Culver City’s West Los Angeles College Art Gallery is showcasing the work of 10 top Los Angeles artists in the exhibit “Everybody Loves Nudes.”
Curated by renowned art dealer and radio personality Molly Barnes, the exhibit features nudes by art world greats; Don Bachardy, Derek Boshier, David Bungay, Mauro Caputo, Simone Gad, Jim Morphesis, James Strombontne, Jon Swihart, William Tunberg, and Christopher Ulrich.
This is a unique opportunity to see the work of these living legends in the same gallery.
Curator Molly Barnes, known for discovering John Baldessari, Gronk, Mark Kostabi and Bob Cottingham, worked diligently to get this group of artists together for this exhibit.
The idea came to Barnes shortly after stumbling upon Culver City’s West Los Angeles College campus. She was surprised and enamored by the beauty of the campus .
Because of Culver City’s reputation as a respected art center in Los Angeles, the decision to have an exhibit of this caliber at WLAC seemed an easy choice to Barnes.
With the cooperation of the WLAC Art Department “Everybody Loves Nudes” opening artist’s reception on Nov. 15 was a success and the gallery, located on campus at the top of Albert Vera Street is open Tuesday – Saturday from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. through Thursday, Dec. 13.
Barnes is on site most days and always happy to answer questions about the artists and their work.
Don Bachardy, America’s leading celebrity portraitist—with shows all over the world—lived with writer Christopher Isherwood for thirty years, and they were the subject of Tom Ford’s recent film “A Single Man.”
Derek Boshier, considered a British superstar with his erotic transsexual and straight nudes, teaches at UCLA and recently showed at the Tate Modern in London.
Mauro Caputo is successful perfume package designer for Revlon and Fred Hayman and teaches here at West L. A. College. He creates pop art reinterpretations of famous paintings by artists such as Picasso, Modigliani, Courbet, and Matisse.
The exhibit includes Simone Gad’s large sculpture that recreates a life sized Marilyn Monroe standing at her vanity, throat slashed, possibly by the Kennedy brothers, whose autographed pictures are on her makeup table.
Simone Gad had a cameo in the film “Speed” starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.
Assemblage artist and painter of classic male nudes Jim Morphesis, was a winner of the LACMA outstanding young talent award. Recently Jim had a sell out show at Garboushian Gallery in Beverly Hills.
James Strombotne, a popular Southern California painter and teacher at U.C. Riverside for fifty years, was recently included in four Getty shows.
One of his paintings, shown in Time magazine in the late sixties, depicts Gary Cooper seducing a young girl with a yo-yo.
Jon Swihart, painter of American presidents and Supreme Court justices, is exhibiting his one classic nude in the show.
William Tunberg is a Venice artist who works with exotic natural and dyed veneers assembled over complex sculptural forms.
And Christopher Ulrich paints disturbing gothic figures and dragons. He recently exhibited with Molly Barnes in New York City and Christopher will be showing his thirty-foot “Last Supper“ mural at Billy Shire Fine Arts in December.
There is also a bonus installation piece by WLAC Humanities and Fine Arts chairperson and artist Michael Arata; an amusing and lighthearted interpretation of the peep show.
“I’m so glad I came. Having Molly Barnes here to answer my questions and share first hand accounts about the artists and what inspired them to create the work in the exhibit was fascinating. Loved it,” said Jane Wright a Culver City resident.
The best way is to enter WLAC through the Overland (9000 Overland Ave.) entrance just south of Jefferson Boulevard. Keep in mind if you drive onto campus parking is $2 and the parking structure will not accept bills larger than a $5.
However, to avoid the parking fee you may park off campus on the neighborhood streets and walk onto the campus. It’s a comfortable walk but there is a bit of an incline leading up Albert Vera Street to the Gallery.