written by: abhi ahmadadeen(BMLTV)-My very first experience with art dates back to the days when I was in Chicago attempting to convey to our clients that art was physical and could bring energy to the mind. A long time colleague and I partnered to take over a small sophisticated fitness studio off the north side of Chestnut Street, just a few blocks away from the vibrant Michigan Avenue. Our thought was, put enough art on the walls and that would boast that we had style, passion and depth. At that time I had never met with a curator or attended any art openings. It was when we hung our first piece of art on our fitness studio wall, the eye contact of that very first display sent a pulsating sensation through my body. That one piece of art hanging on the wall radiated a sense of balance. I felt good.
It was an experiment and an experience which went well for us. As our clients and guess worked out in the studio they felt as if the art heightened their confidence and provided calm.
When you live in Los Angeles, you can become inundated by the many cultures which flourish in the core of the city. One must be willing to keep an open mind in order to absorb like “napoleon ice cream”. I have attended many art openings from San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice Beach to downtown Los Angeles. In my diggings I have come to appreciate, not only the simplicity of art at Abbott Kinney in Venice Beach. Over the years I have found myself navigating through the once abandoned warehouse row to make an appearance at an art gathering called “Cannibal Flower”. Many artists took an interest in the Downtown Los Angeles area. Moving from Venice, Santa Monica, Long Beach and various other communities. Artists realized their dreams with large affordable spaces. I’ve had ambitious hopes for art the culture out at Venice Beach as it remains plagued with resistance from wealthy developers. Looking to downtown it seems that my artist friends like Adam Strange and Edgar Varela had hope infused by the determination to see the downtown area become a flourishing neighborhood for the spirited artist. I spoke with Edgar recently about the growth of the Edgar Varela Fine Arts Gallery.He went on to tell me about the progression in the gallery and downtown LA. Edgar went on to tell me that On December 13, 2008 the gallery will host an opening reception featuring: “Look Out” new works by Becca Midwood & Colette Miller.
Internationally renowned as the premier female street artist of her generation, Becca has come a long way from exhibiting under bridges in Downtown Los Angeles, conquering the art world long ago with an edgy combination of feminine grit and a seemingly bottomless wellspring of creative imagination.
Becca received her BFA in sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University and MFA in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute. Becca has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions in venues such as Patricia Correia Gallery, Merry Karnoswsky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Track 16 Gallery, Santa Monica, CA; Kantor Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA; CPOP Gallery, Detroit, MI; Gallery de Magda, Paris, France. Becca’s works can be found in the private collections of Phillip Forbes, Leonardo DiCaprio, Aileen Getty, David Arquette, Neils Kantor, Merry Karnowsky, and Leni & Adam Sender.
Colette has always been creative,- visually her paintings, filmmaking and musically –her most recent band, Day-Glo Aborigines. Past bands include GWAR , Milk and Blest. Art has continued to define most of her life's purpose since graduating Art School at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, continuing some film studies at UCLA, editting and filming for Econews and traveling as much as she can to get a better grasp of this whole planet.
As Ironic as it may seem both Becca and Collette will be showing there life’s work through January 11, 2008, while I will be in Norfolk tagging another assignment. I’m sure that Edgar, Becca and Collette would agree that you have to seize the moment and go where your heart and art takes you. What a coincidence that it would take the two Commonwealth grads to my home city Los Angeles.
