankrupt, and ended up in hospital afterwards from exhaustion. It was well loved, so I’ve been encouraged to develop the next one ever since. I was close to delivering project 2 in London then COVID hit.

I retreated to Hong Kong and looked at space here and went through many ups and downs. Now I have a huge site, 250,000 square feet, and have raised some capital but not enough. Even with an exceptional team and concept, I’m struggling to find the final funding to make it happen. As I write this it may all come together in the next two weeks, or it’s canceled and I have to start from zero yet again.

What do you consider your greatest achievement? My ability to use the phrase, ‘That’s what she said,’ in every conversation.

MARK STEVEN GREENFIELD: HALO Extended through July 30, 2022

William Turner Gallery is pleased to announce that HALO will be extended through July 30th. For more information about this groundbreaking exhibit please contact the gallery or view the catalog using the link below.

Mark Steven Greenfield, Califia, 2022, gold leaf and acrylic on wood panel, 30" x 56"

California’s namesake, Califia (c. 1510) is the mythical Black warrior Queen who raised a menacing army of Amazons on the fabled island of California, a utopia brimming with pearls and gold. Commanding a Naval fleet and an aerial flock of five-hundred winged Griffins, the pagan Queen is a fierce adversary for the Crusaders but is eventually conquered, converted to Christianity and married off to a chivalrous Spaniard. She returns to California with her husband to establish a new Christian dynasty as further adventures ensue. The literary character is from Castillian, Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo’s 16th century epic poem, Las Sergas de Esplandián. When Spanish explorers, under the command of Hernán Cortés, learned of an island off the coast of western Mexico rumored to be ruled by Amazon women, they named it California.

HALO Exhibition Catalog Now Available

MARK STEVEN GREENFIELD
HALO

April 30 - July 9, 2022

Mark Steven Greenfield: “I am reimagining what a saint is.”

- Mark Steven Greenfield speaking about the legendary, mythic, and often little known, black figures featured in HALO, on view now through July 9, 2022 at William Turner Gallery, in Santa Monica,CA. 
This online exhibition catalog for HALO, and forthcoming printed first edition, features the artist’s lustrous paintings and the illuminating background stories  which accompany each portrait.

---

To order an advance copy of the print edition of HALO contact the gallery at 310-453-0909 or info@williamturnergallery.com

MARK STEVEN GREENFIELD 

Mark Steven Greenfield is a native Angelino, and son of a Tuskegee Airman, which led to spending the first part of his life abroad, living on military bases from Taiwan to Germany, until returning to LA at the age of ten. In high school Greenfield studied with revered Los Angeles artist, John T Riddle. Riddle quickly noted Greenfield’s talent, but saw that he was vulnerable to the influences and dangers confronting black youth at the time.  Riddle remarked, "You could be a pretty good artist....if you live that long.” This got Greenfield’s attention and set him on the path that would define the course of his life. 

Greenfield went on to study with Charles White, at Otis Art Institute, and received his Bachelor’s degree in Art Education in 1973 from California State University, Long Beach and a Masters of Fine Arts degree in painting and drawing from California State University Los Angeles in 1987. 

This year, Greenfield’s work was the subject of a 20-Year retrospective at the Museum of Art & History in Lancaster, CA, from which the The Crocker Museum of art acquired a piece for their permanent collection. 

Greenfield’s work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States most notably with a comprehensive survey exhibition at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles in 2014, and in 2002 at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia. Internationally, he has exhibited at the Chiang Mai Art Museum in Thailand; at Art 1307 in Naples, Italy; the Blue Roof Museum in Chengdu, China; 1333 Arts, Tokyo, Japan; and the Gang Dong Art Center in Seoul, South Korea. 

Greenfield is a recipient of the L.A. Artcore Crystal Award (2006) Los Angeles Artist Laboratory Fellowship Grant (2011), the City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Fellowship (COLA 2012), The California Community Foundation Artist Fellowship (2012), the Instituto Sacatar Artist Residency Fellowship in Salvador, Brazil (2013) , the McColl Center for Art + Innovation Residency in Charlotte, North Carolina (2016) and Loghaven artist residency in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2021. He was a visiting professor at the California Institute of the Arts in 2013 and California State University Los Angeles in 2016. 

From 1993-2011, Greenfield worked for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs as director of the Watts Towers Arts Center, and later as director of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Park. He has served on the boards of the Downtown Artists Development Association, the Armory Center for the Arts, the Black Creative Professionals Association, the Watts Village Theatre Company and was past president of the Los Angeles Art Association/Gallery 825. He currently teaches drawing and design at Los Angeles City College, and serves on the board of Side Street Projects, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition (LACE) and the Harpo Foundation. 

Mark Steven Greenfield HALO - Opening Saturday @ William Turner Gallery

CALIFIA, 2022, gold leaf & acrylic on wood panel, 30”x56”

Santa Monica, CA- William Turner Gallery is pleased to present, Halo, an exhibition of exquisite new work by Mark Steven Greenfield.

Halo presents an amazing cast of historical black figures, most of whom were legendary and mythic characters in their time, but have been nearly lost to the vagaries and biases of history as seen through a white lens. With Halo, Greenfield brings the stories of Black folk-saints, martyrs, freedom-fighters, survivors, magicians, and visionaries back into view. Many of the figures are from the 1400-1800s, a timeframe that corresponds with Europeans beginning to use racial distinction as a tool to justify slavery. Greenfield honors their simultaneously disturbing and astounding lives by bestowing them with halos, traditionally seen as reverential symbols of adoration and respect.“I am reimagining what a saint is,” Greenfield says. “Maybe in studying their stories, they can inform us on better ways to live.”

Halo is a rich representation of the complexities of the historical Black identity. The figures in the paintings emerge from a variety of geographic locations, time periods,  stages of life and levels of freedom - each representing a person who was nearly blotted out from written history despite their incredible feats of attributed miracles and accomplishments.

This striking new series evolved as a natural progression from Greenfield’s previous exhibition, Black Madonna, which re-imagined the unique religious icons of a black Virgin Mary and baby Jesus in ways that spoke to the moment. They made their sensational debut at the gallery in the fall of 2020. Halocontinues in the Byzantine style of the Black Madonna icons, presenting us with fascinating historical figures, rendered in rich detail and set in circular tondo’s. The lustrous gold leaf backgrounds, like the halos, seek to elevate the figures to a more hallowed stature.

Zumbi dos Palmares, 2022, gold leaf & acrylic on wood panel, 20”x16”

Throughout his career, Greenfield's work has dealt with elucidating the African American experience - examining stereotypes and other acts of oppression, often by illuminating the most oppressive of acts - those of omission. Halopresents us with powerful images of figures and events neglected by history. Greenfield's images like those of Rebecca Cox Jackson, Solitude of Guadalupeand Zumbi dos Palmares, compel us to learn their stories. 

Of the subjects in this series, Zumbi dos Palmares (1655 – 1695) is perhaps one of the best known. Zumbi was a pioneering Afro-Brazilian resistance leader and today a symbol of liberation from Brazil’s Portuguese colonists. Thought to be a descendent of central African royalty, he became a military leader to a ‘quilombo,’ or self-sustaining community of escaped slaves referred to as ‘Maroons.’  

This exhibition feels uncannily destined for this moment. It opens at a time of unprecedented upheaval, where continuing racial inequities, and a global pandemic, have challenged our institutions, and our perceptions of them, to the core. With Halo, Mark Steven Greenfield brings an important and timely perspective to the discussion. 

Moses Williams, 2022, gold leaf & acrylic on wood panel, 20”x16”

MARK STEVEN GREENFIELD 

Mark Steven Greenfield is a native Angelino, and son of a Tuskegee Airman, which led to spending the first part of his life abroad, living on military bases from Taiwan to Germany, until returning to LA at the age of ten. In high school Greenfield studied with revered Los Angeles artist, John T Riddle. Riddle quickly noted Greenfield’s talent, but saw that he was vulnerable to the influences and dangers confronting black youth at the time.  Riddle remarked, "You could be a pretty good artist....if you live that long.” This got Greenfield’s attention and set him on the path that would define the course of his life. 

Greenfield went on to study with Charles White, at Otis Art Institute, and received his Bachelor’s degree in Art Education in 1973 from California State University, Long Beach and a Masters of Fine Arts degree in painting and drawing from California State University Los Angeles in 1987. 

This year, Greenfield’s work was the subject of a 20-Year retrospective at the Museum of Art & History in Lancaster, CA, from which the The Crocker Museum of art acquired a piece for their permanent collection. 

Greenfield’s work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States most notably with a comprehensive survey exhibition at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles in 2014, and in 2002 at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia. Internationally, he has exhibited at the Chiang Mai Art Museum in Thailand; at Art 1307 in Naples, Italy; the Blue Roof Museum in Chengdu, China; 1333 Arts, Tokyo, Japan; and the Gang Dong Art Center in Seoul, South Korea. 

Greenfield is a recipient of the L.A. Artcore Crystal Award (2006) Los Angeles Artist Laboratory Fellowship Grant (2011), the City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Fellowship (COLA 2012), The California Community Foundation Artist Fellowship (2012), the Instituto Sacatar Artist Residency Fellowship in Salvador, Brazil (2013) , the McColl Center for Art + Innovation Residency in Charlotte, North Carolina (2016) and Loghaven artist residency in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2021. He was a visiting professor at the California Institute of the Arts in 2013 and California State University Los Angeles in 2016. 

From 1993-2011, Greenfield worked for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs as director of the Watts Towers Arts Center, and later as director of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Park. He has served on the boards of the Downtown Artists Development Association, the Armory Center for the Arts, the Black Creative Professionals Association, the Watts Village Theatre Company and was past president of the Los Angeles Art Association/Gallery 825. He currently teaches drawing and design at Los Angeles City College, and serves on the board of Side Street Projects, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition (LACE) and the Harpo Foundation. 

Mark Steven Greenfield: HALO
April 30 - July 9, 2022
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 30th 5-8PM

Commemorating Ed Moses

Today we commemorate the art and life of the late Ed Moses. Born on April 9, 1926, Ed Moses rose to become an important figure in Post War art. Moses had his first exhibition at the legendary Ferus Gallery in 1958 while still a graduate student at UCLA. In 1996 Ed had a career retrospective at MOCA and most recently an exhibition of works on paper from the 60’s & 70’s at the LA County Museum of Art. Ed’s work is in the collection of countless important international institutions and was featured in the 2008 documentary The Cool School.

A constant innovator and experimenter Ed tested the boundaries of materials and processes delivering exhibitions up to the year of his passing that were often completely unique from past production, a feat of creativity rarely witnessed in the history of art.

Ed was a storyteller both in paint and the spoken word. Years later those stories live on, through his survived contemporaries, his dealers, his friends and his family. He was a passionate and fearless innovator, an intellectual, a gifted orator and a phenomenal artist. His story has only begun to be written and we are honored at the gallery to have been a part of it.