Double Take

2006

Regent Galleries, Los Angeles, CA

Michelle Andrade
Anna Magnuson
Adam Mars
Lorenzo Hurtado-Segovia

“Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” –Oscar Wilde

Why do we always have to choose between having our cake and eating it?  After all, artists like nothing more than to snuggle up to contradictions, play with ideas, invert hierarchies, and in general, mess with the accepted order of things.
A trip to the two spaces that make up Gallery Duo affords the visitor an opportunity to see different works by the same artists in two contrasting, yet contiguous spaces.  Here, energetic, imaginative exploration is given room to run in many directions at once.

Each artist in this show attempts to look again at what was once taken for granted, and revels in the unexpected surprises that await an open eye and an open mind.  

Anna Magnuson’s work attempts to bring into focus the subtle beauty of ordinary and forgotten things.  A contemporary flaneur, Magnuson wanders the city and captures the urban landscape in both paint and photographs, calling attention to the unseen formal qualities hidden in everything from covered graffiti to abandoned furniture.  

Adam Mars also takes Los Angeles as a muse.  His deep-fried tabloids and startling photographs use humor and the abject to wipe away the shiny veneer that conceals Hollywood’s celebrity machine.

John Weston is interested in redirecting the viewer’s appreciation of the quotidian, but his investigations focus on an altogether different part of the human psyche.  In his paintings and books, Weston plumbs the depths of the libidinal and frenetic unconscious, unafraid of the uncanny imagery he may find buried deep within a reflection, a theoretical text, or a Freudian slip.

Michelle Andrade uses everyday forms and objects like a square, a bar of soap, a peculiar shade of blue, and with patience and dedication she transforms these items into glorified, almost solemn, objects of desire.

Lorenzo Hurtado-Segovia also makes works that champion beauty, desire and playfulness.  His colorful installations and vibrant paintings call attention to such altruistic actions as gift giving and celebrate the blissful state of being in love.