Fleurette West sits on the patio of the house she lives in. She eats a bowl full of fresh fruit as she casually reads over an issue of Slake that she found while cleaning. She doesn’t live far from Figueroa Street in Highland Park and very much enjoys the part of town that she’s found herself in. The neighborhood and city have had a large influence on her work as a painter, too.
“I feel pushed by the city and I feel like my art, in a sense, is pushing the city back. I’m not sure if that’s okay, though,” she says. “I’ve lived in Highland Park for a few years now and, at this point, I feel engaged enough with this community to make art about it. Whereas, a few years ago when I first moved here I felt like I wasn’t quite in that position. I am saying something about these spaces–and it is critical. It is not necessarily negative–but it is critical. As artists, we have a responsibility to make sure we own what we say.”
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Weekend before Coachella, eh? Well, why don’t we all cram every fucking thing in the world in this weekend! Literally: everything is happening this weekend. We thought Los Angeles would be having a chilled out weekend! Nope: the exact opposite. You’re going to need to know how to navigate this weekend. So, CHECK THE RECAP!!
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Samuel Bayer currently has a huge show happening at the Beverly Hills Ace Gallery that sees a series of his giant photos of dissected women thrown up onto walls to watch viewers. The artist is one of those types who has had both artistic and commercial success, balancing both worlds fairly well. He’s certainly an interesting guy whose work is very high gloss and “pretty.” Bayer sat down for a little video to promote his current show where he explains his process and art pursuit and the relationship between making art for art’s sake and making art for cash, which he insists is totally artistic too.
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Super established Santa Monica Blvd art destination New Image Art has a new exciting something that takes them out of their gallery and into your homes: they’ve stepped into the fashion world in a very simple way. The gallery reamed up with the music brand and general creative group Opus Label to release Icon Tee, a brand that sees many of the popular New Image artists and places their work quite simply on apparel. We definitely see these becoming quite a thing, especially since the gallery is so close to that strip of Fairfax where art and street wear collide in such interesting ways.
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You know those people that make life better? The people who, not only live with intention, but seem to craft their very existence. They bring life, energy and creativity into the world, inspiring others to do the same. I have recently taken on the task of finding these gems in Los Angeles. The diamonds in the rough who help fuel the art and industry of the beautiful city we all live in.
Today is my first venture into their world, finding what inspires them and what they love about LA. I could think of no one more fitting than Los Angeles Leather Crafts very own Mitzi Guidry to start the process.
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