PAST EXHIBITIONS:

MICHAEL PATRICK DEE

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 5, 6-8 PM

Newman Popiashvili Gallery is pleased to present the second solo exhibition of Los Angeles-based artist Michael Dee. Thick, Warm and Round includes 3 new works that address the purpose of transgression in the arts, the presence of dual realities in rock, and the emptiness of fame. Dee titled his show with three commonly used adjectives to describe American Blues music.

“Here It Comes Again” is a 4- second loop using found footage from the film Badlands. The work references Francis Picabia’s self-portrait as a car horn. Picabia believed that he served no purpose except to warn of the impending future. In the loop there is no escape, the radio will not lighten the mood, the road will not clear, and the car will not decelerate.

“Double Impact” is a 2-minute video loop of an Otis Redding concert performance superimposed and sequenced over a Rolling Stones concert performance. Each band is playing “Satisfaction” live in the 60’s. In spite of The Stones being widely considered the world’s most popular and/or greatest rock and roll band, their version only hints at the expression, spontaneity, and power Otis injects into his rendition of their hit.

“Star” is a sculpture made out of melted whiskey tumblers and placed on a light box for a pedestal. The decorativeness and the luminescence of the sculpture are at odds with the fact that it is merely a shell, which neither emits light nor has an orbit.