AGENT OF ORDINARY PLEASURES
In partnership with Maiden LA, VC Projects presents,
A group exhibition pop up show, on view at The Lodge gallery, Hollywood
1024 N. Western Ave. Los Angeles Ca. 90029. From September 10 - 24th, 2020 (Two weeks only) By appointment only. Contact: victoria@vcprojects.art | Event details below
A selection of works on paper, mixed media, and photography exploring intimacy and sense of self.
Participating artists: Brandy Eve Allen, Nils Benson, Yuri Boyko, Aaron Coyes, Shane Guffogg, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Sean Leech, Julio Panisello-Huguet, Randi Matushevitz, Abtin Mozaffari, Erica Shires, L. Mikelle Standbridge, and Martyn Thompson
Covid Safe Social Event: Saturday, September 19th, 2020 from 1pm to 6pm
Abtin Mozaffari’s Ctrl + Alt + Del (2003) (11:48 min) | Aaron Coyes’ Score for Intimacy | Masks required and viewing art/film limited to 2 guests at a time to enter the space
The idea for Agent of Ordinary Pleasures arose a few months into 2020, a year that has thrust contemplation on us all. Everyone is facing existential questions and I think art can be a tonic if not the solution. In a sense, this group of works represents a quiet response to our times. While also referencing the past and key moments that thread through art history - from modernism to ancient times - this exhibition had simple parameters. I wanted the scale and tone to reflect a mood. Generally speaking, the works, which include photography, drawing and painting, are rendered in black and white. As a kind of retreat from the contemporary art industry - where the canvas seems to get larger and flashier each year - curating pieces that are smaller and staged in a beguiling mise-en-scène speaks to a desire for the physical and humanistic. Agent of Ordinary Pleasures features many of my favorite artists. I had looked for images that captured intimacy and pleasure in the familiar. Ordinary, a word that may sound reductive to some, isn’t used as a pejorative. One of art’s key functions is to elevate everyday life into a greater, more expansive domain. I hope that those who view these pieces are invited to ask questions about their own relationship with intimacy and pleasure. – Victoria Chapman