October 5 – December 31, 2005
LACE is pleased to present Taking a Bullet, a solo exhibition of recent works by Los Angeles-based artist Joe Sola, organized by Karl Erickson, Program Coordinator, and consulting curator Irene Tsatsos.
The exhibition will kick-off at the opening reception with a one-night performance titled “Film Actors Make Conceptual Art.” Here Sola acts as director, requesting four Hollywood actors to use provided materials to create artworks live onstage; the results of which will be on view throughout the exhibition. Sola will also present the video work, “Studio Visit,” a compilation of meetings inside the artist’s studio with an international cast of museum curators and gallerists; a screening at the Egyptian Theatre of the 35mm film “Army Ranger Reaching for New Spirit Warrior (from the Mankind Project) Near Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles,” a meditation on the grand narratives of Hollywood cinema and the fantasies that support them; and a new series of watercolors inspired by coming-of-age films.
Armed with strategies of seduction, including humor, beauty, and the occasional jolt of spectacle, Sola’s artworks explore the problems we face when navigating between the stylized images we consume from Hollywood film and the residue of them that we take with us.
Taking a Bullet is Sola’s first solo exhibition, which will travel to the Atlanta College of Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA, in 2006, and it is accompanied by a 64-page catalog to be made available through our website.
Joe Sola’s work has been exhibited internationally in Mexico, England, Switzerland, Spain, and Cuba. Sola’s second solo exhibition will be at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH in 2006. His most recent group exhibitions (all 2005) include ‘Rogue Wave’, LA Louver Gallery, Los Angeles, Landmarks. Portland Institute of Contemporary Arts, OR, and Still Things Fall from the Sky, Evanston Cultural Center, Evanston, IL., and the UCR’s California Museum of Photography. He has received many fellowships, including those from the Jerome Foundation in St. Paul MN, and LEF foundation in Saint Helena, CA.
Related Public Programs
5 October 2005 | 7-9 PM
Los Angeles Premiere of “Army Ranger Reaching for New Spirit Warrior (from Mankind Project) near Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles” at American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90028.
Shown on a continuous 3 minute loop.
27 October 2005 | 7 PM
Artist presentation and discussion with Joe Sola.
15 December 2005 | 8 PM
Joe Sola and musician Michael Webster present a ragtime slapstick pizza-spinning piano extravaganza. $5 admission; free for LACE members
