Weekend Update...New Events added. Come enjoy the celebration at Seyhoun Gallery this Saturday for the Pick of the Week!

Don’t miss it….This Saturday is the PICK OF THE WEEK, the opening reception of Seyhoun Gallery’s group show in West Hollywood. 

Sona Mirzaei, an incredible artist, is one of the artists set to show in this group exhibition, curated by Maryam Seyhoun. This show will also feature works by Majid Arghavan, Banafsheh Beheshti, Neda Chaychi and Fahimeh Sorkhabi.

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. http://www.sonamirzaei.com/; http://www.seyhoungallery.net/

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

Mark your calendar... Two Great Events happening July 9th and 10th. See KTR Promo’s new Upcoming Events Page. 

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

Drop by South, for their “Friday Night Lights” (out door BBQ and live music).  Yummy happy hour too!  Starting at 3:00 pm and runs till 8:00 pm. South also offers drink specials. $3 beer, ($10.00 pitchers) and $5 wells, South is located at 3001 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90403. (310) 828-9988; http://southsantamonica.com/.

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. This event will also be happening tomorrow. (323) 934-7777; http://pancakesandbooze.com/

If you prefer Venice, Figtree’s Café features live music tonight at 5:00 pm. Fefe Lee, who plays for Los Pinguos, will be performing a solo set on guitar. Beatle songs are a big part of this repertoire. Show goes till 7:00 pm.

Figtree’s Café is known for their healthy delicious food, located right on the Venice boardwalk at 429 Ocean Front Walk Venice, at Paloma Ave, two blocks south of Rose. Figtree’s has been voted the best restaurant on the boardwalk since 1978. Figtree’s has a wonderful happy hour, Monday thru Friday and also has FREE delivery. 310 392-4937; www.figtreescafe.com; 

Or in Santa Monica, deyermond art + books will be having a special fundraising event which is FREE by the way. A portion of all book sales from the evening will benefit Room To Read,* so enjoy a drink, buy a book and indirectly help build a library!  

Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Event runs from deyermond art + books is located at 2801 Main Street, in Santa Monica 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm. http://www.roomtoread.org/; http://www.deyermondbooks.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/; http://www.sonamirzaei.com/

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're 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 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 will be having an opening reception for a group show, entitled “Life is just a Fantasy”.  

The Whole 9 is located at 6101 Washington Blvd,

Artist reception: 6:30 till 10:00 pm. Wine and refreshments served. 310 836-4601; http://thewhole9.com/

Indie Collective presents the closing reception of the Jenny Hager show and closing party for indie collective gallery (Yes this wonderful store and gallery is closing). 

Event runs 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

Keep on keepin’ on in Santa Monica at deyermond art + books, 2801 Main Street, who will be having an opening for California Soul, a new collection from Jay Kelly. Live DJ, Drinks and Great Art. http://www.jkfineart.com/; http://www.deyermondbooks.com/ 

How bout some music??? And it’s in Santa Monica….cool! Neonwest, will be doing an acoustic set starting at 8:30 pm (till 9:30 pm) at Bar Pico, located at: 2819 Pico Blvd between 28th and 29^th. These guys can rock out! Other bands will be playing as well Geoffrey J, etc. Check their website or call. FREE No Cover. 310.310.8872; http://www.neonwest.com/; http://www.barpico.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/.

Tentative line-up; schedule subject to change:(south to north)

Pier Ave: 1pm - Cubensis - The Grateful Dead Tribute; 3pm - Southbound (Allman Bros. tribute); 5pm - Surfin’ USA (Beach Boys tribute)

Kinney Ave: 1pm - Highway 61 Revisited (Dylan tribute); 3pm - Neil Deal (Neil Young tribute); 5pm - Petty Theft (Tom Petty tribute)

Wildflour Lot: (east side of Main, between Ashland & Hill) 1pm - Gilbert Hurricane - A Gary Gordon Tribute Band; 2pm - Ben Vaughn & The Lost Mind Ramblers; 3pm - The Ghouls

3:30pm - Helios Jive; 5:15pm - Elviss Simmons & The Memphis Strutters

New Orleans Bldg. Courtyard (presented by Agabhumi); 1pm - Mista Cookie Jar & The Chocolate Chips; 5pm - Bryan Titus

Museum Lawn (presented by The Basement), 2640 Main  3pm - The Devil’s Box; 4pm - City Fritter; 5pm - Dustbowl Revival; 6pm - The Get Down Boys

Edgemar Courtyard (2443 Main) 2:15pm - The Texas House Party; 4:30pm - Dr. Wu (Steely Dan tribute)

Elias Lot (NE corner Main & Strand, presented by Euphoria Loves RAWvolution) 1pm - Rock the Shakti with Micheline Berry, DJ Drez and Ensemble; 2pm - Breath of Life Tribe; 3pm - Rocky Dawuni; 3:45pm - Tom Freund; 5pm - Leftover Cuties; 6pm - Surprise Special Guest.

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.

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;

Special Tuesday Event for a great Cause

Tonight, June 28th, the 2nd Annual Thirst Gala honors “Twilight’s” Michael Welch. Actress Chyler Leigh (“Grey’s Anatomy”) will co-host this fundraiser along with MTV “Teen Wolf” actor JR Bourne live from the Beverly Hilton! The two have a long-standing friendship with each other and we’re excited to see what a unique experience the evening will be!

Be aware, there is a pricy ticket of $500.00. Also the event is almost completely filled. However any donations will be greatly appreciated. Check the website to find out more about this organization. To purchase tickets, email info@thirstproject.org Check out their video for more info http://www.vimeo.com/24783409

Brooke Harker, a fabulous artist has donated a piece of her art…..simply gorgeous. (See image) and read her below statement. Harker consistently contributes to wonderful causes. http://www.brookeharker.com/

Artist Statement: I painted "Rain Spirits" specifically as an offering for the Thirst Project. There is nothing complex about this painting...cobolt turquoise, water, and love. Although the style of this painting does not reflect my current body of work on the surface, I  often underlay oil paintings with acrylic drippy washes to help the colors in outer layers pop. On days when I paint washes in a few minutes, with no ego to create a finished product, the washes turns out beautiful...and then I paint over them. Working on "Rain Spirits" with the intention to give became trickier in moments and took longer because I had to deal with thoughts that came up in the process. I learned from the studies of Japanese scientist, Masuru Emoto that water does respond to the vibration of words, thoughts, music etc...so therefore, as an artist, I have deduced my own responsibility to be aware of my thoughts when working with paint and water. I would like to say that "Rain Spirits" is free of ego or any negative thoughts that could affect the paint...but that is not the case...I filled the under layers of this canvas with Japanese Reiki healing symbols, I said kind words, I made wishes for people that need water and gave thanks for those that make those dreams a reality, but I also questioned if I could be in a place in my own head that was pure enough to create a feeling of peace or healing for others...and if I couldn't was the gift I create still worthy of being given? Maybe art doesn't need to create those feelings...but I believe in that potential and the ability of color to aid healing. Turquoise represents the ability to express oneself and speak truth from the heart as it is combines energies from the heart chakra which is green and the throat chakra which is blue. According to Philippa Merivale, from Healing with Color, "Turquoise carries within it a reminder that everything is interconnected." I am honored to contribute to this event and thank the Thirst Project for being a voice for so many, speaking truth about water and for being part of a solution.