Fort Greene

September 17 – October 29, 2016

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Installation view of Fort Greene, Los Angeles, Venus Over Los Angeles, 2016

Press Release

Fort Greene - - Exhibitions - Venus Over Manhattan

Fort Greene
curated by Adrianne Rubenstein
September 17 - October 29, 2016
Opening: Saturday, September 17th, 4:00 - 7:00 pm

VENUS
601 South Anderson Street
Los Angeles, CA 90023

(Los Angeles, CA) – VENUS is pleased to present Fort Greene, an exhibition curated by Adrianne Rubenstein. The show will feature over 90 works in diverse media by 27 established and emerging artists.

Rubenstein, a curator, painter and director at CANADA in New York, assembled the show as an homage to the artists and artworks that she most admires. One could think of it as the curatorial manifestation of her art world family tree. The show maps a web of connections between artists whose paths have crossed in different places at different points in time. The network itself is composed of art historical narratives, stylistic or thematic similarities, overlapping projects, shared educational backgrounds and work experience, or common gallery representations – and as a product of all of these functions, a network of friendships.

Fort Greene chronicles the importance of generating and maintaining a creative network. Katherine Bernhardt’s large, loose colorful paintings of everyday objects return to VENUS following her beautiful solo show at the gallery’s New York space in 2015. Bernhardt’s paintings of every day objects are an outpouring of her experience and imagination; embedded within a vibrant colorfield they create an imprecise pattern. Sketched on canvas in a stream of consciousness, the elements are then outlined with spray paint and filled-in with thinned acrylic in an all-in-one-shot technique.

Another CANADA painter, Katherine Bradford’s work will also be included. Bradford’s paintings commonly depict celestial landscapes filled with nymph-like swimmers, soft figures and mysticism. She uses odd humor, interior logic, and palimpsest-like surfaces—evidence of her working everything out on the canvas, to create paintings of abstract characters in imaginary worlds.

The tie dyed wooden, metal and fabric sculptures by the celebrated artist Sarah Braman are not only a major highlight of the exhibition, but also tell the story of Rubenstein’s friendship and working relationship with Braman. In addition to her own celebrated practice as an artist, Braman is quietly a founder and partner at CANADA. Braman creates abstract geometric sculptures and paintings in a distinctive color palette of rich pinks, blues, and purples, in which she simultaneously foregrounds the formal qualities of her materials while referring to her own personal narrative.

Vancouver-based Elizabeth McIntosh contributes two new paintings which reference scenes from nature reminiscent of Klee and Matisse. Monique Mouton, a former student of McIntosh’s at Emily Carr, will show new work on paper and a two dimensional floor piece, a continuation of her critically praised debut exhibition in New York last January. Layered with watercolor and pigment, Mouton’s paintings convey with tender emotion the feeling of landscape you would travel 10,000 miles to see.

Ryan Johnson’s bird-like wooden and metal forms, while structurally static, seem to dance and move, cutting upwards through space and into the air. At times recalling a classical bust, fiber sculptor Josh Blackwell’s intricate woven forms writhe and glow with veins of fabric and thread bound together within thin metal frames upon wooden bases. Beloved ceramicist Sally Saul crafts a fantastical woodland story in clay including a family of five foxes, cardinals, frogs, toads and even a singing bluejay.

Bella Foster’s watercolors are vibrant and detailed depictions of every day domestic spaces. Often inspired by visits to her friends’ homes or rooms she has read about in books and magazines, Foster’s paintings are compellingly intimate. They explode with pattern, light and color, emphasizing the joy of repetition, order, and the extraordinary in the spirit of illustrator Josef Frank.

Al Freeman will revisit the gallery’s expansive exterior wall with a series of small repetitive murals borrowed from children’s artwork about water preservation. This will be the second mural completed at Venus Over Los Angeles following Katherine Bernhardt’s 2015 project, Fruit Salad.

Viewers can also look forward to new names and exciting artist discoveries, including video artist, Becky James; the painted assemblages of Annelie McKenzie; comical ceramicist John DeFazio; New York-based sculptor, Max Heiges’ human size steel forms and furniture; and cookie caricature artist Rebecca Levitan, who sculpts cult figures’ faces into edible treats.

Eight works from the estate of self-taught Canadian painter, Gladys Johnston (1906-1983) will be exhibited in the U.S. for the first time. Johnston, the heart of the exhibition, was a geographically sequestered yet ambitious painter whose renderings of life on the homestead embody aspects of the Canadian canon and the peculiar sensitivity of women artists who practiced outside of established norms.

It is Rubenstein’s deep and thoughtful appreciation for each artist and their work that is the true foundation of Fort Greene. As a painter and sculptor, she has insulated her own practice among the dialogues and encouragement of her peers. It is with this knowledge and artist community that Rubenstein so successfully curates exhibitions such as Fort Greene.

The entire list of artists in Fort Greene, includes: Katherine Bernhardt, Josh Blackwell, Sarah Braman, Katherine Bradford, Alex Chaves, John DeFazio, Bella Foster, Al Freeman, Jess Fuller, Alicia Gibson, Joanne Greenbaum, Max Heiges, Chris Hood, Dan Ivic, Becky James, Ryan Johnson, Gladys Johnston, Elisabeth Kley, Sadie Laska, Rebecca Levitan, Adam Marnie, Elizabeth McIntosh, Annelie McKenzie, Monique Mouton, Tyson Reeder, Sally Saul, and Jason Stopa. With special thanks to Chris Cran, CANADA, and all the contributing galleries and artists.

ABOUT ADRIANNE RUBENSTEIN

Adrianne Rubenstein (b. 1983) was born in Montreal, Canada. She attended Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and received her MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute. Previous curatorial projects include Forget About the Sweetbreads at James Fuentes with Joanne Greenbaum (2013), Snail Salon at Regina Rex (2013), If you throw a spider out the window, does it break? at Brennan & Griffin (2014), and Maraschino at Fourteen30 Contemporary (2015). Her paintings have been shown in solo exhibitions at White Columns, New York; Halsey McKay, East Hampton; and David Petersen, Minneapolis. Upcoming solo presentations include The Pit, Los Angeles; Fourteen30 Contemporary, Portland; Stems, Brussels; and NADA with Stems in Miami Beach. Rubenstein has received enthusiastic reviews—both for her paintings and curatorial projects—from Roberta Smith of The New York Times, and was named an artist to watch by Harper’s Bazaar. She is a director at CANADA gallery, and currently lives and works in New York.

For further information about the exhibition and availability, please contact the gallery at info@venusovermanhattan.com

For all press inquiries related to the exhibition, please email press@venusovermanhattan.com

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Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails

Katherine Bernhardt

Fruit Salad Breakfast, 2016

acrylic and spray paint on canvas

96 x 120 in
243.8 x 304.8 cm

Katherine Bernhardt

Patio, 2016
acrylic and spray paint on canvas

60 x 48 in
152.4 x 121.9 cm

Katherine Bernhardt

Patio Plants, 2016
acrylic and spray paint on canvas

60 x 48 in
152.4 x 121.9 cm

Josh Blackwell

Neveruses (Barbara), 2016

plastic, wool, silk, paper

16 x 15 x 6 in
40.6 x 38.1 x 15.2 cm

Josh Blackwell

Neveruses (Crease Knit Join), 2016

plastic, wool, linen, fabric
26 x 20 x 3 1/4 in
66 x 50.8 x 8.3 cm

Josh Blackwell

Neveruses (Elidio), 2016
plastic, fabric, wool, silk, paper, wire

15 x 16 x 6 1/4 in
38.1 x 40.6 x 15.9 cm

Josh Blackwell

Neveruses (Fold Share Spread), 2016

plastic, wool, silk, acrylic yarn
18 x 14 x 5 1/2 in
45.7 x 35.6 x 14 cm

Josh Blackwell

Neveruses (Melrose), 2015
plastic, wool, silk, paper, fabric, jute, wire

23 x 18 x 5 1⁄2 in
58.4 x 45.7 x 14 cm

Josh Blackwell

Neveruses (Roan), 2015

plastic, wool, silk, paper

16 x 15 x 5 in
40.6 x 38.1 x 12.7 cm

Katherine Bradford

Four Ring Planet, 2016

acrylic on canvas
72 x 55 in
182.9 x 139.7 cm

Katherine Bradford

Pool Sisters, 2016

acrylic on canvas

72 x 54 in

182.9 x 137.2 cm

Katherine Bradford

The Surf Team, 2016

acrylic on canvas

72 x 55 in

182.9 x 139.7 cm

Sarah Braman

In my mind I’m gone, 2016
fabric dye, eurothane and paint on plywood

48 x 61 in
121.9 x 154.9 cm

Sarah Braman

July Dinner, 2015
glass, stainless steel, dining table

60 x 40 x 36 in
152.4 x 101.6 x 91.4 cm

Sarah Braman

Recover, 2016
steel, stainless steel, glass, hand dyed bed, sheets, wood and foam cushions

72 x 96 3/4 x 65 1/4 in
182.9 x 245.7 x 165.7 cm

Alex Chaves

Alex, 2016
paint, ink and colored pencil on paper

33 x 25 in
83.8 x 63.5 cm

Alex Chaves

Game of Life, 2016
paint, Ink and colored pencil on paper

30 x 25 in
76.2 x 63.5 cm

Alex Chaves

Red Flowers, 2016

oil on Canvas
48 x 96 in

121.9 x 243.8 cm

John De Fazio

John Waters Bong (Blue), 2012
glazed earthenware

14 x 16 x 10 in
35.6 x 40.6 x 25.4

John De Fazio

John Waters Bong (Fleshtone), 2012
glazed earthenware

14 x 16 x 10 in
35.6 x 40.6 x 25.4

Bella Foster

Another Paradise, 2016

watercolor on paper

11 x 9 1/2 in
27.9 x 24.1 cm

Bella Foster

Bug, 2016

watercolor on paper

11 x 9 1/2 in
27.9 x 24.1 cm

Bella Foster

Inner Rabbit, 2016

watercolor on paper

11 x 9 in
27.9 x 22.9 cm

Bella Foster

Night Dinner, 2016

watercolor on paper

11.5 x 10 in

29.2 x 25.4 cm

Bella Foster

Pilgrims, 2016

watercolor on paper

11 1/2 x 9 in
29.2 x 22.9 cm

Bella Foster

The Lyre Player, 2016

watercolor on paper

10 1/2 x 8 1/2 in

26.7 x 21.6 cm

Bella Foster

The Shape of Time, 2016

watercolor on paper
8 x 6 in
20.3 x 15.2 cm

Bella Foster

The Waiting Room, 2016

watercolor on paper

11 1/2 x 9 in
29.2 x 22.9 cm

Bella Foster

Toucans, 2016

watercolor on paper

11 x 9 1/2 in
27.9 x 24.1 cm

Bella Foster

Untitled, 2016

watercolor on paper

12 x 9 in
30.5 x 22.9 cm

Bella Foster

Welcome, 2016

watercolor on paper

10 x 8 in
25.4 x 20.3 cm

Al Freeman

Safety Hydration Protection (Z), 2016

acrylic paint on brick
1180 x 234 in
2997.2 x 594.4 cm

Al Freeman

Safety Hydration Protection (A-P), 2016

oil stick on gesso on masonite
23 x 19 in
58.4 x 48.3 cm

Jess Fuller

TBA, 2016

acrylic, gel medium and canvas

103 x 120 in
261.6 x 304.8 cm

Jess Fuller

TBA, 2016
acrylic, gel medium and canvas

90 x 103 in
228.6 x 261.6 cm

Alicia Gibson

Do What You Want, 2016

oil on canvas
24 x 20 in
61 x 50.8 cm

Alicia Gibson

Free Tibet, 2016

oil on canvas

36 x 48 in

91.4 x 121.9 cm

Alicia Gibson

Friend from Foe, 2016
oil and spray paint on canvas

60 x 40 in
152.4 x 101.6 cm

Alicia Gibson

Long Hot Summer, 2016

oil, drawing and collage

16 x 20 in
40.6 x 50.8 cm

Alicia Gibson

The Impatient Years, 2016
oil, enamel, spray paint on burlap and canvas

60 x 48 in
152.4 x 121.9 cm

Joanne Greenbaum

Untitled, 2016
oil, acrylic, flashe, ink, oil crayon and marker on canvas

145 x 135 in
368.3 x 342.9 cm

Max Heiges

Be the Ball, 2016

steel, enamel
74 x 38 x 20 in

188 x 96.5 x 50.8 cm

Max Heiges

Untitled, 2016
steel, enamel
68 x 34 x 40 in

172.7 x 86.4 x 101.6 cm

Chris Hood

Not Yet Titled, 2016
alkyd, MSA Varnish and enamel on canvas

94 1/2 x 135 in
240 x 342.9 cm

Chris Hood

Not Yet Titled, 2016
alkyd, MSA Varnish and enamel on canvas

94 1/2 x 135 in
240 x 342.9 cm

Chris Hood

Not Yet Titled, 2016
alkyd, MSA Varnish and enamel on canvas

114 1/4 x 82 3/4 in
290.2 x 210.2 cm

Dan Ivic

Cyclops, 2012-2015
oil, acrylic, collage, ballpoint pen, latex caulk and glass marble on canvas with wooden frame

60 x 48 in
152.4 x 121.9 cm

Dan Ivic

FACE, 2015
oil, acrylic, collage, and oil stick on canvas with wooden frame

50 x 40 in
127 x 101.6 cm

Becky James

Vocabulary 1, 2016
digital video, color, sound

4 minutes

Ryan Johnson

Life Study (Bather), 2016

Aluminum, casting tape, acrylic paint, felt, oak, plywood, epoxy clay, linen, steel, brass
57 1/4 x 25 x 21 1/4 in
145.4 x 64.5 x 64 cm

Ryan Johnson

Life Study (Blug Dog), 2016
aluminum, casting tape, acrylic paint, felt oak, plywood, epoxy clay, linen, steel, brass
52 1/4 x 40 x 1/2 x 28 in
132.7 x 102.9 x 71.1 cm

Ryan Johnson

Life Study (Grey Lady), 2016
aluminum, casting tape, acrylic paint, felt, oak, plywood, epoxy clay, linen, steel, brass
53 1/2 x 34 x 28 in
135.9 x 86.4 x 71.1 cm

Ryan Johnson

Life Study (Night Figure), 2016
Aluminum, casting tape, acrylic paint, felt, oak, plywood, epoxy clay, linen, steel, brass
64 3/4 x 14 3/4 x 14 in
164.5 x 37.5 x 35.6 cm

Ryan Johnson

Life Study (Swatter), 2016

aluminum, casting tape, acrylic paint, felt, oak, plywood, epoxy clay, linen, steel, brass
53 1/2 x 34 x 28 in
135.9 x 86.5 x 71.1 cm

Gladys Johnston

Haying Scene with Horses and Wagon, 1970

oil on masonite
18 x 24 in
45.7 x 61 cm

Gladys Johnston

Covered Wagon Train, 1972

oil on masonite
18 x 24 in
45.7 x 61 cm

Gladys Johnston

Untitled, 1980

oil on Masonite

19 x 24 in

45.7 x 61 cm

Gladys Johnston

Cougar Attack, 1981

oil on canvas
16 x 24 in
40.6 x 61 cm

Gladys Johnston

Three Geese on Yellow Ground, 1982

oil on canvas
16 x 20 in
40.6 x 50.8 cm

Gladys Johnston

Battling Elk, n.d.

oil on masonite
19 x 24 in
48.3 x 61 cm

Gladys Johnston

Flowers and Glass Swan, n.d.

oil on masonite
17.5 x 24 in
40.6 x 61 cm

Gladys Johnston

Highland Castle, n.d.

oil on masonite
24 x 18 in
61 x 45.7 cm

Elisabeth Kley

Large Gold & Lime Leaf Face Bottle, 2009

glazed earthenware
22 x 13 x 13 in
55.9 x 33 x 33 cm

Elisabeth Kley

Large Red & Green Three Part Bottle, 2012

glazed earthenware
33 x 16 x 16 in
83.8 x 40.6 x 40.6 cm

Elisabeth Kley

Yellow Lobed Bottle, 2012

glazed earthenware
13 x 10 x 10 in
33 x 25.4 x 25.4 cm

Elisabeth Kley

Cleopatra R, 2015

glazed earthenware

24 x 14 x 14 in

61 x 35.6 x 35.6 cm

Elisabeth Kley

Salome N, 2015

glazed earthenware

24 x 12 x 12 in

61 x 30.5 x 30.5 cm

Elizabeth Kley

Untitled, 2016
flashe on brick

118 x 118 in

299.7 x 299.7 cm

Sadie Laska

Jam Band I, 2016
acrylic and spray paint on canvas, two parts

70 x 54 in

177.8 x 137.16 cm

Sadie Laska

Jam Band II, 2016
acrylic and spray paint on canvas, two parts

70 x 54 in

177.8 x 137.16 cm

Rebecca Levitan

25 Cookies, 2016
flour, sugar, butter
single: 6 x 4 in (15.2 x 10.2 cm)

double: 6 x 6 in (15.2 x 15.2 cm)

Adam Marnie

Square Construction II, 2016
wood, in two parts
each part, approximately: 96 x 72 x 3 in
each part, approximately: 243.8 x 182.9 x 7.6 cm

Elizabeth McIntosh

Goldfish, 2016

oil on canvas
75 x 70 in

190.5 x 177.8 cm

Elizabeth McIntosh

Tree, 2016
oil on canvas
75 x 85 in

190.5 x 215.9 cm

Annelie McKenzie

Birder (after Jean-Baptiste Greuze), 2015

oil, enamel, caulking on decorative frame

28 1/2 x 23 1/2 in
72.4 x 59.7 cm

Annelie McKenzie

Elk Fight (after Gladys Johnston), 2015

oil on decorative frame
13 1/2 x 15 1/2 in
34.3 x 39.4 cm

Annelie McKenzie

just like me and tina (after Henrietta Mabel May), 2015
oil, gesso, caulking, and random craft objects on decorative frame

15 x 13 in
38.1 x 33 cm

Annelie McKenzie

Artist Traveling with Male Voyageurs (after Frances Anne Hopkins), 2016

oil, caulking, and enamel on decorative frame
30 x 34 in
76.2 x 86.4 cm

Annelie McKenzie

Elk Bum Scene (after Gladys Johnston), 2016
oil, enamel, caulking, and glitter on decorative frame

30 1⁄2 x 34 1/2 in
77.47 x 87.63 cm

Annelie McKenzie

Friends (after Arlene Stamp after Gladys Johnston), 2016

oil, glitter, and stickers on canvas
36 x 48 in
91.4 x 121.9 cm

Annelie McKenzie

Gladys at the Stampede, 2016
oil, stickers, graphite, portrait of Gladys Johnston, nude painting after Prudence Heward, horse painting after Ann Harbuz on decorative frame
25 1/2 x 28 1/2 in
64.8 x 72.4 cm