Ezra Brown's "Trying to Keep It Together."

Currently on view at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles, California is artist Ezra Brown's solo exhibition, "Trying to Keep It Together."

Using his signature ‘Happy the Clown’ as a reflection of himself, Brown depicts situations where the character is often quite the opposite of what his name suggests, using him to demonstrate coping with events in the world around us today. Leaning into the title, Trying to Keep it Together, Brown delves into the deeply relatable, exploring the feelings of overwhelm that come up on a day-to-day basis, whether it be preparing for a show or just trying to manage everyday life. 

“This is a love story gone wrong and unfortunately it has a tragic ending. I think we’ve all gone through traumatic experiences and this was an opportunity to show just how horrible things can get when we let our emotions get out of hand.”

Inspired by his love of Disney, Brown’s work has a childlike, nostalgic quality that evokes a positive feeling, no matter the subject matter. Underneath the style that brings out the kid in viewers, Brown urges attendees to use his work as a device to tap into their own feelings, and connect on an emotional level.

With a simple creative process fueled by his own emotions at the time, Brown creates work that is a window into his own emotions, serving as a visual diary in some instances. Driven by a desire to create pieces that he himself would buy, the collection is curated and cohesive.

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Caroline Weaver.

Opening on Saturday, April 1st, 2023 at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles, California is artist Caroline Weaver's solo exhibition, "A Gummy Wormhole."

Ushering viewers in, Weaver offers an invitation, explaining, “Your eyes land on a tossed wrapper, the stars align and you’re down the wormhole. Back in time, where 20 bucks lasted all night and proximity to your crush was life and death.”

With this collection she continues her color-fueled attempt to analyze our arcs of actuality, working to expand her view of the world through multiple disciplines and continued exploration.

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F CANCER

Opening on Saturday March 4th, 2023 at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles, California is the group exhibition "F CANCER."

From the gallery:

Our guiding light and gallery co-founder Shawn Hosner was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer and it has tossed our entire world upside down and into the air. She’s lovingly referred to as “gallery mom” and she means so much, to so many around the world.

Our fight has just begun and we want to be sure that every member of our extended family and all of our supporters around the world know of her fight and are sharing their good energy and prayers for her. We want to use her fight as a vehicle to also help others that are facing this horrible disease head on and fighting for their lives. 

All of us at the gallery have experienced the loss of friends and close loved ones over the years due to this dreaded disease and now that it has entered our home and is staring us directly in the face, we aim to do all we can to help spread awareness on early detection and what you can do to avoid this nightmare entering your life. F cancer!!!

Matthew Grabelsky's "Riders."

Currently on view with the Brand Library and Arts Center in Glendale, California and presented by Thinkspace Projects, is artist Matthew Grabelsky's solo exhibition, "Riders."

This new body of work continues my exploration of people with animal heads riding the New York City Subway, and in one case the London Tube. Each painting contains elements from pop culture (a magazine, a poster, a tattoo, a character in the background) which relate to the specific animal, creating a series of humorous tableaux. With a realistically rendered and highly detailed oil painting technique, my goal is to create the effect of looking at a scene on the subway as if it were a diorama at a natural history museum. The images present richly detailed moments frozen in time allowing the viewer to closely inspect every element and make connections between them to read an overall story. In this world, people are transformed into part-animal to create scenes that are strange, funny, and endearing.

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Yasuhito Kawasaki's "Hello Bear-Chan!"

Currently on view at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles, California is artist Yasuhito Kawasaki's debut North American solo exhibition, "Hello Bear-Chan!"

Deftly working with both paintings and ceramics, Kawasaki is experiencing a meteoric rise with collectors around the world. Using a casting technique he has honed over years of work, he is known for his trademark sculptures of innocent looking children. While the visuals vary, each is a self-portrait, drawing on some element of himself.

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"Into the Wild"

Currently on view at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles, California until February 25th, 2023 is the group exhibition "Into the Wild" curated by City of Talents.

In collaboration with City of Talents, Thinkspace Projects presents 'Into the Wild' in Gallery II. The group exhibition is curated by Jean Claude Geraud, the founder of City of Talents, Toulouse, a contemporary and urban art agency. Featuring new works from Clémentine Bal, Humbly, Diren Lee, Jade Kim, Kwang Hyun Kim, Mackcha, Keigo Nakamura, and Byun Sehee, the group exhibition unites the works of artists from all around the world. Full of childhood memories, nostalgia, vivid colors, and forgotten worlds, the artists compliment and juxtapose each other in pursuit of a complete experience. From Bal’s whimsical sculpted characters to Nakamura’s existentialist paintings, the show is full of diverse representations of innocence and youth.

City of Talents is a contemporary and urban art agency ran by Jean Claude Geraud in Toulouse, France that champions young contemporary artists, with a focus on the rapidly developing Asian scene.

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Noritoshi Mitsuuchi's "Phenomenon."

Currently on view at Thinkspace Projects until February 25th, 2023 is artist Noritoshi Mitsuuchi's must see solo exhibition, "Phenomenon."

Resembling children’s drawings, or, perhaps more accurately, an adult’s interpretation of a child’s imagination, Mitsuuchi taps into the aspects of youth that often fall away with the responsibilities of adulthood. Drawing heavily on the inspiration of pop culture and ancient art, Mitsuuchi creates work reminiscent of Japanese folklore and European fairy tales.

“I create art that stimulates the viewer’s memory and imagination by focusing on beauty that may be subtle, yet surely exists in the vast history of art.”

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Mr. B Baby's "The Show Must Go On."

Currently on view at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles, California is artist Mr. B Baby's solo exhibition, "The Show Must Go On."

A Latina born and raised in San Diego, California, Michelle Ruby, aka Mr. B Baby, uses elements of her heritage as an inspiration for her striking and lively art work. By combining vibrant colors with traditional imagery, Michelle is able to uplift her audience and intrigue her viewers. The artist's aims to bring happiness and joy to her collectors and community, while also having stronger messages intertwined, all of which are open to the viewer's interpretation.

Mr. B Baby's work explores the relationship between Mexican folk art and children's books. Her artwork is a whimsical twist, combining the cultural world with a playful, colorful touch.

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Kristy Moreno's "Matter of Survival."

Currently on view at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles, California is artist Kristy Moreno's solo exhibition, "Matter of Survival."

"Matter of Survival" focuses on the imagined personas of radicalized future ancestors. Moreno's hand crafted ceramic forms are of fictional characters often resembling feminine personalities paused in space and time. Moreno examines the essence of these future communities through the use of body languages and attitudes to further explore themes of rage, empathy and curiosity. 

“Individualizing these characters grants me the freedom to be curious about the influences they might have inherited from past societies, as I try to observe how the past often shapes future worlds" Moreno explains. "I’d like to imagine that these future ancestors survived by decolonizing their way out of patriarchal systems. They are no longer conditioned to believe that they have to live in someone else’s reality that is deemed worthy of living.”

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Nika Mtwana.

Phenomenal, empowering surrealist and futuristic portraits by South African artist Nika Mtwana.

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Reen Barrera’s “Children of Divorce.”

Currently on view at Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum in Mesa, Arizona and presented by Thinkspace Projects is artist Reen Barrera’s solo exhibition, “Children of Divorce.”

Reens shares:

“There is an idiom that says “it’s written all over your face,” which gave me an idea that regardless of what we say, our true feelings can still be emancipated by our facial expressions. For me, it’s a silent way of communicating something without noise. It’s where I find the inspiration to literally remember those facial expressions and create artwork out of it. This mix of facial expressions with different symbols and patterns have led to the development of characters known as “ohlala” dolls.

We humans have the same mold. We all have the same attributes. What differentiates us is the circumstances that we were born into. And one thing that I want to emphasize is the amount of detail each ohlala artwork has. Like humans, some have little while some have more.

In many of my works, I discreetly take on socio-economic classes. Some people are born rich, some are born middle class, some are born poor. But the common ground for everyone is, we all have to deal with it.

I cover all the Ohlala dolls heads with canvas cloth to give a freedom to paint their own symbols on their heads; as if they are designing their own fate. I guess that’s what we all have in common; the power to make things happen for ourselves.

Acrylic, oil, and aerosol paint are my choice of medium in painting. Many times, I let accidents like drips, smudges and splatter help me to decipher what to do next. I start with very loose abstract figures to overcome the fear of an empty canvas staring at me.

In this collection of work, I try to become as personal as possible, using ohlala as my main character to depict some of my experiences that led me to where I am right now as an artist.”

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Giorgiko’s “Dark Matter” at Mesa Contemporary Arts.

Currently on view at the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum in Mesa, Arizona and presented by Thinkspace Projects is artistic duo Giorgiko’s solo exhibition, “Dark Matter.”

“Dark Matter” explores the invisible forces behind the decisions we make and the narratives we create. The dark matter hypothesis proposes that 85% of all matter in the universe is unseen. Astronomers have observed that galaxies seemingly do not have enough mass to account for the gravitational forces needed to hold them together in clusters. However, there is evidence of a nearly undetectable, or “dark” matter that generates binding forces in the universe while remaining a complete mystery.

In their new body of work, the artist duo Giorgiko play with the idea that a significant percentage of our lives may be made of a different “dark matter”, one of untold stories, hidden agendas, and powerful feelings; which plays an equally significant force on our lives and our relationships with others. With so much unknown, what is perceived with the senses may only reveal a part of the story. Through seven oil paintings and 13 special edition sculptures, Giorgiko invites viewers to consider what we really know, what we don’t, and the mystery that holds us all together when, theoretically, we should be flying apart.

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Erik Mark Sandberg’s “Golden Pacific.”

Currently on view at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles, California is artist Erik Mark Sandberg’s solo exhibition, “Golden Pacific.”

“Golden Pacific” consists of six paintings, four etchings, and two monoprints, each offering an idealized sunset-bathed surreality. The uncanny nature of the paintings allows for ambiguity within the pictorial codes loosely themed around daily recreational activities, love in the modern age, or the ersatz reality of the digital realm.

“I am interested in suggestions and the transaction between the environment and the individual,” explains Sandberg. “The sky color gradations in this body of work speak to a momentary idealism evoking pause, much like the shared impulse to photograph a slow-moving sunset. This new series of paintings also employed an increased level of detail and craft, which was an ideological choice to express the nuanced figurative portrayals in relation to the influences that govern them.”

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The Perez Brothers’s “Cruise Night 2.”

Opening on Saturday, August 6th, 2022 at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles, California is The Perez Brothers’s solo exhibition, “Cruise Night 2.”

Southern California is indisputably a hub of culture. With so many influences and interests it can be difficult to encapsulate, but The Perez Brothers have mastered just that. It is their understanding of LA, particularly the lowrider culture, that has generated such buzz and drawn fans into their world, eagerly awaiting more. A perfect example of collaboration down to the creation of the work itself, the identical twin brothers paint side by side, embodying the carefree spirit of the city while honing in on shocking emotional depth. With so much commitment to the city and such an understanding of its cultural history, it makes perfect sense that Thinkspace and The Perez Brothers would come together once again, two LA mainstays working together to leave an imprint on the cityscape.

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Nicola Caredda’s “Don’t Trust Anyone Over 30.”

Currently on view at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles, California is artist Nicola Caredda’s solo exhibition, “Don’t Trust Anyone Over 30.”

Caredda creates a free world where anything can happen, a new dimension in which everyone can choose their own direction even if it may be wrong or even lead to self-destruction. Where adults see danger and leave warning signs, Caredda sees freedom in its truest form, portraying possibility and fulfillment. Caredda’s works are a commentary on the restrictions of adult life, bringing viewers into a layered and complex place.

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