Oh. Even her “mistakes” are stunning… those Polaroids?! Love! Ok, so I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve written about LA based photographer Stephanie Vovas, but her work literally screams “California Girls”, so there was no way I could do a show in LA without including her golden, 1970s, wish-I-was-a-vixen photographs. So gorgeous… and you should see them blown up to nearly five feet wide. Stunning. If you missed last night’s packed-house opening, there’s another one on Saturday night thanks to Malibu Magazine… RSVP to rsvp@malibumag.com  {6-9pm, 8745 W Washington Blvd, Culver City}

{Some of Stephanie’s work is available on Saatchi Art}

ps. The sixth and final artist in the show is botanical painter Jill Sykes. I just wrote about her a few weeks ago. Take a peek at her gorgeous work right here.

This is the vintage, pin-up-esque mixed media {paint, collage, printmaking} work of LA based artist Laurie Raskin. Beachy bombshells, bright colors, and clearly, the perfect amount of bras. Obviously, I had to include Laurie’s work in “California Girls”… which by the way opens tonight… [biting nails]… “don’t worry. everything’s under control”. I’m nervous, but so excited to finally meet all six of the talented women featured in this show. Hope to see you there!

{Her work is available on Saatchi Art}

Ahhh… the work of LA based artist Erin Tengquist. All of these photographs are from her series titled “Underwater”. I’m boarding a plane to LA as we speak for the opening of “California Girls” tomorrow night. I cannot wait to see these gorgeous, ‘make you wish it was still summertime’, large-scale photos up-close and in person … *pool/bikini not included.

 {Erin’s work is available on Saatchi Art}

How do I get an invite to that after party? I need to be there. This is the weird ‘n hilarious work of LA based painter Kelly Puissegur. I have written about Kelly before {here and here}, but I have never seen her crazy narratives in person… but that is about to change! Kelly is one of six LA based female artists in my latest show, titled “California Girls”. It opens this Thursday night in Culver City… I’m kinda hoping there’s an after party, and I’m kinda hoping it looks like this! ps. You should totally come.

{Her work is available on Saatchi Art}

Oh. My. Letterpress on found ephemera by LA based artist/designer Ophelia Chong… gorgeous! Ophelia is the first of six female artists that I’m featuring this week. They are all part of “California Girls”, an art show I curated that opens this week! I have loved Ophelia’s work for years and I’m so excited to see a few of these beauties in person. For more info on the show, click here, and to RSVP for the opening on Thursday night click here.

{Some of her work is available on Saatchi Art}

Oh, I have been dying to announce this! Earlier this year the fabulous curator at Saatchi Art, Rebecca Wilson, reached out and asked if I’d like to curate a show in LA. Um. YES! I decided on a “California Girls” theme and chose six, very talented LA based female artists. In exactly two weeks from tonight I’ll get to stand in a room, with a glass of wine in hand, surrounded by the work of these amazing women. It’s feminine, strong, and just a little bit sexy. Ok. A lot sexy. If you are in LA you should absolutely stop by! Here’s all of the info, and then a tiny peek at some of the work:

Opening reception: Thursday September 24 6~9pm / Saatchi Art at Helms Bakery District : 8745 W Washington Blvd, Culver City {RSVP  here}

Show runs: Tuesday September 22 ~ Tuesday September 29 / 10am ~ 5pm / Monday to Friday / By appointment Saturday & Sunday

So. EXCITED. See you in two weeks, LA.

{Erin Tenquist // Laurie Raskin // Stephanie Vovas // Jill Sykes // Kelly Puissegur // Ophelia Chong}

Oh, this annual competition is such a fantastic supporter of Canadian artists! Here’s the deal:

Since 1999, the RBC Canadian Painting Competition, with the support of the Canadian Art Foundation, has been a unique initiative, which helps bridge the gap from emerging to established artists. The RBC Canadian Painting Competition is RBC’s cornerstone RBC Emerging Artists Project property which focuses on supporting artists at the early stage of their careers. More than just financial support, this program offers mentorship, exposure to audiences and more.

So, so great … and $25,000 to the winner, $15,000 to the next two finalists, and $2,500 to the other 12 isn’t bad either! There are 15 finalists: 5 from Eastern Canada, 5 from Central Canada, and 5 from Western Canada. The winner will be announced on November 18th at the Vancouver Art Gallery… but until then, here are just a few of my personal favorites, although it was really hard to pick:

west: robert taite, mixed media

……….

central: caroline larsen, oil painting

……….

east: hangama amiri, mixed media

Ah, makes me proud to be Canadian… but I’m really glad that I’m not a judge {how could you decide!?} Good luck to them, and good luck to all of the finalists!

You guys, this is crazy  {I’m not very good at keeping secrets, and I’ve managed to keep this one since last winter… #miracle}. I’ve curated shows for galleries, created online collections, and now I’ve curated an art-inspired clothing collection. What?! Yes. So, so crazy. Last winter, Montreal based fashion house Art-A-Porter reached out and asked if I would curate an exhibition, that instead of hanging on a wall, would be displayed on clothing. Originally I said no, I was too busy {and nervous that there were no walls involved} … but I couldn’t control myself… it just sounded too fun! And so they gave me a huge folder of artists to choose from and off we went. This lovely, limited edition collection is the result, and I’m so proud of it! Here is my “curatorial statement”, and then a peek at some of the artwork/pieces:

From collage, to painting, to mixed media – the work of Joe Webb, Monica Trastoy, J.D Doria, Niki Hare, and Erin Case is very different, yet all of the individual pieces come together beautifully, creating one unified collection that is dreamy, modern, black and white – with just the perfect pop of vintage-inspired color. I chose these pieces because, well, each one is stunning on it’s own, but when brought together the combination of organic shapes and geometric lines was something I couldn’t resist – amazing on a gallery wall, and even more exciting when you can actually take this exhibition off of the wall, and wear it.

Gah! I love it all! And there is so much more to the collection… see it all right here. Thank you so much to AAP for giving me this bizarre and wonderful opportunity to curate on something other than a wall, and thank you so much to all of the amazing artists who are involved… it was an honor working with your art!

{Artists in order of images above: Monica Trastoy // Joe Webb // JD Doria // Erin Case // Niki Hare}

*A great article about AAP and this idea of wearable art came out yesterday. Read it here.

I have been a big fan of the The Novogratz for ages. Robert & Cortney Novogratz are a married couple, who also happen to be an amazing interior designer team. And Robert {aka Bob} loves art… which is how we “met” just over a year ago. I wanted to ask him how they went from being a finance guy and an actress, to sought after interior designers. I also wanted to know how he chooses art for clients, if he has any favorites in his own collection, and I really wanted to know how they manage to do everything they do {TV shows, books, design projects} while having seven kids. Seven. Let’s find out, shall we? Listen right up there under the entire Novogratz crew, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, you can take a peek at the things that Bob and I talked about, in the order that we talked about them.

Alright, first up, the first “real” piece of art that Bob bought… a stunning pearl button Queen by British artist Ann Carrington:

Gorgeous! That’s their son Major {a few years ago} enjoying a bath right below that stunning piece! Speaking of his kids, these next two pieces were done by his son Five {yes, the fifth of seven kids}… he’s obviously a young up and coming artist to keep an eye on:

I asked Bob about a few of his favorite pieces from his own collection. Obviously the pieces above by Ann and Five were on the list, and here are a few others:

Amazing! And I love seeing them actually hanging in their home. Jealous? Yeah, me too. Here are links to all of those artists: Erwin Olaf / Francisco Larios / Vic Muniz … and it turns out he knows my friend Trey Speegle quite well too {you can hear my interview with Trey right here}. This is Trey’s piece that Bob and Cortney hung in one of their hotel projects:

… and a peek at a few of the pieces from the art/chair project that Bob and Cortney organized at Art Basel Miami:

And finally, their castle! Yes. A castle. They’ve just moved from New York to LA and are currently renovating this insanely cool castle… just imagine the art they’re going to hang in here:

It’s going to be amazing. They have a pretty fantastic Pinterest board going at the moment if you’d like to see their design plans for this crazy place. There might even be a show {TV or webisode} coming soon… keep an eye out! And with that, I will say thanks so much to Bob for doing this with me, to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and to you for looking ‘n listening. The next episode will be ready for your artsy ears next Saturday.

ps. You can find the Novogratz on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Remember when your parents said, “Don’t play with matches” ? Yeah, well these artists did NOT listen… thank goodness! Over the last few weeks, I kept seeing fabulous little matchbox interventions pop up on Instagram, and so naturally the hunt was on! When I traced them back to the source, I found “Strike Away” … a show that has nearly 450 altered matchbooks by 225 artists from around the world, curated by Courtney Cerruti and Alicia Dornadic. So fun, and oh so creative! From “burned books”, to bowling lanes, to little packs of cigarettes, this show truly covers the spectrum! Sigh. Sorry Mom, I might have to go find some matches of my own! {The show is up until June 20th at Paxton Gate Kids located at 766 Valencia St., San Francisco. If you can’t make it to the show, check out their Instagram feed – lots of the work is posted there}

*Just a fraction of the talented artists involved, shown above: 1. Jane Mount  2. Crystal Morey  3. Mandy Behrens  4. Vanessa Wimmer  5. Sara Diamond  6. Molly Hatch  7. Diana Rodgers  8. Nik Sonfield  9. Nik Sonfield