Artist Spotlight: Elyse Wyman - Signs of the Times

Elyse Wyman, Fire In the Belly, Mixed media bas-relief, 32 x 15 x 4"

Elyse Wyman’s new body of work continues her exploration of the interrelationships and dynamics of female identity, self-perception, personal worth, sexuality and power. Through the medium of transparent bas-relief sculpture, she presents the female torso as both physical and psychological container, fusing separate entities to reveal things we often take for granted. Her ongoing scrutiny of the female figure intersects squarely with the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.

Elyse Wyman, Stop Abuse, Mixed media bas-relief, 32 x 15 x 4"

Seemingly ordinary road and warning signs such as “Stop” or “Rough Road” take on new meaning when placed inside the female form. This juncture of disparate elements leads to new interpretations. Wyman’s mixed-media sculptures illuminate a deeper, generally hidden emotional intensity often alluding to harassment both visible and unseen.

Elyse Wyman, Rough Road, Mixed media bas-relief, 32 x 15 x 4"

Elyse Wyman was born in Los Angeles and received her BA in Fine Arts (Cum Laude) from UCLA. She furthered her art education in Paris, France at the Academie de La Grande Chaumiere. Ms. Wyman has pursued parallel careers in both fine arts and graphic design. As a graphic artist for A&M records she designed albums, posters, music books, advertising and billboards. Currently, as art director and owner of DesignWorks, Unlimited Graphic Design Studio, her clients have included A&M Records, American Ballet Theatre, American Film Institute, ASCAP, Chevron, Disc Marketing, General Mills, UCLA, United Airlines, Toyota, Victoria’s Secret, Warner Brothers, Women in Film, and many others.

Elyse Wyman, Stop Abuse, Mixed media bas-relief, 32 x 15 x 4"

The exhibition runs through October 20.
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 6, 5-8pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, October 13, 3pm

Current Exhibition: Cheryl Dimont, Sunhee Joo, Marion Wood, Elyse Wyman

September 25 - October 20, 2018
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 6, 5-8pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, October 13, 3pm

Cheryl Dimont -- Looking Closer

Cheryl Dimont, The Quilt, Archieval pigment print

Sunhee Joo -- Message of Love

Sunhee Joo, The Kite Flyer, Digital painting, 9 x 9"

Marion Wood -- Field Notes

Marion Wood, Grounded, Acrylic, 48 x 30"

Elyse Wyman -- Signs of the Times

Elyse Wyman, Choice, Mixed media bas-relief, 32 x 15 x 4"

Artist Spotlight: Karen Sarrow -- FEM

Karen Sarrow, Protectors, Vets Arrive at DAPL, Acrylic and oil on linen, 25 x 31"

Karen Sarrow’s new exhibition, FEM, is comprised of a series of political paintings depicting struggles and environmental activism.

Karen Sarrow, After 9-11, Acrylic and mixed media on linen, 17 x 17"

The piece After 9-11 was painted during the Obama Administration, partly celebrating how the country had come together to elect a new President, reflected by the purple morning glories, and mourning the recent history of the Iraq War and violence in the Middle East. The future is obscured by the present immediacy of a chain link fence, with the fog of war and the tragedy of 9-11 in a faded vision inside the fence.

Karen Sarrow, Chain, Acrylic and mixed media on linen, 17 x 17"

Chain, painted prior to After 9-11, was more focused on the position of Sarrow as a new mom, acknowledging that society held the ideals of corporations, religion, energy and chemical exploitation higher than the health of families, children, and the environment.

Themes of human vulnerability permeate the FEM series of paintings, to emphasize that the life of the body is a physical reminder that we only have one earth to protect. The central image of the feminine is one that Sarrow has long waited to represent. The Earth, as an expectant mother, as with the feminine, will ultimately not be overcome by suppression.

Karen Sarrow, Fire Rose I, Acrylic on canvas, 25 x 19"

Karen Sarrow was born in the U.K., and grew up in Missouri. She received an M.A. in Art History from The Ohio State University, and an MFA in Painting from Pratt Institute. She serves as TAG President and co-founder of Imagi.Life. She and her family live in Studio City.


The exhibition runs through September 22, 2018
Artist Talk: Saturday, September 15, 3pm

Artist Spotlight: Boris Litvinov -- End of Privacy

Boris Litvinov, Data Harvester, discarded parts of household electronics, 31 x 16"

Feeling called to action in the last year, artist Boris Litvinov produced a body of work drastically different from his typical stonework. The works in End of Privacy find Litvinov discarding the traditions of stone carving in favor of found objects and a microelectronic material palette. End of Privacy is a dive into social media’s function as instrumental tool in the spreading of false information, propaganda, and “fake news.”

Boris Litvinov, Ads Attack Kids, found electronic parts and epoxy resin, 25.5 x 44.5"

Previously living under the totalitarian rule of the Soviet era, Litvinov and his family aimed to live under the concept of a free society governed by a true, functioning and healthy democracy. However, since the last election, there has been an alarming increase in the number of hate crimes, calls for violent rhetoric, basic human decency, and empathy from the current administration and president. There has been a systematic, unabated obfuscation of reality, an assault on facts and truth, chaos disguised as political strategy, tax cuts for the rich, overt and blatant obstruction of justice, treasonous behavior domestically and internationally, disregard for and complete ignorance of the content of the foundational document of this great country - all committed by or because of one person whose only concern is for himself.

Boris Litvinov, Propaganda Machine, discarded parts of household electronics, 34 x 34"

End of Privacy asks us to look at our own role in the propaganda machine and how our own social media presence may contribute to an atmosphere of toxicity, lies, and hostility.

Boris Litvinov, Data Storage, discarded parts of household electronics, 29 x 20"

The exhibition runs through September 22, 2018
Artist Talk: Saturday, September 15, 3pm

Artist Spotlight: K Ryan Henisey -- Mythologies

K Ryan Henisey, Matrix Zephyri, Ink, metal, foil, oil, paper collage, 40 x 40"

K. Ryan Henisey presents his debut solo exhibition at TAG. Mythologies, selected watercolor, mixed media, and digital works, retells Queer myths from Classic and global mythology using contemporary self-portraiture.
“As a boy, I used to speak to the wind,” says Henisey from his home in West Hollywood. “Mythologies is my celebration of the Wind. These pieces examine queer stories to reveal the mysteries of our divine selves. I am proud to share that the works were inspired by LGBT-themed global myths and my passion for the god of the West Wind.”

K Ryan Henisey, Flore Hyancinthus (Hyacinth Blooms), Ink, metal, foil, oil, paper collage, 40 x 40"

“The Wind may have been an imaginary friend, if you can name the air such a thing,” says Henisey. “But what inspires me most in the Hyacinth myth is the tragic loss that Zephyrus brings upon himself. Like Apollo, the Wind loved a human, and in his passion -- knowing the consequences but choosing them anyway -- killed him. In the myth I recognized a part of myself and it’s that recognition I want to inspire in you.”

K Ryan Henisey, Xochipilli Caerulem inter Toxicondendron, Handcut paper, 24 x 18"

In addition to his queer-themed gallery work, Henisey is engaging Instagram’s Queer communities with surprise selfie renderings. His current set is focused on trans men.

K Ryan Henisey, Via Kalifornica (Kalifornica Road), Watercolor, metal foil, 42 x 36"

The exhibition runs through September 22, 2018
Artist Talk: Saturday, September 15, 3pm