#thinkspace

[jolenelaiart]

'Secret Garden', my new solo exhibition is opening tonight at Thinkspace Projects! Here's a look at the first oil painting also titled 'Secret Garden' that spurred the entire series of this solo.

It took me a while to complete this particular piece because of all that intricate detail around the figure. I first documented the actual background three years ago. It was someone's front entrance to their home which I couldn't really see because of all those trees. I would imagine what their house looked like or who lived in it. I walked by this place too many times and eventually allowed it to creep onto my canvas.

So here's 'Secret Garden', an oil on wood panel that came about from my curiosity and my recapping of fragments from both novels 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Secret Garden'.

If you're in Los Angeles, please check out the exhibition that just officially opened at Thinkspace , snap a picture and tag me if you find this painting 🌿

For folks who won't be able to attend, the online preview of the show is now available at Thinkspace's website or visit link here for easy access.

[fairfieldthinkspace]

Easter tells us to embrace the fullness of our humanity

Rev. Paul K. Rourke, S.J.

Vice President for Mission and Ministry

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me…

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

-John Donne

I find comfort in these defiantly hopeful words from one of Donne’s “Holy Sonnets,” which I first read as a high school freshman. Since last Easter, death has been a persistent and menacing addition to my year. Unexpectedly, I lost my brother, John, last June. Over the last few months, I have lost a friend to a violent carjacking and two Jesuit brothers dear to me and the whole Fairfield University and Prep community: Frs. Charlie Allen, S.J., and Jim Bowler, S.J.  I loved and looked up to all these men, and miss them terribly. Death has robbed and humbled me, but I no longer feel in the mood to be deferential.  With Donne I feel defiant, and following his example, I say, “Death, I’ve had enough of you!” Surely, Easter is a time for all of us to join in defying death. For our Jewish brothers and sisters, too, the Passover commemorates the Lord’s deliverance of his people from death. The Angel of Death did not claim the first-born of the Chosen People or defeat the Lord’s covenant, but freed the People of Israel from bondage.

The Paschal Mystery the Church celebrates in the Easter Triduum defies death in a singular way: instead of sanitizing or ignoring it, death is confronted head-on and elevated just as it is consigned to oblivion: gory, ignominious death becomes forever the sacrament of our salvation, a reality utterly transformed and transforming. The Risen Jesus is a Wounded Jesus, but his wounds no longer define his destiny: they led to his death, but the Son of God has given them their ultimate meaning: marks of death’s ultimate powerlessness and proof that he will never abandon his humanity. 

Whether or not we have tasted much death in our lives, we, too, are wounded in a world simultaneously infatuated with, and in denial of, death. If the news out of Ukraine or Israel and Gaza have not wounded us with grief, then death has wounded us even more grievously: with stony hearts. However we are wounded, Easter tells us to embrace the fullness of our humanity as Jesus did (his own and ours). The voice of Death tells us to fear our weakness and hide our wounds in shame, but Jesus reminds us that God wants to raise, transform, and glorify every part of us, not just the parts we are proud of. He wants to do the same for all of us, and we are commanded to embrace the wounded brothers and sisters all around us with sacrificial love. When we hide from their pain, or ignore their dignity, we keep our tomb closed with the stone of indifference.

When we defy death and embrace the fullness of life God offers (in ourselves and each other), Easter becomes more than another day on the calendar: it becomes the center and meaning of every day.  When that happens, we can say in the same joyful confidence of Donne’s poem, “Death, thou shalt die.”

Image by Freepik

[michael-gates-pottery-blog]

[longlistshort]

The Mangrove Refuge (The Vorasane Family and Friends; Gandy Beach circa 1980) by Michael Vasquez was created for the 2023 edition of SHINE Mural Festival in St. Pete, Florida.

The artist’s statement about the mural-

A displaced Lao family (and friends) find refuge and a moment of reflection amidst the mangroves of Tampa Bay’s Gandy Beach.

A 1978 Datsun 280Z serves as a centerpiece and point of pride, fusing together car culture and masculinity. Similar aspects of clothing and style signal togetherness, emulation, and a shared sense of identity—yet their solitary gazes set them apart from one another and allude to a deeper and more personal past, present, and future…

Vasquez is currently part of the group show TRADITIONS: Honoring Heritage, Ritual and Family at Muzeo in Anaheim, California. The show is curated by Thinkspace and Tlaloc Studios and is on view until 2/25/24.

Also check out his Instagram for current work.

[musingsofmammoth]

A monopoly on the means of communication may define a ruling elite more precisely man the celebrated Marxian formula of "monopoly on the means of production." Since man extends his nervous system through channels of communication like the written word, the telephone, radio, etc., he who controls these media controls part of the nervous system of every member of society. The contents of these media become part of the contents of every individual's brain.

[firefly-creepy]

“Mystic Fjords” by Dulk

[landfilloftrash]

DO IT FOR HER!!!!!!!!!!!

(and by it. stay in character you dumbass.)

[anthonyhurd]

Another work in progress for my June solo show at ThinkSpace projects in Los Angeles. Will be showing about 20 new works. Details coming as the dates get nearer.

[centrally-unplanned]

Birthright Citizenship is another in a long list of topics where the US has taken its failure to have a functioning Congress and outsourced it to the courts. I would totally make tweaks to the system if I could - I agree that someone born here on a tourist visa for 2 weeks probably shouldn't get citizenship (I'm doing a thing, don't worry about the practicalities). Why was this not considered when the amendment was formed? Well, the amendment formation was a hot mess that barely considered immigration, yes, but also because it was 1868, what tourists?? No one is jetting to New York City for a weekend to see the Eras tour in the 19th century, this wasn't relevant.

So as times change you would change the law, but, oops, it's a constitutional amendment! Nothing wrong with that in the 19th century, that was a thing Congress passed somewhat regularly. Just change it, right? But it isn't the 19th century, constitutional amendments aren't a thing. No party is getting supermajorities anymore, and every issue is hyper-partisan. Which means all legislation on this issue, which of course is going to have to bend and shift with the events of the day, has to be done via the judicial branch. So obviously that branch will be a political battleground, with legal arguments being forced to become masks for the policy disputes that are actually motivating things. It was designed that way! Which also means that it is a policy direction that can bypass Congress - the executive just fights it directly with the courts.

I know I have my broken record moment with this topic, but the idea that "we lost the election but hopefully the courts will bail us out of the consequences of that" is one of the most pernicious instincts in the liberal thinkspace. At some margins that is true, obviously, but at the margins being discussed most of the time it isn't. And it often involves an uncomfortable level of doublethink around the value of "democracy" to boot - Technocracy of the Courts is the worst form of technocracy, with all of the unaccountability but none of the expertise or flexibility. The law is a political weapon - wield it, for sure, wield it incredibly aggressively, but don't lie about what the weapon is for.

[jolenelaiart]

Is there an area in your house where you can be you? A corner that knows you and gives you serenity when your mind is looping in chaos? Is it a friend that stays up long after the world is asleep and sits with you while you sip the seemingly unending cup of coffee? Or a space that welcomes your tired shoulders and quiet sobbing and echoes back without judgements? Do you have an intimate nook that is always a house for your thoughts?

Here's 'Night Kitchen', graphite on paper, 4 x 6 inches (dimensions are of artwork only) and professionally framed.

This drawing is currently on view at Thinkspace Projects for my solo exhibition 'Secret Garden' that will run till October 28 2023. Visit 'Secret Garden' - Thinkspace Projects link below for more information.

[itscolossal]

In the Wake of Tragedy, Thinkspace Projects Launches a Benefit Auction

[michael-gates-pottery-blog]

This piece is available on Artsy through Thinkspace Gallery, along with others.

[astronautdinosaur]

My next show Oh, Dystopia opens August 24th, from 6-10pm at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles. The response to this show has really been amazing and I want to thank everyone who has reached out, left a comment, hit that heart button, or - especially - bought a piece from the show. It really means a lot to me.

This show is not exactly a greatest hits compilation, but I’ve returned to some of the subjects nearest and dearest to my heart. Sweeping, beautiful dystopian landscapes, crumbling skyscrapers, occasional fast food references, the lost promise of science fiction and technology, the hubris inherent in all of us to think that what we have built will last forever. And yet. And yet! I strived to make these paintings really beautiful because there’s something truly noble in leaving your mark on this world, even (or especially) knowing that it won’t last forever. In the end, that’s what this show is about. And so, despite the ruins in each painting, in this case literally a crashed spaceship, I feel these works are kind of hopeful. We build things. They fall down. We build them again.

Join me, tomorrow night, if you can, for my latest show, Oh, Dystopia.

[gotankgo]

«We got a teaser today on the new exhibition, Periphery, Jeremy Geddes' first exhibition in over a decade, opening at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles. Opening January 11, 2025, the show features a series of paintings and studies from the Australian painter. »

[firefly-creepy]

"Cubes" by Ben Tolman

[gottaseesomeart]

Caia Koopman is a preeminent pop surrealism artist who has been featured in prominent galleries from California to Canada and France. Over the years, her paintings have graced the walls of Thinkspace, Spacejunk, and La Luz De Jesus Galleries as well as the pages of numerous books and magazines. The appealing symbols in her work evoke fundamental human emotions in exquisite, surreal detail making them well received in the action sports industry as well as the fine art world. Signature series Oakley sunglasses and goggles are adorned with her designs while her illustrations gild designer Rossignol snowboards, skis and more.