This Wednesday 7/18 "Conversations With the Artists" at Gallery 825

7/18/12 "Conversations with the Artists" at Gallery 825

Please join us at Gallery 825 on Wednesday, July 18 at 7pm for a special Conversations with the Artists panel discussion. Part of Los Angeles Art Association's ongoing ArtSpeak programming, this panel discussion will feature Brian Mallman, Peta Orbach and Valerie Wilcox as they discuss their current solo exhibitions. While at Gallery 825, be sure to check out Simulacrum, an all-media group exhibition exploring superficial likeness or image in contemporary culture, juried by Bennett Roberts of Roberts & Tilton. All exhibits run through July 20, 2012.

Simulacrum features work by Kireilyn Barber, Kelly Berg, J.T. Burke, Jolly de Guzman, Steve Fujimoto, Elyse Graham, Zig Gron, Scott Davis Jones, Krista Kahl, Teresa Lakier, Laura Larson, R. Dean Larson, Ryan McIntosh, Lisa Occhipinti, Miguel Osuna, Lola Ramona, Ann Marie Rousseau, Kuniko Ruch, Susan Sironi, Richard Slechta, Young Yun Summers, Vincent Tomczyk, Luke Van Hook, Cathy Weiss, Meeson Pae Yang and Mara Zaslove.

Brian Mallman's new series of drawings A bit too quiet are inspired by questions about how much responsibility those who enjoy freedom of speech have to those who are not equally free, and the special role that artists play in this conversation. Mallman addresses these issues through a series of figurative drawings. The artist uses gestural lines to represent the fear that causes people to refrain from speaking out, whether such fear is self-imposed or due to an outside force. Mallman's work elicits a simple question: As free people, are we doing enough?

Peta Orbach's paintings ALTER EGOS explore the appropriation of animals as secret identities or alter egos. Orbach's animals are icons stripped of their individuality and imbued with a visceral energy that transforms difficult and overwhelming human emotions into archetypes. Influenced by African masks and sculpture, Orbach's animals are used in the traditions of native peoples to tell stories. The animals in these paintings are anthropomorphic and each animal has a story to tell.

Valerie Wilcox's latest body of work, Marks in Motion blurs the line between drawing and sculpture and takes the viewer on a spontaneous journey through line, light and space. In the installation, each individual "mark" (or piece) communicates its distinctive gestural energy which gives it a unique life of its own. These marks play inventively with their own shadows which, when cast upon the wall, become two-dimensional representations of the original drawings. Together, all these elements become a collective force, suggesting a group migration that twists, turns, curls and bends in and around the space, engaging you in a whimsical, yet refined excursion to an unknown destination.

When: Wednesday, July 18 at 7pm (show runs through July 20)

Admission: Free

Where: Gallery 825 - 825 North La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069

For more information call 310.652.8272 or e-mail gallery825@laaa.org.

Top artwork by Peta Orbach, Brian Mallman and Valerie Wilcox.

Los Angeles Art Association (LAAA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide opportunities, resources, services and exhibition venues for emerging Los Angeles artists of all media. LAAA began as a civic art institution in the 1920s, connecting elite art interests to Hollywood collectors, emerging after World War II as the center of Los Angeles modernism and finally becoming the city's nexus for emerging artists of all media. LAAA serves as a dynamic force for contemporary ideas, outreach, and community. Gallery 825 and Los Angeles Art Association are located in the heart of La Cienega Boulevard's Restaurant Row at 825 North La Cienega Bl., Los Angeles, CA 90069. Gallery hours are 10am - 5pm, Tuesday - Saturday or by appointment. Please call 310.652.8272 or visit www.laaa.org.