Artist Spotlight: Linda Sue Price - Connections

Linda Sue Price, Connections 1, Neon and mixed media, 15 x 15 x 10"

TAG Gallery is pleased to feature two bodies of neon and mixed media works by L.A. artist Linda Sue Price. The artist’s works capitalize on an economy of material in reflecting issues surrounding our current socio-political climate. Price explores themes of dividedness, interconnectedness, and spiritualism, combining photographic portraiture, chain, textiles representing each of the seven continents, and prominently, the yin yang symbol made from neon-lit tubing.

In Price’s series Connection, the work's underlying grid of crowd sourced portraits represents California’s diverse demographics and include those in her Los Angeles community and California residents at large. The artist’s highlighting of differences in race, gender, age, and orientation grounds her work in the traditions of social realism with its emphasis on the ‘average’ Californian.

Linda Sue Price, Connections 2, Neon and mixed media, 15 x 15 x 10"

In her series Continents, the works combine indigenous textiles worldwide. Both of the artist’s bodies of work relate humanity’s concerns from local, global, and cosmic vantages.

Linda Sue Price, Continents 1, Neon and mixed media, 15 x 15 x 10"

Price’s works trace current tensions facing humanity and are expressed between optimistic images of family, community, or symbols of culture, and affixed chain that surrounds each piece. Through the artist’s juxtaposing of photographs and chains, Price examines borders as objects of both protection and confinement and makes ambiguous the relationships between fragility and strength. Price’s use of the yin yang symbols are ever-present reminders of the light and dark forces inherent in the laws of nature and invites contemplation about humanity’s role in both the smallest and biggest pictures.

Linda Sue Price, Connections 3, Neon and mixed media, 15 x 15 x 10"

Linda Sue Price began studying neon at the Museum of Neon Art in 2004 under master neon artist Michael Flechtner. Solo exhibits include those at TAG Gallery in Los Angeles, and group exhibits including Untltled, curated by Shana Nys Dambrot at Artshare LA. Price is an advisory board member at the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale, California.

The exhibition runs through Saturday, July 7, 2018
Artist Talk: Saturday, June 30, 3 p.m.

Current Exhibition: Laura Fisher, Gary Polonsky, Linda Sue Price

Tuesday, June 12 - Saturday, July 7, 2018
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 16, 5-8 p.m.
Artist Talk: Saturday, June 30, 3 p.m.

Laura Fisher - Passage

Laura Fisher, Juncture, Oil on canvas, 15 x 30"

Gary Polonsky - Leaves, Rocks, Flowers

Gary Polonsky, Smiling Red Leaf, Acrylic and mixed media, 18 x 30 x 5"

Linda Sue Price - Connections

Linda Sue Price, Connections 4,  Neon and mixed media, 15 x 15 x 10"

Artist Spotlight: Linda Sue Price's Enlightened Systems

Linda Sue Price, DDT, Neon, 15 x 15 x 10"

In this era of alt-facts there is a systemized effort to delegitimize truth by creating fake news that feeds into conspiracy fears and cynicism. It is an attempt to create enough confusion so that touchstones could be lost. 

Linda Sue Price, All Things, Neon, 15 x 15 x 10"

Enlightened Systems is a response coming from the perspective of civility where there is a sense of inclusivity and respect. Black Elk, an indigenous Great Plains medicine man, speaks of this in his quote, All things are our relatives.

This was not an uncommon perception of the world prior to the Greeks. Around 450 BC, philosophers known as Sophists thought that “man is the measure” of everything. In other words, they thought that the only things that matter are human beings and the way we see the world. As their philosophy developed, human beings were elevated to one of greater importance.

Linda Sue Price, Sage, Neon, 15 x 15 x 10"

The Black Crow quote is a reach back to a different system of thought. All things are our relatives is a form of the golden rule but is more inclusive—a system of thought and enlightenment that asks us to be kind, tolerant and respectful of all life.

Linda Sue Price, Weeds, Neon, 15 x 15 x 10"

In this series, the artist represents elements that make up the whole from healing plants, chemicals that destroy and the out of control—weeds. Respect is the bottom line.

The exhibition runs through June 10.
Curious about Linda Sue's process?
Meet her at the Artist Panel, Saturday June 3, 3pm

Grand ReOpening and Current Exhibition: Donn Delson, Jerry Hardin, Gary Polonsky, Linda Sue Price

May 16 to June 10, 2017
Artists Reception: Saturday, May 20, 5-8pm
Artists Panel: Saturday June 3, 3pm

TAG has a new location:
5458 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
310.829.9556

Donn Delson -- Aerial

Donn Delson,  Upward Mobility, Fujiflex Crystal Archive Silver Halide Photographic Print UV Acrylic Facemount,
Edition 1/5, 48” x 72”

Jerry Hardin -- Bone Sculpture

Jerry Hardin, On the Wind, Bone, 32” x 31” x 28”

Gary Polansky -- Munchies

Gary Polonsky, Tomato Soup, Mixed media

Linda Sue Price -- Enlightened Systems

Linda Sue Price, Wild Flowers, Neon, 15” x 15” x 10”

Artist Spotlight: Linda Sue Price on Bending Glass

Bending glass is the process of heating glass over fire until it becomes pliable. 
Linda Sue Price explains her process and progress. 

Linda Sue Price, Nothing Is Black and White, Neon, 15 x 15" 

When I first started to learn how to bend my intention was to bend free form. However, in order to get in touch with the glass I had to practice bending to pattern. Pattern bending comes from the head whereas freeform comes from the gut.

When bending freeform I feel very connected to the glass. It’s like having a conversation with the glass. Some times the communication flows and other times not.

Pattern bending is another issue. But finally after years of practice and the desire to be able to create specific forms, I am now learning how to surrender to the pattern. There are so many things to consider when bending to pattern—how you go into the fire and come out of it so you are positioned to land easily on the pattern.

Other challenges I faced was under heating and twisting the glass. The idea is to heat the right amount of glass for the bend you are making, get it hot enough and heat it evenly.

There are three types of fires used to heat the glass. The ribbon burner—my favorite—for making loop shapes; the cross fire for specific small movements like V’s, U’s, and L’s; and the hand torch for delicate work like attaching electrodes or making small adjustments. The hand torch has less heat so it’s ideal for small, delicate corrections.

In my pattern practice, I’ve struggled with making U bends without getting kinking on the inside. I discovered that I was twisting the glass coming out of the fire. It would look great when I came out of the fire but by the time I got it to the pattern on the work bench, it would kink. After some focused practice I figured out that I was twisting the glass so I spent practice time breaking that habit.

Then I discovered I was under heating the glass. I started under heating because when the glass is hot enough it was too easy to accidentally stretch the glass. By under heating I eliminated the stretching but then I got kinks because the glass wasn’t hot enough.

Once I started getting the glass hot enough, I struggled with overinflation. Part of the process of bending is having a blow hose attached so you can inflate the glass when it gets hot to keep it from collapsing.

There is no scientific process to this. It’s just hours of practice and learning to read the glass.

Then there is the mind. If you over concentrate on the bend you loose it. If you don’t focus you loose it so you have to find the balance. Listening to music while bending helps but some times I start dancing and get distracted..

Currently I’m practicing a pattern and attempting to bend to it. I’ve spent a month or so trying to get the hang of it. I’m in the studio two to three days a week and each week it gets better but bending to pattern is so different. Tonight I began to think—why am I doing this. No one will appreciate how much harder this is for me than the complex free form bends I do. But I am keeping at it. It looks like a simple pattern but it’s really challenging.

After another month of practice and demos by the master, I had success. The bends went the way they were supposed to and the tube was smooth—no crunches and on pattern. Amazing.

Linda Sue Price, Never Say Never (work in progress)

Linda's current exhibition at TAG, Hitting the Pause Button, runs through Saturday, May 14. 
She will be part of an Artist Panel Discussion with Alison Lowe Platt and Dan Janotta on Saturday, May 7, 3pm.

If you have any question you'd like to ask Linda, leave them below in the comments.

Linda Sue Price, Question, Listen, Think, Neon, 15 x 15" x 10"

Current Exhibition: Dan Janotta, Alison Lowe Platt, Linda Sue Price

Tuesday, April 19th – Saturday, May 14th, 2016

Opening Reception: Saturday, April 23rd, 2016 from 5 – 8PM
Artist Panel Discussion: Saturday, May 7th, 2016 at 3PM

Dan Janotta – Back To The Beach

Dan Janotta, Burning Sunset, Oil on canvas, 20 x 60"

As an accomplished Los Angeles architect, Dan Janotta’s work is often detailed and technical, with a strong focus on realistically capturing the straight lines of structural subject matter. After 12 years of developing his painting style,  Janotta returns to the scene of his favorite muse; the coast and its serene energy.

Capturing impressions of the Southern California lifestyle that he has experienced for the last 30 years, Janotta’s “extreme coastal” images reflect the beauty of the sun, sand and the modern day influences of urban beach culture. While contemplative scenes of sunsets and breaking waves contrast with the gritty personal expression of tattoos and surf culture, this exhibition fully encompasses coastal living. Through the use of strong color, distinctive figurative silhouettes, and the play of sunlight off the shore, Janotta beautifully portrays his love for the beach and its inspirational and calming environment.

Alison Lowe Platt – Instinct

Alison Lowe Platt, One Cool Cat, Acrylic on canvas, 14.5 x 12.5"

In her exhibition entitled Instinct, Alison Lowe Platt presents a series of small figurative drawings and paintings created during single session live studies. With a strong interest in shape, composition, and value, Platt finds the relationship between these elements essential to each of these small works.

Fascinated by the human body and the energetic fields within each of us, Platt works with live models to capture this sense of life force. Working quickly and furiously, Platt follows her “instincts”, forcing her to stay spontaneously present. Creating both tension and abstraction with her use of light and shadow, Platt illustrates that powerful human essence through the unrefined brushwork of her compositions.

Linda Sue Price – Hitting the Pause Button

Linda Sue Price, Assume Nothing, Neon, 15 x 15 x 10"

Nothing Is Black and White. Question, Listen, Think. Linda Sue Price’s new series Hitting the Pause Button reacts to current events and proposes life lessons. She mixes words and abstract neon shapes to facilitate a dialogue, creating unexpected relationships between the two. Words are powerful expressions of thought. Price focuses on words that resonate, then develops the neon forms to colors and shapes that reflect the energy of the words.

There is an expectation that neon has a certain shape—as in letters and signs. Price subverts these assumptions: working primarily with abstract shapes is to challenge the expectation of what neon is. Deciding to add words to the work, a conscious decision was made to not make the words out of neon. Price combines the physical transformation of the medium (the bending of neon tubes) with the challenges of the imagery (the curving, abstract forms). The process that connects these relationships represents the mental process Price is interested in, a visual manifestation of a system of thought. While inspired by artists Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Laddie John Dill and Judy Chicago, Price also is influenced by elements of historic neon signs, abstract expressionism, pop art and graphic design.

Art Story: It's Not All About You

Linda Sue Price, It's Not All About You, Neon, 20 x 20 x 10"

Linda Sue Price’s current exhibit at TAG features phrases as in ‘Change is the Only Constant.’ The inspiration for the show came from a memorial celebrating the life of a fellow neon artist—Kunio Ohashi. One of the attendees shared a story about their friend and neighbor. Kunio was soft spoken with a wry sense of humor. They had dogs and were neglectful about picking up after their dogs. One day Kunio knocks on their front door. When they answered he handed them a piece of origami. When it was opened, the message inside said, ’Too much shit.’ Everyone in the audience laughed. It was so Kunio. Price thought about doing a piece in his honor with the saying, Kunio says Too Much Shit but decided it would take too much to explain but it did lead her to explore other words of wisdom.

See this and other works by Linda at TAG through December 19th.

Artists' Reception: Saturday, December 5, 5-8pm

Artist Talk: Saturday, December 12th, 1 p.m.

Read an interview with Linda on We Choose Art

Fine Lines: Cynthia Alexander, Linda Sue Price, Elsie Dye Sims

Tues. November 24th - Sat. December 19th, 2015

Reception: Saturday, December 5, 5-8pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, December 12th, 1 p.m.

Cynthia Alexander
ATTITUDE

Cynthia Alexander, She Has An Attitude, Mixed Media, 32.25 x 26.25"

“A strong man can handle a strong woman. A weak man will say she has an attitude.”

Cynthia Alexander’s latest series of work – ATTITUDE – reflects her own attitude as an artist at this point in her career. Alexander acknowledged it was time to stop making art to please others and begin to suit herself. In the studio, she challenged herself to discard old habits and allow a new voice to emerge.

While Alexander remains a figurative artist, her new body of work introduces a greater sense of play; it’s freer, more arbitrary and abstract. Using collage as a jumping off point into the unknown, Alexander explores themes of randomness and serendipity in her latest pieces. With a constant wrestling between the figurative and the abstract, the recognizable and the random, she challenges her audience to find and navigate their own way through each piece.

As Alexander worked on this series, the woman she was painting became an alter ego -- direct, opinionated, sprawling, and hard to contain in the confines of the page. From splashes of red to figures with bold strokes, this exhibition is a chance to let that voice speak.

Linda Sue Price
Change is the Only Constant

Linda Sue Price, Change Is The Only Constant, Neon tubes, texture paint, wood, pulsing transformers, 20 x 20 x 10"

Linda Sue Price’s latest body of work incorporates common phrases and abstract neon shapes to facilitate a dialogue, creating unexpected relationships between the two. Price first absorbs the words then instinctually reacts to them, concentrating on repetitive gestures that reflect the commonality of the words found in each phrase. These mixed media neon sculptures use free-form bent abstract shapes to convey their message. While the circular pieces were inspired by the idea of a medallion—a button to be worn as a reminder – works such as One Side of the Story, The Other Side of the Story, Sweet and Sour—Don’t Suffer for A**holes and It’s A Small World represent Price’s personal responses to witnessed events.

Price draws upon her interest in how people make sense of the world. Seeing change as the only constant, her work combines the physical transformation of the medium (the bending of neon tubes) with the challenges of the imagery (the curving, abstract forms). The process that connects these relationships represents the mental process Price is interested in, a visual manifestation of a system of thought. While inspired by artists Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Laddie John Dill and Judy Chicago, Price also is influenced by elements of historic neon signs, abstract expressionism, pop art and graphic design.

Elsie Dye Sims
Pure Joy

Elsie Dye Sims, Sea Dhalia, Woodcut, 17 x 17"

Elsie Dye Sims’ upcoming exhibition at TAG Gallery, entitled Pure Joy, incorporates drawings and large-scale woodcuts that reflect the flora of the Southern California coastline. Sims notes the truth she uncovers in Albert Einstein’s quote “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” For her, nature is a constant inspiration, that illuminates each of her exquisitely detailed pieces.

When speaking about her work, Sims says, “California’s sage and wildflowers persevere in the most adverse conditions, growing out of the windswept, sun scorched bluffs. My bold, gestural woodcuts show the strength in these delicate flowers; twisted and blown, yet blooming.” Pure Joy illustrates Sims’ desire to more deeply ascertain just how our coastal landscape endures."

TAG Offsite: Linda Sue Price

TAG artist Linda Sue Price has work in three exhibitions opening this month.

Art + Science + Craft II
 
Two person show featuring Linda Sue Price and Michael Flechtner 
Fine Arts Building, Los Angeles, CA
July 9 - August 9, 2015

Opening Reception: July 9, 6 -8 p.m.
  

Linda Sue Price, Green Beans, Neon Mixed Media, 25.5 x 12 x 6 in

Botanica: All Things Plant Life
Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
July 12 - Sept 6, 2015

Opening reception: July 12, 3 - 5 p.m.


Linda Sue Price,  Red Herb, Neon mixed media, 18 x 8 x 5 in,  Green Herb, Neon mixed media, 18 x 8 x 5 in

2015 All Media Juried Exhibition

Chico Art Center, Chico, CA
July 24 - August 14, 2015

Opening Reception: July 24, 5-7 p.m

Coming Exhibition: Linda Sue Price, Joan Ransohoff, Joan Vaupen

May 20 - June 14 2014

Opening Reception: 

Saturday, May 24, 5-8 p.m.

Artist Talk: 

Saturday, June 10, 3-4 p.m.

Garden of Virtue, Linda Sue Price

Linda Sue Price, Jesse, Neon Mixed Media, 23x23"

Neon mixed media artist Linda Sue Price’s current exhibition experiments with cast neon light and textures while exploring themes of virtue, mentorship, and the nurturing qualities of gardens. Working with washers, acrylic spheres, rods, and paint, Price manipulates different textures in contrast to the light medium. Using flower boxes as a structural base, Price strives to make her neon works more accessible to viewers. “Most of the neon tubing in my art is bent free form, which means there is no pattern. Shapes may be similar but each is unique,” says Price. “When starting a new series or project, I bend different shapes until I find one I want to explore or one that expresses something I have been thinking about.” While abstract in design, Price’s works make reference to individuals and current events that have made an impact in her life. Three “mentor” pieces - titled “Jesse,” “Cynthia,” and “Rose” - are dedicated to these individuals as a form of gratitude for their specific guidance. Other works make literal references to cultivation, as abstract soy beans and dragon tongue beans grow from flower boxes. Meanwhile “Consistency is Not a Virtue” playfully references political attitudes. Price’s work exhibits a technical mastery of vibrant neon tubing injected with thematic wit.

From the Garden, Joan Ransohoff

Joan Ransohoff, Meyer Lemons In a Garden Pot, Oil on Canvas, 30x24"

In Joan Ransohoff’s latest exhibition she transitions from plein air landscapes to reflect upon her artistic roots - natural studies. Beginning often from her own garden, Ransohoff’s oil on canvas paintings portray a spectrum of colors and textures. Elegant floral compositions feature magnolias, apple blossoms, and roses, juxtaposed against a delicate brandy glass or arranged in a Chinese vase. In another, luscious Meyer lemons still hang from leafy branches. “After years of plein air painting, still lives present a different and complex challenge - slowing down and taking the time to really see in a controlled setting,” says Ransohoff. “Sometimes something interesting happens when I’m painting that has nothing to do with the original set-up, and I always follow it, intuition is essential to me.” Ransohoff’s luminous work celebrates beauty in simplicity while paying homage to the impressionist masters.

New Work, Joan Vaupen

Joan Vaupen, Underworld, Mixed Media Monoprint, 19.5x20"

In her latest exhibition, Joan Vaupen continues to experiment with varied mixed media to create abstract monoprints. Mixing acrylic inks and water on slick yupo paper, Vaupen’s high-contrast, liquified compositions portray an ethereal quality. After completion, each painting is then photographed and printed as a single edition. While these optical images begin with a sketch, Vaupen notes that there are equally challenging and spontaneous elements to her process. “They look otherworldly, yet things of the earth pop up,” says Vaupen. “Even though my work is abstract, there is a sense of the familiar.” Cool-colored, amorphous shapes emerge as pigments bubble and colors separate to create organic landscapes that recall the night sky or the depths of the sea, all beckoning viewers to step closer.

TAG at Palm Spring Fine Art Fair

In a week, ten TAG artists are headed to the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, Booth 111.

A limited number of reserved tickets are available either a VIP PASS (+1, every day) or a single DAY PASS. Info and links follow below.

VIP PASS gives you and a guest access to
Every day of the fair February 14-16
+ Opening Preview Thu Feb 13, 7-9:30pm
LINK

DAY PASS gives you access to
Any 1 day of the fair February 14, 15 or 16
LINK

Show schedule
Thursday Feb 13, 7:00-9:30pm
Friday Feb 14, 11am-8pm
Saturday Feb 15, 11am-8pm
Sunday Feb 16, 11am-6pm

Location
Palm Springs Convention Center
277 N Avenida Caballeros
Palm Springs CA 92262
MAP 

Artists participating:

Anne M Bray
Christo Brock
Katie Crown
Cynthia Alexander
Pam Douglas
Peter Kempson
Suki Kuss
Gary Polonsky
Lina Sue Price
Darlyn Susan Yee
 
We hope to see you there!

Coming Exhibition: Carol Kleinman, Linda Sue Price, Kamil Vojnar

October 29 - November 23, 2013

Opening Reception:
Saturday, November 2, 5-8pm

Artists' Talk:
Saturday, November 9, 3-4pm

Carol Kleinman, Paris Windows

Carol Kleinman, Covered Passage, Single Exposure on Canvas, 36 x 24", 2013

Windows are her inspiration, the camera is her tool. Artist Carol Kleinman’s latest show, “Paris Windows,” continues her unique work with reflections, merging reality with fantasy. In her new series of photographs on canvas, the Pacific Palisades resident and inveterate traveler captures a mysterious, multi-layered world as it actually existed on windows all over Paris, from the small streets of the Latin Quarter to the 19th century covered passages of the Right Bank. Kleinman’s surprising images are not composites, but rather single exposures capturing a complex interplay of light and form. “I want to challenge the viewer to look beyond everyday life. Each of my images existed in the world at a unique moment in time,” says Kleinman. “Nothing is set up or manufactured. What you see ... is what I saw.”

Linda Sue Price, Spiraling

Linda Sue Price, Purple Rain, Neon Tubes and Mixed Media, 36 x 12 x 15", 2013

Artist Linda Sue Price’s neon art is rooted in nostalgia. Referring to childhood memories of west coast road trips and visions of the animated motel signs and drive-in theaters from Long Beach to Las Vegas, Price’s work pays playful homage to a bygone era. Animation is prevalent in Price’s multilayered work, as twisted acrylic rods, glass and LED lights create vibrant landscapes of moving light. “I play with the glass, exploring and trying different combinations until I settle on a form I want to explore,” says Price. “I mix color, reflection, texture and animation to create a visual experience.” Price specifically designed her latest series to create a gentle, meditative sense of movement, contrasting the traditional use of animated signs as dazzling distractors. Price’s dynamic spiraled designs offer a colorful sense of whimsy while embracing the capabilities of neon as an artistic medium.

Kamil Vojnar, Life is a Journey

Kamil Vojnar, Flying Lessons, Mixed Media, 20 x 16", 2013

Life is a journey for artist Kamil Vojnar. Like pages from a scrapbook, his images document this journey. But rather than cover wide geographical distances, Vojnar travels vertically through the timeless, wistful emotions of the soul and heart. Soft figures float through ethereal landscapes of muted color as birds, balloons and airborne ships become forms of surreal locomotion in Vojnar’s current series. The artist’s scenes are comprised of digitally layered photographs on various papers which stand both alone or are adhered to canvas. Drips of wax and oil paint add touchable texture and simultaneously emphasize nuances of color and shadow. “I like to make a satisfying object,” says Vojnar. “A simple photograph is cold to me.” Vojnar’s collaged images provide a sense of spiritual contemplation, as motifs of wings and figures in flight act as modern relics that are both haunting and familiar.