Located in the Grove neighborhood, east of Kingshighway on Manchester, White Flag Projects is a not-for-profit alternative art space that was established to facilitate quality exhibitions by progressive local, national and international artists.
The art space itself is an impressive and dramatic 2,000 square feet with ceiling heights ranging from 15 to 22 feet. There are massive north-facing windows and 12-foot skylights that allow gorgeous natural light, polished concrete floors and a custom-made spiral staircase leading to a second-floor reading, viewing and lounge area. This space will be appreciated by every gallery lover and art connoisseur.
In its third exhibition, White Flag Projects presents modular: New Art from Los Angeles, curated by Dana Turkovic and featuring work by Hollis Cooper, Danny Jauregui, Nicole van Beek, Louisa Van Leer, Kevin Wingate and Bari Ziperstein. These are six emerging artists living and working in Los Angeles and exploring the city’s radically fragmented visual culture. One prong of this exhibition’s concept is to show work actually set in the city of Los Angeles, creating a constant underpinning formed by the city itself. The artists do not know each other, so the work remains socially separated yet still forms a visually interrelated and whole presentation.
Some of the 13 works in modular: New Art from Los Angeles hearken back to the Bauhaus by utilizing simple construction methods and less expensive materials that form modern, interlocking designs that are, in some cases, disposable. There is an emphasis on materials such as vinyl, plywood and composite aluminum used mainly in the formal basis of the grid. Turkovic refers to this work as being in the modular style, exploiting geometry and blending furniture design, biology and architectural structures to create deceptively complex art. A thematic component to the work in this exhibit that distinguishes it from the Bauhaus influence is a constant theme of deconstruction and decomposition, or construction and composition. This theme touches each piece with a spectacular vitality, suggesting that each piece is never stagnant.
The 2006 “Ruin” series by Danny Jauregui in modular: New Art from Los Angeles is composed of five ash and graphite drawings on paper. These are pure black-and-white line drawings that show a geometric form decomposing in varying viewpoints. Almost mimicking the appearance of mechanical drawings, Jauregui’s “Ruin” drawings are fresh and vital with a gestalt aesthetic that somehow manages to look brand new.
Nicole van Beek’s sculpture greets the gallery visitor at the door. The intriguing “Aether” (2006; inkjet print, resin, wood, aluminum, sand) is a free-standing sculpture of realistic arms and hands pouring a stream of liquid from a hand-held glass into a three-dimensional, geometric base. Clever and witty, this piece is sharp and crisp as well as perfectly constructed.
“Parallax” (2006; mixed media on PVC) by Hollis Cooper literally splashes and spills onto the wall and floor of White Flag’s space. Cartoon-colorful and wildly animated, this large and sprawling non-representational piece commands attention with bubbling outlined color blocks that begin with cool blues, then follows the color spectrum to end with hot fluorescent pinks and reds. As lyrical and vibrant as music, “Parallax” is also technically fabulous. As with many of the pieces in modular: New Art from Los Angeles, Cooper’s scintillating “Parallax” could be either decomposing or composing. Whichever, this work is in full-tilt progress.
Overall, modular: New Art from Los Angeles is a very good exhibition at a fabulous new venue. White Flag Projects has chosen an ambitious course, and modular: New Art from Los Angeles does not disappoint.