into the ice-cool business of felds of color and shape, Raúl de Nieves the contemporary art world suggestive of aerial land- with a curiously refreshing scapes. Each also contains at Freedman kind of garish bad taste— a beaded disk of varying though I wonder where it is color, which might be read Fitzpatrick within contemporary art that as a sun or planetary body. they might actually go. By contrast, the charcoal September 20– The bright, brash, and drawings, though sinister, November 3, 2018 cheap, pushed to the point of point at something perhaps circus-like surreality, has as more tender—the composi- I had just fnished the chapter its conceptual underpinnings tion of a self, exaggerated about Times Square in the idea of reinvention. One and even monstrous, Vanishing New York before might then read de Nieves’ constructed layer by detailed stepping of the bus onto the works as the manifestation— layer until recognition of still-tawdry eastern edge of wholly in costuming, acces- the original begins to blur, Hollywood Boulevard. Freed- sorizing, and plumage—of the process overwhelmed by man Fitzpatrick’s gallery is a formerly latent identity. its culmination. in a two-story strip mall just Aside from the smaller Something more a few blocks from the start sculptures, the singular, disquieting comes to mind of the walk of fame—or larger Psychopomp looms in when considering de Nieves’ on the fringes of tourism’s the corner, laden with tassels ostensible subject—the exhaustion. Hollywood, at and vintage trim. Electric blue resourceful formulation and least for a few blocks, main- mannequin hands reach expression of an entirely new, tains a kind of Times Square out from under the weighty, weird self—and the way in lite vibe—appreciably scuzzy, fancy folds of fabric, and which the artist brings it into sometimes outright scary, a skirt of rocks surrounds the being through the manipula- if not as strange as the fgure’s pooling yarnwork. tion of easily available, cheap, 40 “Hollyweird” captured in the On the wall, black and white and abundant plastics. 1980 flm Foxes with its charcoal drawings on vellum All the beading and hot glue buskers, hookers, and dogs show clown-y faces and in de Nieves’ works inhabit wearing sunglasses. fgurations; the elaborate a contradiction in the In Freedman make-up and costuming simplest way—heavy in look, Fitzpatrick’s main, and only, in each often bleeds into light in weight, and, art room, six bedazzled little abstract geometries in being in part in thrall to the fgures in platforms disperse, the background. discerning eye, one might get preening and gesturing, These drawings, all a cheap thrill out of identify- maybe towards each other or titled Fool (I, II, and III), ing so much cheap material. maybe at something unseen. alternate with panels Yet whether he intends it or Seemingly alien-human encrusted with yet more not, his employ of these hybrids with cherubic faces, plastic beads, each evoking plastics contributes directly encrusted, or engulfed, head something between stained to their supply and demand. to toe in plastic beading, they glass and a Lite Brite board. (Reeling somewhat from the could’ve wandered in from Summer, one of the panels, onslaught of plastic in the a few decades ago. They have could be a pool scene—blue show on the bus ride home, I monosyllabic, sassy-teen and green sections divvied added a note about recycling names—Evie, Rosha, Bethany up along meandering lines to my Grindr profle.) De (all works 2018)—all regis- like light shining through Nieves’ works are thus tered on the image list for The water. In the lower left, tight inorganic in an almost Guide, Raúl de Nieves’ frst beadwork forming the face asphyxiating way. solo show at the gallery. Their of Disney’s Cinderella foats, Reinvention as a daring haircuts and dated, if her image static and doll-like. conceptual ground is a kind not archaic, platform shoes Similar faces appear in the of perennial, relatable evince 1970s glam—that is, other panels, including that identity politic. The press glamour with the corners cut. of the devil (Autumn) and a text consists entirely of These creations of de Nieves witch (Winter). Each of these a poem speaking to fear, elephant-stomp their way faces lurk in meandering contemporary anxiety, and

Aaron Horst Reviews 41 -

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inting inting a a new new tive here, here, tive a a new new nd nd llery ture of of ture a te te ct iture iture ving it it ving lse. lse. a a a t / m / t a sy sy rker a a xiom a a ts disem ts a a a a rr a a group of of group a te a ss, perfor ss, o l n l a deep blue blue deep a nt o a l, is entirely entirely is l, a a f a p: “…the only only “…the p: ks the specter specter the ks a f uthentic self self uthentic a lism, l imp l a a d. d. rker’s p rker’s a a a a a nd-in for the the for nd-in inst ps it is it ps it, which h which it, t the n the t ppe a a a t toy with the the with toy t (2017), the f the (2017), nt to do / is jump / jump is / do to nt a a l decisions. decisions. l tiger a nxiety, unwilling unwilling nxiety, g a a l st a a a tiousness of de Nieves’ Nieves’ de of tiousness a uthentic, le uthentic, rker G rker boring over the b the over boring a s if divining some some divining if s a cy. But de Nieves Nieves de But cy. Also, the orn the Also, tely clo tely a l conundrums of of conundrums l ble to comprehend the the comprehend to ble a t I could / could I t a Ashton Cooper Ashton a a a a a a a September 16–September d of d sudden le cit, unseen structure structure unseen cit, chieving its explicitly explicitly its chieving nce, surre nce, ckground, looming over over looming ckground, re, re, a a a a a November 3, 2018 3, November a gures inste gures a nd the mercuri the nd brushed-in bespect brushed-in perplexing This herself). rtist others, seven longside t spect of the of spect tion of tion t P t Gertrud P Gertrud intric ingredients of the f the of ingredients cl of soup this in individu in from l from sets the tone for for tone the sets self-portr self.” Perh self.” consider its in self-centered self not through meticulous meticulous through not self th so / out come will I / so of the of f wild which on c ostent or un or of notion of self-portr of notion b ( blond he bodied m but from hours of tedious tedious of hours from but holistic, glob holistic, person ethic works th works work comes not from not comes work work but through the dr thethrough but work to note th note to thing I w I thing the desire to cre to desire the ultim In Gertrud P Gertrud In Belvedere f Authenticity lies somewhere somewhere lies Authenticity a a a a a a a a the self, might we infer that painting of a glowing motel ecstasy. In relation to the 11 the big cat is a fractured part pool and a couple falling past powerfully atmospheric of herself? Parker suggests a high-rise window (Double paintings selected for that both the artwork and the Suicide, 1983) launched him Return of the Repressed, self are rife with capacious into the public eye. his career-making work, and uncontrollable meanings. In recent years, Yarber Double Suicide (not included The more we try to make somewhat disappeared from in the show), seems oddly stable images of ourselves, view, although an autumn prescriptive—even narrow— the more they get away exhibition at Nicodim in its fatalism. from us. Importantly, in endeavored to change that. When Yarber is at his Parker’s hands, the unstable Return of the Repressed most thrilling, he paints with self doesn’t feel like a crisis. revolved metaphorically and a cinematic vividness that The work’s playfulness is literally around the motif of borders on the hallucinatory. a necessary component of the fall—a Biblical theme that He convincingly transports us the kind of exploration that was also central to Paradise to another realm, one that is doesn’t seek absolute Lost/Paradise Regained— in some senses realistic and in answers or stable meanings. although in most instances others utterly fantastical. In In placing a disembodied it is impossible to discern his paintings from the 1980s tiger, a mirror selfe, and her whether Yarber’s fgures are he lays down sharp-edged own sculpture side by side as falling or fying. In the earliest white outlines of smoothly self-portraits, Parker probes painting in this show, Regard rounded forms over pitch- the myriad ways we try to fx and Abandon (1985), a man black grounds. In the and monumentalize our own and a woman (always a man subsequent decade, the subjectivities. Taken together, and a woman, here) embrace, forms become sharper, Parker’s self-portraits are midair, hundreds of feet smoother, and more vivid still, fragments, never allowing above a city on a bay. He as if to compensate for their the subject to resolve into nuzzles her shoulder; she increasingly outré content. 42 a mythologized whole. turns her face upwards, In Séance with False Medium serenely, as if savoring the Trumpet Call from the Beyond Robert Yarber nighttime air. The scene is (1993)—one of the few almost still, as in the blissful earth-bound scenes in the at Nicodim Gallery instant before the plummet exhibition—we see three begins. In Error’s Conquest people around a table, eyes September 8 – (1986), there is a bit more closed in concentration. October 20, 2018 movement—her skirt billows A fourth man is blindfolded, around her—but the couple gagged, and bound with thick What I would give for a time might as well be dancing. In rope, a long hunting horn machine that could transport each painting, far below, the stufed into his mouth. Is this me back to Venice, Italy, in blue rectangle of an illumi- latter fgure a metaphor for the summer of 1984. That year, nated swimming pool awaits the artist, the composition at the Biennale, an exhibition their splashdown. an expression of doubt or titled Paradise Lost/Paradise Yarber makes narrative remorse for his painterly Regained: American Visions of paintings that are hard to trickery? If so, that seems like the New Decade had been defnitively decipher. If they an important message to get commissioned for the United are sufused with Christian straight. I never do, quite. States Pavilion by the New iconography—not only man Along with another bombas- Museum’s frebrand director, falling but also ascending, tic, circular from that Marcia Tucker. Along with along with intimations of same year, The Magus of fgurative painters such as airborne seraphim and Turin, this is the most narra- Charles Garabedian, Roger cherubim—the paintings tive work in the show, but also Brown, Judith Linhares, and themselves are defantly the point at which I begin to the Reverend Howard Finster, amoral. The broad intimation lose the thread. it included a young Oakland- is that self-abandonment, Yarber has been based artist named Robert or letting oneself fall, may be painting in a broadly Yarber, whose nocturnal oil the surest possible route to consistent style for over three

Jonathan Grifn Reviews 43 - -

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a ge f llic objects. Surrounded Surrounded objects. llic rbled bure rbled a tion. Though not restrict not Though tion. nd a a tes, steel screens, screens, steel tes, undry line in their vertic their in line undry m—f xed to w to xed a le’s sculptures. T sculptures. le’s a th , cement, twisted twisted cement, towels, th th rrier me. While n While me. a a a a a a a nd themes of impenetr of themes nd l mpli ll g ll length t loc ity ity enclosed feels one ing, is so often the typic the often so is exhibition—met the in resist dissent, ing, fo sound bl sound op in study sculptur sound; there is there sound; m Where silence. sculptur surrounding structures— of sculptures in this outlined outlined this in sculptures of le to droop, of the room room the of of resist of G out—here crying silence. of power the on fo cement, jutting microphone st microphone jutting phy of met of phy b noise—d met piecesthby b n person G video her r with voice her mixes noise of positions scre even picketing, encircled in encircled within this within the ide the becomes work the tion in her work between between work her in tion Household objects used for for used objects Household video on the other. The group group The other. the on video verbi zone h zone Movement I Movement gr Screen G a af a a a a These odd pieces rec pieces odd These l

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tion in in tion a a ming. ming. G a dminis tech sting sting st n st a a new new a sense, sense, a form of of form a r. The The r. a a a a ught ught a tter-of-f a ssoci c nd feed nd a a a n st n st a l, es a a f a me her leg her me sure of her her of sure ppe a l surn l a a rst thrums thrums rst f le [n le a ming ming a a me on her her on me nnounce nnounce secret even even secret G commonly commonly a f a a (2018) (2018) a a a a te gesture of of gesture cophony of of cophony nd in nd a a G nd unwelcome. unwelcome. nd a ding a a rtist’s voiceover voiceover rtist’s pting her own own her pting a a nd a c rtist Nikit rtist l refus l a le’s er le’s a le is le a a a ther whose cont whose ther quiet, m a a d le. If n If le. a t me signi me me is then is me a rm-up—the w rm-up—the a a a Simone Krug Simone f bout the fr the bout nce, nce, me is me G a f a ns of identi of ns Descent a & Council& a a a a September 22– September cted]. A loud bleep bleep loud A cted]. a n Nikit n electric guit electric n w a cks. She posits posits She cks. a a tive tive

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At his best, though, though, best, his At ic. a a intings, Y intings, ph rt is timeless is full of of full is timeless is rt a a Wh a rs to d to rs a a a dent brushwork, brushwork, dent use of their sc their of use des, a (2018) in which which in (2018) y, we feel more th ck ground. At my most most my At ground. ck t a f a n elsewhere: the else the elsewhere: n a a lity, but retre but lity, a titudinous shit. Art c Art shit. titudinous tedness does not equ not does tedness ught with its own set of of set own its with ught ck the punch of the tighter, tighter, the of punch the ck s prob s rbor while rbor zes out over over out zes rlier work. work. rlier rber’s p rber’s rber so rber a a a nd m nd a a a ction, of fever dre fever of ction, a a a a nchored to the moment moment the to nchored nd old, is l is old, nd crylic, f they wide), feet 11 re ppe bl a a a into its d its into in it seems to belong to to belong to seems it fr formul some of his work; his tech his work; his of some of its conception conception its of Y obsolescence. detriment; whoever s whoever detriment; con out, in high contr high in out, dec re h buzzing me no by pl bec p h In him. before p new niques niques his medium is re is medium his highlights neon-hued ens up with more provision more with up ens e ent. Every picture is picked picked is picture Every ent. where of cinem of where the work’s remoteness from from remoteness work’s the telegr time—though time—though there is there ungenerous, I might s might I ungenerous, D -p gre gestures gestures g ( Vista f a a a a a a Y Y Tod once a stage with life-size out to be not so great. Their Jouy) contrasts golden keys speakers, a prison cell with supposedly noble exploits are with sickly black fowers— bent bars, and an alley of well-documented throughout feurs du mal as opposed to hanging laundry lines. Most millennia of art history— the stately feur-de-lis—on striking are the foam earplugs commissioned portraits, a blue and green ground. patterned into the holes on altarpieces, and distin- Beneath the gilded veneer a metal bar grate, a Morse guished busts. But alongside, of luxury, lineage, and legacy, code rendered with the or perhaps underneath, this the dark side of inbreeding material accoutrement of dominant strain of visual and nepotism reveals itself. silence. Jammed into this propaganda, there is a more Pittman’s patterns are grate, these plugs allude to nuanced and contested not perfectly repeatable. the messages, names, and chronicle based on material Remarkably, all are created rules that the artist refuses culture, much of it created by by hand, with no computer both to abide by and to hear. women—objects, tools, folk or even preparatory sketches The earplug is a way to drown art, and . This is the to aid him. That process out that noise, to turn toward conceit behind Lari Pittman’s enlivens the compositions, one’s innermost refection latest show at Regen Projects, leaving small but noticeable and thoughts. Portraits of Textiles & Portraits discrepancies that keep our Gale performs an of Humans, which uses eyes moving. Pittman unusual feat in amplifying pattern and decoration to tell employs spray enamel and silence, dwelling in places stories of violence, corruption, vinyl-based acrylic, taping where it seems there is no inequality, and social tumult. and stenciling to produce noise at all. In her video, she Each of the large a surprising range of efects considers her abandoned last (approximately 6 × 7 foot) that recall the revolutionary— name, asking “what difer- in the show is in form and content— ence does it make to know named for a specifc fabric— designs of Stepanova as that something has been Crushed Velvet, , much as the mid-century 44 dropped if you never knew it Glazed —and features textiles of Alexander Girard. was there to begin with?” a repeating pattern made up The seductive, high-keyed Her disinterest and her of foral motifs, geometric color scheme and dancing deliberate deafness speak designs, and stylized objects patterns mask the grim to the oppressive weight not loaded with connotations subject matter, allowing it to simply of her name and the (bags of money, nooses, creep almost subliminally patrilineal system of naming, clamps) that form ambiguous into our consciousness. These but to the weight of history. but suggestive narratives. refned aesthetic tropes Using sound dampening In Portrait of a disguise a challenge to the objects in her sculptural () (all works 2018) for very order they represent. works, she endeavors to instance, a series of black Paired with each fabric drown out the stories and the axes foat atop an angry red archetype is a much smaller pain of the past, her own background of fowers, human portrait, linked to name among them. The loud alluding to the violent over- the larger canvas through video bleep rings again, throw of a polite social order. color scheme and decorative another redaction, another The diagonal composition elements. Instead of specifc use of powerful silence. intensifes this sense of names as with the textiles, turmoil. A tiled arrangement these are identifed solely by Lari Pittman of cartoonish purple portraits Ancient Greek words: Pathos, are covered by large sickles Ethos, Logos, Kairos, terms at Regen Projects in Portrait of a Textile (Revers- associated, respectively, with ible Jacquard) , alluding not the rhetorical appeals of September 15– only to the hope (and brutal- emotion, ethics, logic, and October 25, 2018 ity) of proletariat Marxist opportunity or decorum. revolution, but also to the Compared with the dynamic, Western History is the story of dangers of the totalitarianism monumental scenes hanging great men, or rather, rich and that followed. Portrait of beside them, the intimacy of powerful men, who often turn a Textile (Art-Deco de these images comes of as

Matt Stromberg Reviews 45 ris. a

nd a rtist (2018). a Evie rten Elder. rten a trick, Los Angeles/P Los trick, a Photo: M Photo: úl De Nieves, Nieves, De úl n Fitzp n a ge courtesy of the of courtesy ge a R a Im Freedm 46

Gertrud Parker, Looking in the Mirror (2018). Encaustic with gutskin and collage on panel, 18 × 10 1/4 × 1 inches. Image courtesy of the artist and Parker Gallery, Los Angeles. Reviews 47 - n ir. ir.

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a nd ts of individ of ts a t the results results the t a rtwork, rtwork, ne f ne a a re rxism puts puts rxism a a a a f ced by by ced rr a a lity of much much of lity more honest, if if honest, more a nonymous. a ngu ry ry s to the subject’s subject’s the to s l fe l a a lled with visu with lled a nced, complex complex nced, a ther th ther a a bly speci bly a n Expressionists Expressionists n f a a ss— tion of the individu the of tion a nts—eclipsed by by nts—eclipsed a inting—m a nd humble. All All humble. nd ting, but the f the but ting, a a tive M tive t men, they eschew eschew they men, t a r forms forms r n’sskillful subversion. n embeds his critique critique his embeds n view of history In focusing on p on focusing In st to typic to st its picture individu picture its s a a re repl re a r-cut n r-cut a a rger forces depicted in in depicted forces rger a a a a a a a ctic qu ctic a sure is test is sure a ped by movements movements by ped nes, these portr these nes, a tement. Th tement. tus, origin, or even gender, gender, even or origin, tus, a ls. The empires of gre of empires The ls. sel p sel n be so so be n ptiv a a a a a a a a nd convention nd more nu nd objects, Pittm objects, nd re distorted, h distorted, re cle ngul isol nd in modern society. Pittm society. modern in forth folksy st sh r struggle st c opposed to the more st more the to opposed did decor confounding, story. They story. confounding, contr gre of questions or pe or c concerned with the with concerned ple ruling cl ruling men As work. women’s mous revolution presenting presenting recogniz hopelessly portr pl works resemble Germby e exception within the l the within worn-down, or ghostly. In In ghostly. or worn-down, whether they they whether the l the im The textiles. the u Pittm Pittm a a a a a a a and low overhead. The Zoe Latta, the namesake “Here,” he said, “in politics of consumer culture designers behind the brand, the gallery.” were highlighted but the are included in the artist nebulous space between art roster, further blurring the He moved his silver-painted and commerce was left to liminal space they created nails from their resting the consumer, or rather, the with this store-like exhibition, position on the counter and average museum guest, at the intersection of fashion gingerly lifted a plexiglass to untangle. and contemporary art. When dome, like the lid of a cake How crucial is it that art is both self-evident and stand, to reveal glittering bits art distinguishes itself from utilitarian it defes categori- of jewelry. As he listed the fashion? The exhibition zation, especially when it price of a ring, the bass of the included 20 works of contem- refuses to replicate itself as music deepened and swelled, porary art that were commodity. The parasitic denying me from hearing the interspersed throughout the nature of the project’s astronomical price. showroom (including works conceptual framework by Jesse Reaves, Torey disallowed the gorgeous Thornton, Martine Syms, garments and accompanying and Matthew Lutz-Kinoy). artwork to truly embody their Even as every element of own conceptual space. Eckhaus Latta: Possesed was The promise of rarity, custom, bespoke, and of possessing a one-of-a-kind couture, fnding the actual piece plucked from an exhibit art on view—aside from in a museum, adds to an outftting the room as a item’s retail value. Much of matter of novelty and the machinations behind design—proved difcult. contemporary art have DREAMS in a Paralytic Ileus become indistinguishable 48 (2018) by Amy Yao was listed from that of a luxury brand. on the accompanying wall High-end retail makes the text as a trash can and garments less touchable, functioned as one. Glazed in while wearables (in art) beach tones, her ceramic make an artwork more sculpture wrapped its touchable; Possesed rested knotted, branchy arms somewhere in between. around the circumference of Being of the moment is an a plastic waste bin flled with opaque but urgent concern an empty seltzer bottle and for fashionistas and for a discarded museum ticket. would-be contemporary art When I asked for a list, stars, both concerned with the shop clerk explained that overlapping economies, both each garment had a price tag. concerned with a certain I meant the artwork, which brand of social capital. wasn’t listed for sale. This was The elegant shop a museum after all. Still, it clerk was interrupted by was difcult to imagine these a customer: artworks outside the context of the store. Textile Curtain for “Where is it possible dressing room (2017–18) by to buy something?” Susan Cianciolo, for example, a woman asked, pointing was a patchwork dressing to the rings. room curtain made with “Here,” the radiant shop plastic shower curtains, clerk replied, gesturing , , and paper. It was to the room. exactly what it said it was. “Here...right here?” Both Mike Eckhaus and she asked. Reviews 49

(1985). (1985).

rtist a 96 inches. 96 llery. llery. × a s, 72 a nv a Regard and Abandon Regard nd Nicodim G nd Nicodim ge courtesy of the a a rber, rber, a Im Acrylic on c Robert Y

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rtist a llery. llery. a tion view). a ll Return of the Repressed of Return a Nicodim G Nicodim (inst rber, rber, a Photo: Lee Thompson. Lee Photo: ge courtesy of the a Im Robert Y 50

Nikita Gale, DESCENT MOVEMENT I (2018). Steel, cement, foam, towels, 66 × 40 × 7 inches. Image courtesy of the artist and Commonwealth & Council. Reviews

51

Lari Pittman, Portrait of a Textile () (2018). Cel-vinyl, spray enamel on canvas over wood panel, 81 × 70 × 2 inches. Image courtesy of the artist and Regen Projects, Los Angeles. 52

Eckhaus Latta: Possessed (2018) (installation view). Image courtesy of the Whitney Museum. Photo: Jason Mandella. Review Contributors Exquisite L.A. Contributors Aaron Horst is a writer based in Los Angeles. Over the past twelve years in Los Angeles, His writing has appeared in Carla, Flash Art, Claressinka Anderson has worked as an art dealer, and ArtReview. adviser and curator and is the owner of Marine

Projects. Originally from London, England, she is Reviews Jonathan Grifn is a writer living in Los Angeles. also a writer of poetry and fction, some of which He is a contributing editor for , and also can be found at Autre Magazine, The Los Angeles writes regularly for ArtReview, The Art Newspaper, Press, Artillery Magazine, and The Chiron Review. Art Agenda and others. His book, On Fire, is published by Paper Monument. Joe Pugliese, a California native, specializes in portraiture and shoots for a mixture of editorial Ashton Cooper is a Los Angeles-based independent and advertising clients. He has recently completed writer and curator and doctoral student in the projects for such titles as Wired, Vanity Fair, Department of Art History at the University of Men’s Journal, and Billboard magazines, as well Southern California. as advertising campaigns for Netfix, Sony, and AMC. His images have been honored by the Society Simone Krug is a curator and writer. Her writing has of Publication Design, American Photography, appeared in Artforum, Art in America, and Frieze, and Communication Arts. He lives and works among other publications. in Los Angeles.

Matthew Stromberg is a freelance arts writer based in Los Angeles. In addition to Carla, he has contrib- uted to The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, KCET Artbound, Hyperallergic, Artsy, Frieze, Terremoto, and Daily Serving.

Angella d’Avignon is a writer in New York by way of Los Angeles. 53