25th Presence Almanac by Elliott Desai

PRESENCE ALMANAC 25TH

by Elliott Desai

FOR THE A DVA NC E M E N T OF ARTS & CULTURE I wake up every morning and I’m grateful to live another day of my life. Even during cloudy skies and rainy nights, this mindset continues to flow.

In every moment, we can feel all things and events as the same “one energy.” Even right now, this whimsical spirit is unfolding in front of us in various ways.

How we play with a day is how we engage with the whole world, and I believe there’s stability in expression.

Through artwork, we can see this energy expressed in every direction. Artwork as harnessed attention and embodiments of presence...

I’m not in a rush or a hurry. There’s nowhere I “have to” be. I’m simply experiencing infinite possibilities in each moment and my joy-of-being is steering the way. This perspective is how I live life, and existing to be creates a cool ease in my actions.

The entire universe experiencing itself through each of us... “self-expression” from the same source... and the illusion of separate selves begins to fade away. So who are you when living a life of bliss?

Are you free to be yourself? Free to dream?

Who are you uninhibited and without exasperation?

Free to express without conforming to others?

Who are you in abundance?

Free of beliefs that overcome your peace?

I’m an artist infinitely photographing the world and documenting existence. I’m a vehicle for the present moment and I’m creating beautiful, visual experiences.

I naturally contribute to the world in an artful way, and my choices sprout from a positive vision for living. Many think it’s improbable to exist like this... to be, to freely create and to express ourselves. Yet the visual artists featured in these pages are examples of people doing just that. All of these artworks are expressions of being. This publication is an expression of being. In fact, this entire engagement is a symbol of being.

I have faith in the unknown… and I’m sharing where I’ve been and what I see. This is my existence without adherence to identities... this is my existence as an inquisitive and curious human being. I truly am being... and reflecting life and art through these pages is a core part of my spiritual practice. So for this 25th Presence Almanac, here are the artworks that absorbed my attention during the last two weeks of January:

HOLLYWOOD

WEST HOLLYWOOD

Naoki Sutter-Shudo’s End of Thinking Capacity is on view at Gaga & Reena Spaulings LA until February 17.

Jessica Eaton‘s Mariphasa lupina lumina is on view at M+B through February 17.

Seven “Critical Figures” face a wall of 12 paintings, each attempting to look composed while constructed from wind-up metronomes. This show is Naoki’s view of the art criticism landscape, its fixation on ‘big paintings’ and the limitations placed on both artists and writers.

Jessica explores “the boundaries and speculative possibilities of human vision”, studying the effects of custom solarization techniques to pull pictorial information to extremes and create these selectively inverted images of flowers.

William Brickel’s Was It Ever Fair. is on view at Michael Kohn Gallery through March 2.

Peter Mohall’s Smultronställen is on view at Nino Mier Gallery through February 17.

A new collection of large-scale figurative paintings and works on paper. I found myself drawn to the postures in these depictions of himself and see an unfolding story emerge in the stillness of these moments and gestures.

These colorful landscapes are “sites of contemplation” and I immediately loved seeing them in person. Peter employs his signature cast swatches to “destabilize the narrative cohesion of each painting” and I’m really intrigued by the abstract textures in each work.

Jónsi’s Vox closed on February 3 at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery and was an immersive light exhibition visualizing the human voice. The viewer is surrounded by four LED screens that pulsate with distorted and computerized sounds - a sensation you could feel throughout your whole body. The room was also scented with earthy fragrances, playing on Jónsi’s fascination with “listening by means of sight, smell, taste, and touch.” Signal To Noise is a group exhibition at Diane Rosenstein Gallery through February 17. My favorite works are made by Kenwyn Crichlow, Kyle Kilty, Sean McGaughey, Jean Nagai, and JPW3 and this show is curated by Michael Slenske. With so much information competing for our attention, our signals (truth) must be stronger to survive the gap between what we know and what we think we know (noise). Cristina Iglesias’s ELLIPSIS closed on January 27 at Marian Goodman Gallery and featured The Pavillion of Dreams (Elliptical Galaxy), a suspended structure of lattice screens made from iron braided wire to resemble a labyrinthine passageway. Purple light casts shadows around the room to illustrate emotional states, reveal societal anxieties, and unveil fragments of text in the sculpture’s ceiling and walls reinforcing the notion of a living landscape.

MID-WILSHIRE Karyn Lyons’s The End of the Night is on view at Anat Ebgi through March 2. These paintings are a “remembrance, or even a goodbye to those unbridled moments of girlhood” and visualize Karyn’s fondness for the “exciting and disturbing emotional currents that charge adolescence.” Sébastien Léon’s A Crack in My Cosmic Egg and Golnaz Payani’s On the Other Side of the Wall are on view at Praz-Delavallade through February 15. Sébastien explores layers of the psyche and the “energy of waking dreams” to create allegories for existence. He is inspired by da Vinci, surrealist artists, and “magic as not only real, but as a way of life.” Golnaz grew up in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq war and was obliged to wear a veil at the age of 15, transforming her relationship with multicolored pieces of fabric into “objects of oppression and burden.” These wool and silk works deal with themes of trace and disappearance. Sam Gilliam: The Last Five Years is presented at David Kordansky Gallery through March 3. Sam’s practice is a perpetual survey of his own artmaking, “each work becoming a reassessment and reconsideration of everything that came before.”

The tondos are a tension between “hardedged and expressive approaches to composition” and the watercolors are made without brushes to allow these materials to pursue their own course. His works embody moment-to-moment presence and faith in art as “a human endeavor that changes the world.” Sam created with improvisational freedom and the Drape paintings symbolize “radical, inclusive, and challenging ways of being together.” FASHION DISTRICT Lily Ramirez’s Suddenly, I will play my ace is on view at Simchowitz through February 17. Lily explores “themes of family relationships, friendship, revenge, abandonment, and the underlying loneliness prevalent in our daily lives.” In these oil stick drawings, Lily depicts multifaceted chambers of adolescence and everyday moments of ceaseless dialogue. Ivy Haldeman’s The Agreement, The Fool, and The Storm and John Rivas’s Que Haces Vos? Yo Pinto are on view at François Ghebaly through February 17. Ivy’s Cuffs are an interpretation of the “handshake as a symbol of political theater and collective stakes” and “the sociopolitical condition of individual responsibility.” John’s mixed-media works are an experimentation with repurposed materials and an homage to his cultural identity as a first generation Salvadoran American. Barrão’s Stuck Rhyme, Wanda Koop’s Objects of Interest and Ben Tong’s The Violet Hour are on view at Night Gallery through March 9. Barrão limits his materials to “ceramics he can source in the antique markets or junks shop” of Rio de Janeiro and objects accumulated since the early 2000s. These absurdist sculptures are collaged together with epoxy resin, “saving these ornaments from obsolescence.” Wanda presents a wide range of works in this solo show, and I’m intrigued by her approach to creating works. Starting from small sketches, these paintings are a blending of multiple scenes and emerge from her mind’s eye. In her own words, “it’s much more interesting if it somehow looks like it painted itself.”

Ben is influenced by the Californian atmosphere, and his paintings are an entanglement between light and shadows. Their luminous glow is a wash of various oil paints to achieve purple, orange, and pink hues. TEN YEARS is a group exhibition at Wilding Cran Gallery through March 2. My favorite works are made by Fran Siegel, Lindsay Preston Zappas, and Thomas Linder and this show celebrates artists who have been part of the gallery’s programming since 2014. Considering January is a group exhibition of textile art at Patricia Sweetow Gallery through February 17. My favorite pieces are made by Uma Rani Lyli, Liv Aanrud, and Lia Porto - calling attention to “the actuality of the material world, speculations on time, myth, and sensuality,” and framing creative liberation as critical for the new year. DISEMBODIED is a group exhibition at Nicodim Gallery through February 17. Qian Qian, Isabelle Albuquerque, and Rae Klein stood out as the show addresses allegorical and tangible disembodied states, touching on conversations around “ecstasy and epiphany in out-out-body experiences.” ARTS DISTRICT Inner Links is a group show at Art Share L.A. on view through February 24. I recall seeing Nia Simone’s work at a previous event and immediately recognized her paintings, and I really love the texture of Paul Juno‘s paintings and his portfolio of public art pieces.

Published FEBRUARY 9, 2024 | NEW MOON Sincerely, Elliott Desai

H O L LY W O O D

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Gaga & Reena Spaulings LA

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Michael Kohn Gallery

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Diane Rosenstein Gallery

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery

WEST HOLLYWOOD

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of M+B

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Nino Mier Gallery

MID-WILSHIRE

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Anat Ebgi

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Praz-Delavallade

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy CourtesyofofShulamit Praz-Delavallade Nazarian

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Praz-Delavallade

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery

FASHION DISTRICT

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Simchowitz Gallery

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of François Ghebaly

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Night Gallery

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Wilding Cran Gallery

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Patricia Sweetow Gallery

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Nicodim Gallery

ARTS DISTRICT

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Art Share L.A.

Photo by Elliott Desai

HOLLYWOOD

WEST HOLLYWOOD

Gaga & Reena Spaulings LA 6916 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038 gagareena.com

M+B 612 N Almont Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90069 mbart.com

William Brickel Was It Ever Fair. January 20 - March 2, 2024 kohngallery.com/brickel

Peter Mohall Smultronställen January 5 - February 17, 2024 petermohall.com

Michael Kohn Gallery 1227 Highland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038 kohngallery.com

Nino Mier Gallery 7277 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90046 miergallery.com

Jónsi Vox November 11, 2023 - February 3, 2024 tanyabonakdargallery.com/artists/41-jonsi

MID-WILSHIRE

Tanya Bonakdar Gallery 1010 Highland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038 tanyabonakdargallery.com

Karyn Lyons The End of the Night January 27 - March 2, 2024 anatebgi.com/artists/karyn-lyons

Signal to Noise January 13 – February 17, 2024

Anat Ebgi 6150 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048 anatebgi.com

Naoki Sutter-Shudo End of Thinking Capacity January 13 - February 17, 2024 naokisuttershudo.com

Kenwyn Crichlow Kyle Kilty Sean McGaughey Jean Nagai JPW3 Diane Rosenstein Gallery 831 Highland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038 dianerosenstein.com

Cristina Iglesias ELLIPSIS January 13 - February 17, 2024 mariangoodman.com/artists/cristina-iglesias Marian Goodman Gallery 1120 Seward St, Los Angeles, CA 90038 mariangoodman.com

Jessica Eaton Mariphasa lupina lumina January 20 - February 17, 2024 mbart.com/artists/139-jessica-eaton

Golnaz Payani On the Other Side of the Wall January 13 - February 15, 2024 praz-delavallade.com/artist/golnaz-payani Sébastien Léon A Crack in My Cosmic Egg January 13 - February 15, 2024 sebleon.com Praz-Delavallade 6150 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048 praz-delavallade.com

MID-WILSHIRE

Sam Gilliam Sam Gilliam: The Last Five Years January 13 - March 3, 2024 davidkordanskygallery.com/artist/sam-gilliam David Kordansky Gallery 5130 W Edgewood Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90019 davidkordanskygallery.com

FASHION DISTRICT Lily Ramírez Suddenly, I will play my ace January 13 - February 17, 2024 simchowitz.com/artists/lily-ramirez

FASHION DISTRICT TEN YEARS January 20 - March 2, 2024 Fran Siegel Lindsay Preston Zappas Thomas Linder Wilding Cran Gallery 1700 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90021 wildingcran.com

Considering January January 20 – February 17, 2024 Uma Rani Lyli Liv Aanrud Lia Porto

Simchowitz Gallery 727 East Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90021 simchowitz.com

Patricia Sweetow Gallery 1700 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90021 patriciasweetowgallery.com

Ivy Haldeman The Agreement, The Fool, and The Storm January 13 - February 17, 2024 ghebaly.com/work/ivy-haldeman

DISEMBODIED January 20 – February 17, 2024

John Rivas Que Haces Vos? Yo Pinto January 13 - February 17, 2024 johnrivasstudios.com François Ghebaly 2245 E Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90021 ghebaly.com

Barrão Stuck Rhyme January 20 - March 9, 2024 nightgallery.ca/exhibitions/barrao Wanda Koop Objects of Interest January 20 - March 9, 2024 nightgallery.ca/artists/wanda-koop Ben Tong The Violet Hour January 20 - March 9, 2024 nightgallery.ca/exhibitions/ben-tong Night Gallery 2050 Imperial St, Los Angeles, CA 90021 nightgallery.ca

Qian Qian Isabelle Albuquerque Rae Klein Nicodim Gallery 1700 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90021 nicodimgallery.com

ARTS DISTRICT Inner Links December 16, 2023 - February 24, 2024 Nia Simone Paul Juno Art Share L.A. 801 E 4th Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90013 artsharela.org/event/inner-links

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