Barnsdall Art Park — off Hollywood Boulevard not far from where D.W. Griffith’s studio once made celluloid art — sits on a hill over looking the Griffith Park Observatory, Hollywood sign, and picturesque Los Feliz neighborhood.
All that beauty (click on photo for better view) — but a hideous strip mall sits adjacent to the park. Ah well, L.A.’s imperfection is part of its je ne sais quoi.
At the center of the Barnsdall campus nestles one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s four great textile-block homes built in Los Angeles: a mini-Mayan temple called Hollyhock House where FLW installed his art-loving client, Aline Barnsdall, circa 1917. By hook or by crook, this wonder of early L.A. still stands.
A nearby building houses the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (LAMG) and a downstairs theater where the Fountain Theater hosts wonderful flamenco evenings — one upcoming on March 27 is recommended.
“Framing Abstraction: Mark, Symbol, Signifier,” LAMG’s next show, commemorates the centennial of abstract painting. Abstract art evolved from its original spiritual and utopian stance in the early Twentieth century to an art that was equated with the radical-avant-garde, according to co-curators art writer Marlena Doktorczyk-Donohue and Peter Selz, Professor Emeritus of Art History at University of California, Berkeley.
“Framing” features works by Lita Albuquerque, Jordi Alcaraz, Edward Blum, Hans Burkhardt, Meg Cranston, Mark Harrington, James Hayward, Charles Christopher Hill, Kevan Jensen, Naomie Kremer, Manfred Müller
Events:
- Sunday, February 27, 2 – 5 pm
Opening Reception
Friday, March 4, 7 pm
Artists Mark Harrington and Manfred Muller with curator Marlena Doktorczyk-Donohue
- Saturday, March 26, 2 pm
Jack Rutberg, director of Jack Rutberg Gallery, speaks about Jordi Alcaraz and Hans Burkhardt and artist Kevan Jenson will discuss his work .
- Friday, April 1, 7 pm
Artist Meg Cranston in a Q & A with curator Marlena Doktorczyk-Donohue
- Saturday, April 16, 2 pm
Artists Charles Christopher Hill and Gary Edward Blum discuss their work
Framing Abstraction: Mark, Symbol, Signifier | Los Angeles Municipal Arts Gallery | Feb 27 – April 24, 2011 | all events free and open to the public
Hans Burkhardt (1904-1994)
City at Night 1, Guadalajara, 1957, Oil on Canvas
50 x 60 inches
Courtesy of Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, Los Angeles
Lita Albuquerque
“Red Pigment Painting Grid #2,” 2007
6 x 6 feet, composed of 16 panels 18 inches square, paint, pigment on panel
Courtesy of Lita Albuquerque Studio/ Municipal Art Gallery
Hollyhock House photo care of Martin Locke.