This year, I walked with ghost hunters, admired Ikea-framed art, talked masculinity with queer bikers, gazed through Frida Kahlo's eyes, discovered Christianity's less-than-respectful attitude toward animals, reawakened to the dangers of nuclear energy, and was thrilled that much of the work I loved was created or curated by women. In this wrap-up of 2014, I list the 10 best exhibitions and eye the 10 most intriguing ones coming in 2015.
10 BEST ART SHOWS OF 2014
1. “Julia Klemek, Artist: Tribute” at Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion. This loving retrospective to the late OCC instructor was the perfect momento mori.
2. “Elizabeth Turk: Sentient Forms” at Laguna Art Museum. Curator Grace Kook Anderson hits a home run with her last show at LAM, demystifying the stunning process of our favorite local sculptor.
3. “SARKISIAN & SARKISIAN” at Orange County Museum of Art. Too much creativity in one family, with this father/son exhibition curated by Dan Cameron containing surprises around every corner.
4. “Seeing the Invisible: Life On the Street” at Cal State Fullerton's Begovich Gallery. Homeless advocate Joanne Mace's fiery activist agenda was in perfect balance with her refined taste in art.
5. “Miracle Report” at Grand Central Art Center. Julianne Swartz and Ken Landauer's brilliantly conceived use of storytelling as the most evocative of arts, with spirituality as its most taboo subject.
6. “Salo Island” at Contemporary Arts Center Gallery. Artist Yoshua Okon's video installation was a neat introduction to the work (and murder) of filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini, as well as a nifty backhand to the politics behind Fashion Island.
7. “Wind House, Abode That a Breath Effaced” at Grand Central Art Center. Flora Kao documents the grimy dissolution of an American Dream, under curator Yevgeniya Mikhailik's watchful eye.
8. “Chuck Jones: Doodles of a Genius” at Bowers Museum. Jones' widow opened up her enthralling archive of his surreal scribbles . . . and the mind reels with joy.
9. Maya Beiser at Santa Ana Sites. The cellist's commanding performance of classic rock was the place to be last September, with a who's-who of local art dignitaries in attendance.
10. TIE: POPzilla's “The Burton Show” and 3tArts' “Moon Crisis: A Tribute to Sailor Moon” at Rothick Art Haus. Puts the banhammer to any haters suggesting fan art is anything less than vital to our pop-culture hearts.
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10 MOST INTRIGUING
ART SHOWS OF 2015
Listed in no particular order . . .
“The 1968 Exhibit” at Bowers Museum. A multimedia touring exhibit exploring the most important year in history, a year that included the Tet Offensive, the assissinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the My Lai Massacre, and the Chicago Democratic National Convention protests. 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana, (714) 567-3600; www.bowers.org. June 14-Sept. 14.
“DUDES 2” at F+ Gallery. Six artists who developed their styles in and around the SoCal surf, skate and punk-rock undergrounds. 661 N. Poinsettia St., Santa Ana, (714) 493-9430; www.fplusgallery.com. Open through Jan. 17.
“Lost In Found: One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure” at Konsept Art Collective. All we know is it opens June 6; it's a group show; and the curator is Christopher Chin. The title suggests found objects, and we love art made from junk. www.facebook.com/konseptproject.
The Living Room Talks at Great Park Gallery at the Palm Court Arts Complex. The first Sunday afternoon of every month, Kevin Staniec leads casual discussions with artists, entrepreneurs and people who like to talk about art, business and collaboration. We've long wished a salon-type atmosphere existed, and this may be it, with smart people talking about smart stuff. www.ocgp.org/visit/palm-court-arts-complex.
SANTA ANA SITES #7: Ate9 dANCE cOMPANY at Santora Building. Critically acclaimed dance company Ate9, called “one of Los Angeles' hottest cultural commodities,” will perform the world premiere of their site-specific piece, Queen George. Brimming with dance, visual art and custom-made furniture (!?!), the piece features dancers in duets throughout the gallery, while private rooms will feature one-on-one dance performances. 207 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. Jan. 17. Free reservations available via Sa***********@gm***.com.
“Alien She” at Orange County Museum of Art. A touring production of the effect Riot Grrrl's punk feminism had on seven female artists, featuring more than 900 objects and an overview of two decades. 850 San Clemente Dr., Newport Beach, (949) 759-1122; www.ocma.net. Feb. 15-May 17.
POPzilla presents “Time After Time,” a tribute to Back to the Future, and 3tArts presents “Spirit of the Wind,” a tribute to animator Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli, at Rothick Art Haus. 170 S. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim, (714) 829-8283; www.rothick.com. “Time After Time,” May 9; “Spirit of the Wind,” Aug. 8.
Hibbleton Film Series. The Fullerton gallery's programmer, Steve Elkins, says that, in the next six months, he's planning “months devoted to cinema from Mongolia . . . Kazakhstan, Latin America, Czech Republic and Slovakia, and the Balkans . . . Andrei Tarkovsky and Chris Marker.” Sounds good to us. 223 W. Santa Fe Ave., Fullerton, (714) 420-8524; hibbleton.com.
Exhibit in conjunction with Brit Week at Long Beach City College Gallery. Former Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion curator (and one of our favorite Brits) Trevor Norris has taken over LBCC Gallery, with Orange Coast College's loss becoming LBCC's gain. It's to be a celebration of “creativity and innovation” between the U.S. and the U.K.—featuring U.K. artists Derek Boshier, James Scott, Philip Vaughan, William Ellis, Angie Stimson, Rachel Finkelstein and more. 4901 E. Carson St., Ste. K-100, Long Beach, (562) 938-4815; www.facebook.com/LBCCArtGallery. April 2-23.
Dave Barton has written for the OC Weekly for over twenty years, the last eight as their lead art critic. He has interviewed artists from punk rock photographer Edward Colver to monologist Mike Daisey, playwright Joe Penhall to culture jammer Ron English.
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