Pick of the Week is this Saturday, the Opening Reception of Seyhoun Gallery's Group show in West Hollywood

Happy Summer! My PICK OF THE WEEK, is this Saturday.  Don't miss the opening reception for Seyhoun Gallery’s group show in West Hollywood. 

Sona Mirzaei (see image below), an incredible artist, is one of the artists set to show.   Curated by Maryam Seyhoun, the opening reception starts at 6:00 pm and continues till 9:00 pm and will be a fabulous party.

Enjoy hors d'oeuvres, wine while gazing at beautiful work at this lovely artist reception. This show will also feature works by Majid Arghavan, Banafsheh Beheshti, Neda Chaychi and Fahimeh Sorkhabi.
http://www.seyhoungallery.net/

See my recent article in Singular City Magazine. http://bit.ly/m3pop3

Save the date July 10^th, Poet Ava Bird, celebrates the release of her new book, The New Now in Venice….it’s gonna be a big party from and show from 3:00 pm till 7:00 pm. There will be yummy food and drink….all free and performances by Rex Butler, DJ Noij, myself (Kathy Leonardo), Suzy Williams and more. 

Wednesday, June 22^nd

Here’s something different, If you are near the downtown area, you can watch an open rehearsal from 4:00 pm till 8:00 pm tonight. Experience the creation of the Looking Glass. The official shows are during the day Thursday and Friday (12-2) more details under Thurs/Fri events.

Arts Brookfield presents Third Rail Projects’ bold re-imagining of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass through a 20-minute contemporary dance performed continuously for two hours in the gardens of Bank of America Plaza. 333 S. Hope St,  90071; http://bit.ly/kZMUtk

Tonight, Jodi Siegel is guest hosting this week’s Guitarology at the Melody Bar & Grill (9132 S. Sepulveda Blvd., 90045) from 8:00 pm till 11:00 pm. Jodi happens to be a friend of mine. We have performed together many times. She is an awesome talented musician. Plays a mean slide guitar and has a sultry smooth voice. Guitarology has become a musical haven for incredible musicians. If you’re into music, gotta check it out!

Join deyermond art + books, 2801 Main Street, in Santa Monica, every Wednesday night for an eclectic display of spoken word, music, song and dance. 8:00-11:00 PM. www.deyermondbooks.com. Check out their site for Thursday Scrabble night too. They always put on fun events. Refreshments served.

Thursday, June 23^rd

During the day, if you find yourself in the Downtown area, from noon till 2:00 pm, Arts Brookfield presents Third Rail Projects’ bold re-imagining of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass through a 20-minute contemporary dance performed continuously for two hours in the gardens of Bank of America Plaza. 333 S. Hope St, 90071; http://bit.ly/kZMUtk

Gagosian Gallery presents the work of Piero Golia (see image). Opening receptions is from 6:00 pm till 8:00 pm. Gagosian Gallery is located at 456 N. Camden Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210. 310.271.9400; http://www.gagosian.com

Eric Vollmer and Public Works Improvisational Theatre present “Summer Word Play”, poetry, readings and music featuring Lee Boek, Kaitlin Ferrell, Gary Gordon, DJ Carlile, and Doug Spitz, Vinnie Caggiano and more.

Hosted by Eric Vollmer, this event will be held at Warszawa Restaurant, (upstairs in the attic), 1414 Lincoln Blvd., in Santa Monica. Show starts at 7:30 pm. Donations encouraged…they are asking $7.00, but no one will be turned away. http://www.publicworksimprov.com/calendar/

Friday June 24^th

During the day, if you find yourself in the Downtown area, from noon till 2:00 pm, Arts Brookfield presents Third Rail Projects’ bold re-imagining of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass through a 20-minute contemporary dance performed continuously for two hours in the gardens of Bank of America Plaza. 333 S. Hope St, 90071; http://bit.ly/kZMUtk

Now for the evening, there are several events in the downtown area. One is near China Town and is a group show entitled “Queering Sex” at Human Resources, located 410 Cottage Home St Los Angeles, CA 90012. This is a FREE Event 7:00-10:00 pm. 213-290-4752; http://humanresourcesla.com/

Greene Park Gallery located at 943 N Hill Street, 90012 is pleased to announce the closing event for the exhibition, The Unfinished from 7:00pm-9:00 pm. This group show features works by Ricardo Rivera, Aaron GM, and Christy Roberts. 323-333-6610; http://www.greeneparkgallery.com

Here’s another Downtown/Boyle Heights happening which sounds interesting. A traveling art show which was established in May of 2009, The Pancakes & Booze Art Show has been sweeping the nation with a whirlwind of emerging and underground artists! Shows now in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Nashville, Minneapolis, Atlanta, & Denver! Be aware that they do charge $5.00 to get in. Takes place at LOT 613, which puts on lots of Art Events, 613 Imperial St, Los Angeles, CA 90021. (323) 934-7777; http://pancakesandbooze.com/

Saturday, June 25^th

Time for the PICK OF THE WEEK! Come meet contemporary artist, Sona Mirzaei who will be showing tonight in a group exhibition at Seyhoun Gallery. Enjoy hors d'oeuvres, wine while gazing at beautiful work at this lovely artist reception.

Sona Mirzaei has been a busy woman. Having recently returned from being the only American artist participating in the Elephant Parade in Copenhagen Sona has been working nonstop, showing her work in San Francisco, Toronto, and all over Los Angeles. She is collaborating with other artists on a public art project for the City of Los Angeles, she was recently requested to show selections of her work at the San Francisco Convention Plaza, her work is currently on display at Hotel des Arts in San Francisco, and she will participate in Elephant Parade Singapore 2012.

Seyhoun Gallery is located at 9007 Melrose Ave, between Doheny and Robertson Blvd. This group show reception will also feature works by Majid Arghavan, Banafsheh Beheshti, Neda Chaychi and Fahimeh Sorkhabi from 6:00 pm -9:00 pm. http://www.seyhoungallery.net/

Right next door, you’ll want to stop into The Aboriginal Dream Time Gallery, located at 9011 Melrose Ave in West Hollywood, 90048. They just happen to be having an opening tonight for their new show, Dreamings: Works by Gabrielle Pool. Sydney-based artist Gabrielle Pool was born in 1976 in Kaharoa, New Zealand. Since her first exhibition at the age of 16, held in Japan, her work has continued to receive commercial and critical acclaim. 

Reception runs from 6:00 pm till 8:00 pm. This is a free event. Light refreshments and wine will be served. 310.278.4278; http://aboriginaldreamtimegallery.com/

Since you are already in West Hollywood, head on over to Fairfax and Santa Monica Blvd to the New Image Art Gallery. This group show features artists, Augustos Thompson, Suzannah Sinclair and Annie Vought. Reception: 7:00 pm- 10:00 pm. The New Image Art Gallery is located at 7908 Santa Monica Blvd 90046, 323.654.2192
http://www.newimageartgallery.com/

Artist Lesley Vance (see image), is celebrated at David Kordansky Gallery, 3143 S. La Cienega Blvd., Unit A.

The show will include both paintings and watercolor works on paper.

The opening reception runs from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. 310-558-3030 ; http://davidkordanskygallery.com/

The Whole 9, or Gallery 9, located at 6101 Washington Blvd, will be featuring a group show, entitled “Life is just a Fantasy”.


Opening reception: 6:30 till 10:00 pm. 310 836-4601; http://thewhole9.com/.

Indie Collective presents the closing reception of the Jenny Hager show and closing party for indie collective gallery from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Wine and yummies will be served. http://www.indiecollective.com/




Or you may want to play in Santa Monica. Start off at Bergamot Station 2525 Michigan Ave.

The Lora Schlesinger Gallery (T-3) is presenting "Animal and Mineral”, a new series of works by Carrie Sied. Carrie Seid's work crosses between painting and sculpture, organic and geometric, nature and man-made. The opening reception is from 5pm - 7 pm. In addition, The East Gallery will feature Abstraction, a group show with new works by Miya Ando, Richard Bruland and Keira Kotler. Each work selected represents the artist's interpretation of abstraction. 310-828-1133; www.LoraSchlesinger.com.

Since you’re at Bergamot, pop into the Patrick Painter Gallery (A-8 & B-2) to see the work of Bas Jan Ader. Opening reception: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. 310-264-5988; http://www.patrickpainter.com

Stay in Santa Monica and head over to Bleicher/Golightly Gallery (1431 Ocean Ave in SM) celebrates the opening reception of the group show, “A Rare Bird,” a new body of work by artist Carol Powell, inspired by her volunteer work in bird rescue. Snowy egrets, owls, penguins and ducks populate these mixed media works set on sewn fabric collage. 

A portion of the proceeds from “A Rare Bird” will go towards the International Bird Rescue organization. Reception runs from 6:00 pm till 10:00 pm http://www.Bird-Rescue.org/ http://www.Bird-Rescue.org/310 878-2784; http://bgartdealings.com.

How bout some music??? Country Western band, Neonwest, will be doing an acoustic set starting at 8:30 pm (till 9:30 pm) at Bar Pico, located at: 2819 Pico Blvd in Santa Monica between 28th and 29^th. Other bands will be playing as well Geoffrey J, etc. No Cover. 310.310.8872; http://www.barpico.com; http://www.neonwest.com/; /

Or at Rumors (formerly the Rumor Mill), at 11739 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, 90066, you can catch the band The Backboners,  (Bill Burnett, Kahlil Sabbagh and Ginger Smith and Suzy Williams) featuring the songs of The Mamas and the Papas. Great harmonies.  7:30 till 10:00pm. Free; http://therumormill.us/.

Sunday June 26^th

A wonderful yearly event that I always have fun at is…The 11th Annual Main Street Summer SOULstice, the largest free outdoor music event on the Westside. Over 20 live bands on 6 stages! Mostly Tribute bands at this event. (have never understood the allure, no one compares to the original artists). 1:00 pm – 7:00pm. http://www.mainstreetsm.com/.

Thinkla presents Creative LA, a fundraising event featuring art, photography and jewelry to be sold….See their website for more info. This event will be held at The James Gray Gallery at Bergamot station 2525 Michigan Ave from 1:00 pm till 6:00 pm and has a $10.00 admission fee. http://www.thinkla.org/.

The Happening Gallery who is having a Sunday afternoon opening reception of a group show, entitled “Naughty Baby”. The event runs from 1:00 pm till 4:00 pm and the address is 4047 Lincoln Blvd. at Washington Blvd in Marina Del Rey. Wine & tasty treats will be served. A portion of proceeds will benefit Clothes the Deal,
a non-profit organization that supplies clothes to the homeless so that they can re-enter the workforce. 310 305-ARTS; www.thehappeninggallery.com.

At 4:00 pm, stop by the summer sunset concert series at UCLA’s Fowler…it’s FREE. It will take place in their outdoor amphitheater. Groove to a lively mix of swing, classic jazz, bebop, funk and tap by THE DOWNTOWN PROJECT, including Paul E. Allen, Elijah Rock, and Clarence Allen.

You can park in lot 4 which is self parking and depending on how long you stay will be no more than $10.00. But be sure that you are in LOT 4. UCLA is located at Westwood Blvd and Sunset. See map for directions. http://bit.ly/cffSum.

Or in Venice, The Stefani Valadez Ensemble plays World Music Night at The Talking Stick Coffee Lounge 1411 Lincoln Blvd Venice 90291.
 

The Talking Stick offers delicious, reasonably priced salads, sandwiches, hummus & pita, tasty desserts, and an array of smoothies, coffees and teas in a cozy, family-friendly atmosphere.

Event runs from 7:00pm till 10:00pm. There is a $10.00 cover on this one, plus a one drink minimum. 310.450.6052; www.thetalkingstick.net; www.stefanivaladezmusic.com;