Keeping up with Kathryn Jaroneski: New Work, New Studio

Kathryn Jaroneski is an abstract painter who lives in Los Angeles. I really enjoyed her solo show "Looking for something and maybe almost finding it" in Silverlake. Since then she's shown some more, and she was accepted into Roland Reiss' Painting's Edge, the advanced painting residency in Idyllwild, California.


Now she's got a new studio, and she's doing new things. Her sharp instinct for color and composition threads through her work as she explores brighter shades and experiments with technique.


:: bogna ::

The World Is Now Ready For Strong Heroines

One of my favorite directors/visionaries Chris Cunningham has directed a beautiful commercial for Gucci's Flora with Australian model Abbey Lee.

I'm totally inspired by this, and coincidentally since I just shot a Beauty Ad (more on that later) I've definitely been thinking about the notions of capturing the beauty and the power of the feminine on camera.

I love this quote from Riccardo Ruini, who developed the concept with Frida Giannini and Chris Cunningham:

“Foremost in our minds was a desire to avoid the heroine being perceived as passive or dreamy. We wanted to portray the female as an active character who brings to life in an active way the Flora personality by controlling the nature around her. We also felt it was important to demonstrate a movement of the female from mademoiselle to empowered woman; a woman initially delicate and feminine transforming into someone stronger and more powerful. “

See? It's time. Gucci is never wrong.



More on this at Dazed Digital.

:: bogna ::

I have officially been podcast'd...

How cool! It's an audio version of the ArtScene review of my solo show Safari Americana: Scenes of Delight. Here is a link to the whole podcast on ArtScene:

:: bogna ::

Having fun with vinyl

Lately I've been working with vinyl. Yes, vinyl. The stuff of non-plasma billboards, outdoor signage, and rockstar underpants. I've been working with it, and I have to say there is something special about it. It is, in essence, an exhibitionist, intended for public consumption, yet it seems to yearn for meaning or relevance, beyond what an ad campaign could ever give it. Thank goodness I'm working with vinyl, otherwise vinyl would be depressed, or just go crazy and tear up our landfills in a fit of rage.

A fun thing I got to do recently was create an individual cover for Crystal Allen Cook's forthcoming book Bombardirovka. And since anything went, it went vinyl. In working with it I found it to be pliable, vibrant, and amiable. So a little collage was born. Oh, and I added a small giraffe using a silver sharpie - as an ode to that crazy SNL video that has been making me laugh for a week.

So why would Crystal encourage me to deface one of her book covers? It's all part of her Art Knows No Borders event in downtown LA next week, an "art, literary, and music event to have fun and raise awareness of the work of Doctors Without Borders." Personally, I am a fan of the charity and am very happy to participate. I've got a couple of small pieces in the auction as well. It should be a good event.

And again, how great is Downtown LA getting? Even Urth Cafe will be setting up shop in the art district soon.

:: bogna ::

Pin Ups Revealed

I am a big fan of art photography which is as strong in concept as it is in execution. And I feel like I haven't been stumbling upon it that often in galleries lately. Mostly I've either seen technically well-executed photographs without a complex concept, or, I've seen complex concepts without a commitment to photographic execution. So I constantly yearn for the best of both worlds, where concept meets execution at a peak, elevating photography - and any aspect of it - to the higher art form that it can be.
Luckily, I recently saw an exhibit which was terribly satisfying. Currently at Regen Projects, you can catch Gillian Wearing's Pin Ups. And if there is anything worth catching, it's that exhibit. Gillian questions our need for transformation and artifice by offering exactly that to amateur models who want it very badly. She then shares the results with us; it's like a scientific experiment to expose a hunger in our modern psyche to be made over, airbrushed, and presented to the world as the sexiest beast alive. And it's not just the ladies who want to be objectified, "Pin Ups" is an equal opportunity exploiter, granting sexpot transformation to both men and women, making their Pin Up dreams come true.

Wearing presents her Pin Ups as gorgeous, colorful photo-realistic airbrushed paintings, based on photo shoots of the models in sexy attire and attitudes. But Wearing also anchors the eye candy with a strong narrative component. Behind each painted panel lie snapshots and written essays from each model, offering the viewer a healthy dose of reality behind the fantasy, quite literally. The subjects, often self-diagnosing their self-esteem issues in handwritten pleas to be photographed, are given life by their own words. And while their words express a desire to be presented in sexy perfection to the public at large, the casual snapshots reveal how far from that each model is in daily life. The viewer might feel a bevy of feelings - such as temptation, compassion, scorn, pity, admiration, intrigue - all at the same time. By showing us both the vulnerability and the magnificence of each model, Wearing continues her explorations of identity while sharing with us the manufacturing process of image, the way a magician might reveal a slight of hand. And at the end of the day, the The Pin Ups have been humanized. You might feel a little educated, a little human, maybe even a little dirty afterwards, but like most successful art viewings, it will linger long after you leave the gallery.

:: bogna ::

Rolling along with Bucky

I think we all know I have a soft spot for animals and road trips, (my recent solo show SAFARI AMERICANA: SCENES OF DELIGHT pretty much proves it), and I recently saw another artist's take on those two subjects that are close to my heart, so I'd like to introduce you to David Dechant's Bucky Rolls Like That (pictured below).


Bucky Rolls Like That is an ode to Rauschenburg, since there is the presence of taxidermy, there is a tire, and the lines between sculpture and painting are blurred (see Rauschenburg's "Monogram" pictured right). Dechant adds a playfulness to his subject. The vibrant pigments painted on the bear's fur, nose, and even tongue, give the beast a surreal beauty and humor. David also painted the tire treads white and repeated their geometry in three substantial panels mounted on the wall behind the piece, using that visual language to promise us a nice flowing ride. And by adding exaggerated, ornamental low-rider style handlebars, Dechant poses the question, is Bucky the bear simply roadkill? or is he actually in control of the ride?

And by using Rauschenberg's Combines as a point of departure, David is practicing his own manifesto he calls Varyism by arranging art objects spatially in order to construct intellectual, not physical, relationships. Bucky Rolls Like That is constructed as an interactive arrangement, where the visceral and the elegant can coexist.

:: bogna ::

SAFARI AMERICANA: As Seen In ArtScene!

I was thrilled to read the review of my solo show in this month's ArtScene. Suvan Geer's review of my art has brought certain themes to my attention, themes that challenge me to grow as a person and as an artist. I am grateful for that.

Part of the reason I make art in the first place is to constantly answer the simple questions, like "who am I?" And the answers keep on coming, which in turn only make me ask more questions. I am sure I am not alone in this.

Without any further ado, here is a peak at the article.

Excerpted from ArtScene
ARLENE BOGNA and BARBARA BLATT
By Suvan Geer (July 2008)
Arlene Bogna’s "Safari Americana" photographs make the viewer sink into a nostalgic reverie. She asks us to consider what it is in human nature, or the American psyche, that makes us delight in the sight of painted, three dimensional animals perched atop sign poles or hawking honey from flat bed trucks. Bogna’s images have the spontaneous feel of snapshots, yet the carefully orchestrated camera angles and artist’s repeated down-low perspective capture the sheer naive exhibitionism of the roadway animal signs.
[Click here to read the full article.]



:: bogna ::

Art as a Dangerous Conversation

Last weekend was a cultural treat. My gallery excursions included a visit to Jack Rutberg Gallery where I got to hear Jack Rutberg speak. And I followed up a day at the galleries with an evening at the REDCAT theater to see The Actors Gang do a stage adaptation of George Orwell's 1984. And I realized a common theme: Art can be a very dangerous conversation.
First of all, Jack Rutberg is an amazing gallerist with an insightful and encyclopedic knowledge of art and art history (thank goodness he is writing a book!). It was interesting to hear Mr. Rutberg explain how revolutionary Francisco Zuniga's work was in his time, and how the artist had to fight exile because of it. I remember seeing quite a few Zuniga sculptures in the front gallery over the years, now I know it is one of Jack Rutberg's many ways of acknowledging art and its place in our history, beyond the aesthetics. Mr. Rutberg went on to discuss how totalitarian regimes always try to suppress art, which only demonstrates how truly vital art is to our cultures and lives. The lesson was clear: no matter what, art is beyond necessity.
This was the perfect conversation to prep me for my evening with The Actors Gang's stage adaptation of George Orwell's 1984. Apparently the project came about when director Tim Robbins revisited 1984 and realized that the work is even more relevant today than it was eight years ago, twenty years ago, or even sixty years ago. And the stage adaptation is literally a dangerous conversation: Wesley is being interrogated and tortured by a wing of the government that prosecutes "thought criminals." It is truly a dystopian world of totalitarianism, where the administration monitors all your behavior and thoughts, meeting all forms of self-expression with extreme cruelty. Tim Robbins also pointed out the totalitarian logic that wars are fought not to conquer other nations, but rather to deplete the aggressor nation's resources so that its own citizens are suppressed. The Actors Gang has traveled all over the world with this piece, from Athens to Hong Kong, and they claim that international audiences are clamoring "to find out what is really going on with America."
The conversation shifted this weekend, when I read "'Wall-E': A stealth Michael Moore-style attack on America?" in Patrick Goldstein's blog in the LA Times. I was already planning to see Wall-E over the weekend, and I'm glad I did. I thought it was a brilliant film and story, and whenever they come out with Wall-E plushy toys, I will definitely need one because I am a fan. But was it a scathing attack? No. But it was social criticism. Which is healthy. And entertaining. Read anything by Mark Twain to know why. And Mark Twain happens to be on this month's cover of Time Magazine (finally) with the cover story: "The Dangerous Mind of Mark Twain." Now that's a conversation!

:: bogna ::

Safari in the Summer? Oh yes.

I had the best summer solstice ever. The opening of SAFARI AMERICANA: SCENES OF DELIGHT packed the gallery at its peak last Saturday (here is a photo by TastyPiePhotography.com before the crowds gathered):
I was so happy to see my friends, some who I haven't seen for a while, come out and support me, willing to spend some time in a crowded white room with me on a hot summer LA night. What a great feeling! And it was fun to talk to people I just met. I loved everyone's interpretations and observations about my work, and I must have had the same empty water bottle in my hand for hours because I was on a roll fielding questions non-stop. And I absolutely loved it when people went over to the audio installation and got the courage to push the button that was there to tempt them (the name of that piece is Satisfaction, and it's okay to push the button, and I'm not telling what happens if you do).
I was quite excited that METROMIX had written an awesome article about my show, and I was thrilled to find out that ARTSCENE is running a preview article by Suvan Geer! It was also a blast to get to meet Peggy Fogelman, so brilliant, so sophisticated, and an absolute curatorial rockstar (you can thank Peggy for putting contemporary artists' work into The Getty Center...yeah, she's that great) only to find out that she helped select my show for the gallery! I am over the moon.
My show is up through July 18th if you haven't already checked it out. And please, if you can, do check it out. I am so happy to have this opportunity to share my work with you.

:: bogna ::

The Unveiling at Steve's

With my the opening of my show SAFARI AMERICANA: SCENES OF DELIGHT just a couple of days away, it was great to go to see Steve at Finishing Concepts and have a peek at my mounted photos. It felt like a reunion! Here is a pic of Steve unveiling my mounted print of Bronco just in time for the show.

It's funny, I think all roads lead to Steve when it comes to fine art photography finishing, and I think it's been that way for generations. And to think that I just stumbled upon him because I liked his work, only to find out that he owns THE place to go in Los Angeles to get fine art photography prints ready for the walls. As you might be able to see, Steve's space is awesome, and there are amazing photographs there (John Baldessari anyone?). So I have to give him a proper shoutout because he made my day. So Steve, if you are out there, you totally rock!

:: bogna ::

Oh, it is definitely ON! Ready for SAFARI AMERICANA: SCENES OF DELIGHT

Life is sweet. Lately my days are filled with the images from my upcoming solo show. They are always with me. I get through each day just fine, but I am living with an extra quality to my life as I prepare. I love it.

Somebody recently asked me what inspired me for SAFARI AMERICANA: SCENES OF DELIGHT. Well, let's see if I can answer that.

You could say that someone's impulse to fabricate a gigantic plastic cow to house a roadside business triggered an impulse within me to stop the car immediately and photograph it. Think about it, imagine you are driving down a remote rural highway when you see a gigantic fabricated plastic cow on the side of the road, and you think to yourself, 'Wait, is that a Jeff Koons installation? Oh, it's not - well, what's that about?' And my point is: exactly. After that experience, I started to see more and appreciate just how pervasive animal symbols are in modern life. I started to chuckle at the thought that a plastic bovine could give street cred to almost any business: barbecue restaurant, rv dealership, honey stand, you name it. And it's like we exist in such a world without noticing how wonderfully strange that is. Well, I noticed, and I started to explore that.

And since I know that absolutely anything could be done in terms of digital art and photo-realistic special effects, I decided that my personal art was to be raw and analog in order for it to have the most meaning for me. Perhaps because of my background, that is the line in the sand between 'work' and 'art'. I have to find ways to experience my freedom, i.e. did the expired film in my overheated holga make the Mississippi River look like a red nuclear pond? Fine. Good. Print it. Yes.

I've been reflecting about my Artist Influences for my show, and here they are:

Gerhard Richter
I am simply awestruck by his work, especially by his photo-based paintings and his abstract paintings. I love that he is such a master of visual representation yet he can also go totally abstract. He is vital to me.

Mona Kuhn
The softness and dreamy intimacy of her work gives me a sense of connection. Her photographs exist in a world all their own.

Jeff Koons
Provocative, bold and playful. I enjoy how the scale of his work instantly forces a confrontation. And I think the world is a definitely a better place because of his balloon dogs.

So, if you find yourself in Los Angeles on June 21st, please come on by to the SAFARI AMERICANA: SCENES OF DELIGHT Artist Reception @ Gallery 825. It is my delight to be able to share my work with you.

:: bogna ::

Group Show at the Bird Museum

To those who think art is for the birds, artist Michael Giancristiano salutes you! He has recently created the Eli Bird Contemporary Art Center, a miniature museum in which
he curates art shows with accurate miniatures of original fine art pieces. I am happy to say his first show features a wide range of work from many contemporary artists, and it includes a miniature of my abstract color photograph the abyss.

I can usually spot Giancristiano's work right away. He knows how to work with wood and media to create something elegant yet organic. I've mostly seen his 'On Thin Ice' series of paintings on plywood which minimally reveal the deeper layers of his work, showing a process that feels persistent, measured, and natural.

As for the Eli Bird Contemporary Art Center, otherwise known as the EBCAC, part of Michael's concept is to have work that invokes nature, and I believe that the EBCAC shows will also benefit children's foundations.


The inaugural EBCAC show has work by the following artists:
Lori Agostino, Dori Atlantis, Arlene Bogna, Paul Blieden, Richard Bruland, Ellen Cantor, Rebecca Hamm, Yoichi Kawamura, Linda Kunik, Daniel Lara, Lynda Lester, Erika Lizee, Rebecca Lowry, Freyda Miller, Amandine Nabarra-Piomelli, Hung Nguyen, Ana Osgood, Paul Pitsker, Bryan Ricci, Gina Stepaniuk, Elizabeth Tobias, David Eli Vaughn, Valerie Wilcox, Karen Frimkess Wolff, Kyoung Ha Yoo.
It's nice to see how many artists find Giancristiano's concept absolutely irresistible.

:: bogna ::

A shout out to the Stripe Factory

I recently wandered into the gallery in Chinatown known as Sister and ran into 'Stripe Factory' by artist Danica Phelps. Stripe Factory is a series of panels with perhaps thousands of little stripes arranged on them. Meticulous? Yes. Fastidious. Oh yeah. Method to the madness? Absolutely. Apparently the artist really made these panels factory-style with assistants to help make all the stripes in the name of efficiency.
What's nice about these panels is how different they seem when viewed from different distances. From one vantage point, a panel seems to hold purely an abstract texture. If you get a little closer, you can detect a pattern. From one angle there is a slight optical illusion, from another you can really see the detailed work. And if you get a little closer, each little piece of a stripe has its own shape and integrity, which can start to feel maddening when seeing so many of them. And I mean maddening in a good way. It's a nice exercise in seeing the forest, or the trees, or the veins of each leaf, depending on a couple of steps.

:: bogna ::

(Detail of a panel from Stripe Factory)

'My Life as a Filmmaker' and other soapboxes

Recently I was asked to speak at Gabrielle Kelly's "My Life as a Filmmaker" class at Los Angeles Film School. I was happy to come and talk about the skills of survival needed in the big filmmaking world out there, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to fill in the hour and a half. But the students were very cool and very excited about their projects and their goals after graduation. I was impressed that they all seemed to specialize in a trade that complemented their long term goals.
I shared my stories of survival, showed a couple reels, talked about Vista Point Pictures, and listened to their concerns. Then I gave a little bit of tough love that I wish someone had given me: that it is your responsibility as an artist to be resourceful and to do some strategic planning so that you may continue your art and your craft. That it's okay to have professional experience, or to learn something about finances and commerce along the way, without worrying that knowing those things might somehow make you less of an artist or a pure creative. And that it is up to you to keep developing and strengthening your craft and your voice. I think many artists just want a patron to swoop in and develop their raw talent for them, but this ain't the Renaissance. There are things you can do to buy your own independence, even if only in little chunks at a time. Being savvy isn't something that need come only after huge 'overnight' commercial success. Self-reliance means being authentic and responsible throughout the process of your journey as an artist. And as an artist, you may not have a way out of that...
Before I knew it, the class was over, and I was all pumped up from having jumped onto my soapbox. I don't know if my talking was helpful, but I hope to see great things from these students in the future. We are all in this together, after all.

:: bogna ::

Getttin' ready for SAFARI AMERICANA

Yes, it's just around the corner. 'It' being SAFARI AMERICANA: Scenes of Delight, my solo show this summer at Gallery 825 in Los Angeles. I'm excited that I get to have the big space that I wanted in the back, and I get to fill it. And I will. With big, fun colorful images taken with toy cameras from my road tripping. And it's analog, baby. Except for the multimedia component of course. But it's mostly large format color photographs dominating the walls with the images that dominated me when I saw them in "real" life. And since I am about to experience a very rewarding process both as a visual artist and as a filmmaker, I am pulling up my sleeves, rubbing my hands together, and giggling on the inside. I cannot wait!

Public But Not Forgotten: a potato in a parking lot

I am very fond of a certain potato in a parking lot. But it's not just any potato. It's a bronze potato sculpture, and it's sitting in the parking lot of Anawalt Lumber & Hardware in West Los Angeles.
Seriously. Do people even notice it on their way to the hardware store? Do they stop and think how those three massive bronze potatoes could balance off each other so precariously? It is art, after all. Someone had to imagine it and cast it in bronze. It's got a title and everything: "Crutch."
When shoppers use a car remote to lock/unlock their cars, and the potato sculpture happens to be obstructing their view of the automobile, then maybe, maybe, they see "Crutch" for a second... but I think that's about it. I mean, if anyone saw you admiring it in the parking lot, wouldn't they laugh at you?
I guess we've forgotten that art can exist in something as banal and utilitarian as a parking lot. Well, at Pico and Sepulveda, apparently it can. So the next time you need lumber, a bolt, or an eyeglass screwdriver, just remember that art might be lurking someplace unexpected, and closer than you think.

Looking for Something

If you are looking for an antidote to the kitsch trend in art this summer, then look just a little further, like towards Hyperion and Rowena in Silverlake, CA.
"Looking for something and maybe almost finding it" is the title of Kathy Jaroneski's solo exhibition at the Silverlake Neighborhood Council.
Her paintings have a quality of seeing both through and far into an introspective reality.
The color composition is bold and soothing at the same time, like good design, but the forms, strokes, and drips of paint have a motion which makes the paintings come alive.
There is a tension in her work, a dichotomy where discipline meets emotion. Color logic rules over expressive brushstrokes in "Silvia's Lake", while a light palette serves to offset an aubergine storm in "Aubergine #2". It lulls you in then shakes you up. Definitely a must for anyone seeking some emotional authenticity in a season of empty blockbusters and subprime refinancing.

On another note, let's hear it for seeing something you weren't really looking for in the first place, and would rather not have seen, but now that you have you can't help but grin a little. I found myself grinning at the Claremont Museum of Art when I saw this sculpture. You get the picture. You should see what the artist Amy Maloof did to a shopping cart as well.

Enjoy the heat and keep looking.

:: bogna ::

Walking the Art Walk

Did you get to the Culver City Art Walk? If not, there's always next year. Didn't know there were galleries in Culver City? Well, you might want to up your 411 skills and come check it out. Even when there aren't large happy swells of people ebbing in and out of the galleries during an official art walk with live jazz in the air, it's still worth seeing anytime.

I was so happy to see Mike Stilkey at BLK/MRKET Gallery. His solo show HORSE STORIES was beautiful, and his success couldn't happen to a nicer guy. He totally helped me when I was framing a gallery submission and I seriously wish him well. It was good to see so much of his work, especially when accompanied by his whimsical horses on the walls and all those red dots.


I also was thrilled to see Nicola Vruwink at d.e.n. contemporary. I first saw her work at the OPEN SHOW at Gallery 825 and I knew she was a genius for crocheting audio cassette tape. There is a deep satisfaction when looking at - and reading - her work. Between her and Sharon Kagan, knitting and crochet has been forever elevated in my mind as the ultimate avant-garde lovingly ironic art medium.


So, even if you missed the art walk, you can still make it out there and not be disappointed. And if you do find yourself in Culver City, make sure you see Blum & Poe. They started it all. And I do know that every time I go to Blum & Poe I leave happy, like I've really seen something. Usually something big.

WACK! 'd and loving it

If you haven't seen the WACK! show at the Geffen Contemporary, why not? Afraid of feminist art? Don't be. The show has a bit of everything: it's humorous, somber, playful, sad, mischievious, showy, intense, experimental, revolutionary, exploitational, intimate, legendary, so there is something for everyone.

There have been plenty of reviews about WACK! but I just wanted to share the pieces that affected me the most.

First of all, I think one of the funniest inventions of mankind is pantyhose, but it gets better...What if someone made a bold, sophisticated installation out of pantyhose? Not a lame piece, or a pretty docile piece about texture, but something, I dunno, macho, but in an ironic way? There have been times I must say I've been tempted to try, especially after a bad day from a corporate past-life, but Senga Negudi has done what needed to be done and let's leave it at that and enjoy it. It's the first image in the second row on the Geffen's online gallery.

Or have you ever seen any of Judy Chicago's work up close? I still see her Through The Flower piece turning in my head. And nearby was the "soft gallery" - I can now say I have been inside a self-reflective art gallery made of mattresses. So many great pieces but I don't want to spoil the surprises.

Gallery 825 just had an ArtSpeak series with some of the pioneers/renegades of early Feminist Art. We are lucky that we have the opportunity to look at art so politically charged for its time and talk about it openly.

Have you seen WACK!?

:: bogna ::