Omul Negru Group Show @ Nicodim Gallery in Los Angeles

Spanning forty artworks, Omul Negru is an anthropological occurrence, one comprised of both cultural enactment and ritual embodiment, invoked to explore the varied notions of the Boogeyman. It is a celebration of civilization’s most important character, a figure that has transcended in the 21st Century into a monster of ever-expanding applications. This spectrum of visual culture’s darkest corner is traced through artists, martyrs, serial killers, madmen, and monsters; to explore the many faces as well as the facelessness of the Boogeyman. It traverses the origins, stereotypologies and embodiments of the Boogeyman through contemporary, historical, and archetypal lenses - staging an ominous atmosphere of summoning and possession. Omul Negru will be on view until August 20, 2016 at Nicodim Gallery in Los Angeles. photographs by Sara Clarken

Joan Jonas "From Away" @ DHC/ART In Montréal, Canada

From Away is the first retrospective in Canada devoted to the American multi-media artist Joan Jonas (b. 1936). It will give insight into the artist’s œuvre, spanning over five decades. It begins with her early choreographic works and pioneering video performances, such as the Organic Honey series, and culminates with her most recent piece They Come to Us without a Word, which was presented in 2015 at the Pavilion of the United States for the 56th edition of the Venice Biennale, and will premiere in North America at DHC/ART. The multimedia installation and performance They Come to Us without a Word is emblematic of the artist’s long-term interest in environmental politics, the landscape and ghost stories of Nova Scotia as well as the writing of the Icelandic author Halldór Laxness. Joan Jonas "From Away" will be on view until September 18, 2016 at DHC/ART 451 & 465, St-Jean Street Montréal, Québec.

Modes Of Conduction Group Show Presented by Overnight Projects @ The Moran Plant in Burlington, Vermont

Overnight Projects presents the group exhibition Modes of Conduction, which invites Germany-based artists Vesko Goesel, Peter Miller, and Viktoria Strecker to create site-responsive, installation-based works in the abandoned Moran Plant on Burlington, Vermont's waterfront. The Moran Plant functioned as a generator of energy. A machine whose massive turbine generators and switchgear assemblies were activated by workers-like-conductors to set off a daily assemblage of sounds. The machine, a monstrous skeleton of steel wrapped in skin of cinderblock, emitted a cacophony of industry: harmony, rhythm, and melody, the chorus of grinding gears and humming motors. Each day, workers-like-spectators witnessed the light moving across Moran's vast interiors, changing its colors from blue to amber, signaling the end of the day, the end of the concert. In this exhibition, Goesel, Miller, and Strecker will reactivate the machine that is Moran, and conduct through material interventions, a series of sounds, sights, and phenomena: Goesel through large, reflective fabrics, Miller through works imbued with uncanny sensations, and Strecker with automatic musical instruments and sounds created with rainwater collected in the building's inner troughs. Modes of Conduction is on view now by appointment only – there will be an artist lecture at Burlington City Arts on Thursday, August 11th at 6pm, and a closing event at Moran on Sunday, August 28th from 5-8pm. photographs by Oliver Maxwell Kupper

Shaky Towns Group Show Organized By The Battery Art Program @ The Alter Space Gallery In San Francisco

Alter Space presents Shaky Towns, an exhibition in two parts. Featuring work by fourteen artists currently living and working in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Shaky Towns will be held in two parts simultaneously at Alter Space and The Battery. Conceived and co-organized in conjunction with The Battery Art Program, the exhibition functions as a visual dialogue between the two cities, while concurrently addressing their divergent attributes. Thematic for its emphasis on work produced by a selection of contemporary artists working in California, Shaky Towns is uniquely attuned to the variant of the two physical spaces, reflected in the selection of work. Shaky Towns will be on view until September 17, 2016 at Alter Space Gallery in San Francisco. photographs by Bradley Golden

Ed Ruscha Books & Co. @ Gagosian Gallery In Los Angeles

Gagosian Gallery presents “Ed Ruscha Books & Co.,” an exhibition of artists' books by and after Ed Ruscha. The exhibition is organized by Gagosian director Bob Monk. In the 1960s, Ruscha was credited with reinventing the artist's book, producing and self-publishing a series of slim volumes of photography and text. By turning away from the craftsmanship and luxury status that typified the livre d'artiste in favor of the artistic idea or concept, expressed simply and in editions that were unsigned and inexpensively printed, Ruscha opened the genre to the possibilities of mass-production and distribution. “Ed Ruscha Books & Co.” presents Ruscha's iconic books together with those of more than one hundred artists from all over the world—from Russia to Japan to the Netherlands—who have responded directly and diversely to his lead. Many books are installed so that viewers can browse their pages. After presentations in New York, Munich and Paris (2013–15) the exhibition run will conclude in Ruscha's home city of Los Angeles. The exhibition will be presented in conjunction with “Ed Ruscha Prints and Photographs.” Ed Ruscha Books & Co. will be on view until September 9, 2016 at Gagosian Gallery, 456 North Camden Drive

"Lifeforce" Group Show Curated by Kelsey and Rémy Bennett @ The Untitled Space In New York

The Untitled Space and Indira Cesarine present LIFEFORCE, an all female group show that explores the feminine in the context of a genderless future curated by sisters Kelsey and Rémy Bennett. Inspired by Donna Haraway’s essay, A Cyborg Manifesto, the feminist science fiction and Afrofurturists of the 1970s, the exhibit will feature performance, sculpture, painting, comics, and photography that aim to re code normative expectations celebrating the LIFEFORCE that is beyond human matter and closer to it’s essence. The work focuses on the all encompassing power of “the female” on both physical and metaphysical levels – transcending constructs of race and gender, reclaiming representation, & exploring intersections with science & technology. Lifeforce will be on view until August 6, 2016 at The Untitled Space in New York

An Exclusive Sneak Peek At "Piston Head II – Artists Engage The Automobile" Opening This Weekend @ Venus Los Angeles Gallery

Venus Gallery in Los Angeles presents Piston Head II, an exhibition which explores the relationship and parallels between art and the automobile, featuring new works in which the car is considered as both a cultural icon and sculptural form. The exhibition includes works by César, Katherine Bernhardt, Will Boone, Keith Haring, Matthew Day Jackson, Olivier Mosset, Richard Prince, Sterling Ruby, Peter Shire, Lawrence Weiner, and Jonas Wood. Additionally, VENUS is delighted that Garage Italia Customs, the creative hub founded by Lapo Elkann and dedicated to tailor-made customizations, will personalize a selection of vehicles exclusively for the exhibition. As the quintessential machine of modern life, the car has both shaped human experience and inspired countless artists over the years. With the power to convey status and identity, the automobile reflects the desires and dreams of its owners. The artists included in the exhibition have approached the car as both object and subject in numerous ways—from Olivier Mosset’s bikes recontextualized in the gallery space to Sterling Ruby’s caged-in bus to a quintessential Richard Prince muscle car. In a collision between the automobile and contemporary art, the exhibition explores the tensions between aesthetics and utility. Piston Head II will open July 30 and run until September 30, at Venus LA, 601 South Anderson Street, Los Angeles, CA

"Grind" Group Show Curated By Joshua Nathanson @ Various Small Fires Gallery In Los Angeles

I grew up with the feeling that our cities would evolve toward some kind of extreme state; utopian commune, technological wonder, total apocalypse etc. I think I absorbed these notions from our culture. But I’ve come to believe that the current nature of the city is likely its default state. Its apex more mundane than I (or anyone) had imagined: comfortable with its dysfunction, cozy in its chaos. Conversations regarding the eventual state of the city feel irrelevant, as the future seems folded into the past; self-driving cars amble along streets originally paved for horses, Pokemon are projected onto 19th century brownstones, and 3-D programs dutifully render simulations of rusted cans. The city is a churning mess of ancient/current/future. Grand hopes now seem naive and it’s really a bummer. Yet the city is still an ecosystem fueled by enormous forces. Although its trajectory may be circular it still gives birth to cultures that thrive along the periphery. And the feeling that the future is indefinitely delayed makes it possible for artists to gaze into the present with an unflinching eye and a twisted sense of glee at the unfathomable strangeness of it all. In our paradigm the city is rarely an overt subject but rather the de facto setting for art’s production and reception – where the city’s emergent forces manifest. This show will feature artists whose work reflect urban life from our current position. It’s a sketch of the city – incomplete, oblique and at times pessimistic, but evidence of life flourishing within the persistent clutter. text by Joshua Nathanson. Grind will be on view until August 27, 2016 at Various Small Fires Gallery, 812 North Highland Avenue Los Angeles, California

Private Opening Of High Times, Curated By Richard Prince @ Blum & Poe Gallery In Los Angeles

Blum & Poe presents a collaboration between artist Richard Prince and the paragon of marijuana counterculture press, High Times magazine. Well known for his penchant for outsider aesthetics and subculture iconography, Prince works with High Times for the first time, lending original compositions from his Hippie Drawings series of the late 1990s/early 2000s for the September 2016 special Trippy issue. These drawings exemplify Prince’s practice of investigating the American collective unconscious and pursuing dualities – he mines the marginalized and commonplace, and then filters this content through a discerning, expressive, and painterly tradition. Extraterrestrial, polychromatic figures wielding joints smirk at their viewer; wild and joyful gestures that recall the artwork of children or channel the renderings of a psychedelic trip – Prince says of this series, “Being funny is a way to survive.” In conjunction with the launch of the special issue, Prince has curated a collection of historical High Times covers traversing the publication’s history from 1974-2014. The artist’s practice of gleaning inspiration from news and popular media well documented, here Prince selects covers from the magazine’s archives that reflect certain subjects commonly found in his oeuvre. On the occasion of the special edition issue launch, rolling papers designed by the artist will be produced, along with a marijuana strain. This presentation has been organized in cooperation with Green St. Agency. High Times opens July 26 and runs until July 30 at Blum & Poe Gallery in Los Angeles. photographs by Oliver Maxwell Kupper

Ed Ruscha and the Great American West @ De Young Museum In San Francisco

Ed Ruscha and the Great American West includes 99 works that reveal the artist’s engagement with the American West and its starring role in our national mythology. This exclusive exhibition has been organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and celebrates the career of one of the world’s most influential and critically acclaimed artists. The exhibition will be on view until October 9, 2016 at De Young Museum in San Francisco. photographs by Bradley Golden

"Shapeshifters" Group Show Curated by Tim Goossens @ Shulamit Nazarian Gallery in Los Angeles

Curated by Tim Goossens, Shapeshifters is an intergenerational exhibition that features the work of artists, activists, and musicians who use alter egos as tools for change and survival. The artists included in this exhibition have created personas in their visual or performative practices in order to discuss feminism and the making of difference beyond anthropocentric or gender politics. Shapeshifters focuses on contemporary production alongside a selection of influential historical works. Shapeshifters will be on view until July 29, 2016 at Shulamit Nazarian Gallery in Los Angeles. 

Betty Tompkins "Sex Works / WOMEN Words, Phrases, and Stories" @ Gavlak Gallery in Los Angeles

Gavlak Los Angeles presents Sex Works / WOMEN Words, Phrases, and Stories, Betty Tompkins’ second solo exhibition with the gallery and her first in Los Angeles. This exhibition includes Betty’s recent series of WOMEN Words paintings, along with a survey of her early works on paper, and large-scale Cunt, Fuck, and Pussy paintings. Sex Works / WOMEN Words, Phrases, and Stories put pieces from the beginning of Tompkins’ career in conversation with her most recent paintings, showcasing the artist’s trajectory from subtly political works to more overt statements. The exhibition will be on view until September 3, 2016 at Gavlak Los Angeles. photographs by Sara Clarken

Praying Mantis Disco Queen: Read Our Interview of Artist Joyce Pensato →

Walking into Joyce Pensato's vast studio in Bushwick I’m first greeted by Elizabeth Ferry, an artist and Pensato's studio assistant, as well as Charlie, an eerie looking, sweet dog whose right eye is blind by cataracts. Pensato herself is short, but tall in personality. Her shoes, feel more stylish, remnants perhaps of days in Paris, but still they’re perfectly covered in her signature paint drippings. As we sit, Ferry is busily packing up the space because they leave the next day for the closing of Pensato’s recent show, “The Fizz,” which as has been on display at Grice Bench Gallery in Los Angeles. After this, they come back briefly to prepare and work for upcoming exhibitions in Chicago, and then Austria. Click here to read more. 

Please Have Enough Acid In the Dish! Group Show Organized by Vinny Dotolo @ M+B Gallery in Los Angeles

M+B gallery presents Please Have Enough Acid In The Dish!, a group exhibition organized by James Beard Award winning chef Vinny Dotolo (of Animal and Jon & Vinny's fame). The exhibition explores the intersections between food, daily life and art in Los Angeles and features food-influenced paintings, drawings, sculptures and videos by thirty-seven Los Angeles-based artists, including many new works made for the exhibition. Please Have Enough Acid In the Dish! will be on view until September 2, 2016 at M+B Gallery in Los Angeles.  photographs by Oliver Maxwell Kupper

Marco Barrera, Agathe Snow and George Herms "Eternal" @ Moran Bondaroff Gallery in Los Angeles

Moran Bondaroff presents Eternal, a three-person exhibition with new work by Marco Barrera and Agathe Snow, and historical pieces by George Herms, selected by Barrera and Snow. Eternal will be on view until August 27, 2016 at Moran Bondaroff gallery in Los Angeles. photographs by Oliver Maxwell Kupper