Feb 9, 20193 min read

Blend Stood Out in Rendon Gallery

Art at the Rendon. Photo courtesy Cartwheel Art

Blend Stood Out in Rendon Gallery Pop-Up Event

By Genie Davis

The Rendon Gallery held its inaugural event the weekend of January 25th, a pop-up show titled “Blend” that featured 16, primarily large scale works, created by LA-based artist Kelcey Fisher (KFiSH) in collaboration with with artists Zachary Bennett-Brook, Kyle Boatwright, Armando Dela, Gabe Gault, Davia King, Colette Miller, Moncho 1929, Vero Villareal Sada, Tiaan Schreuder, Shplinton, Priscilla Carpenter Witte, Yanoe, and Ralph Ziman, among others.

The works presented were uniformly exciting, filled with the kind of creative energy that arises from diverse styles of art. Along with shaping art with other artists, KFiSH documented the process of creating it. Each piece was 8’ x 8’, with 14 collaborative and 2 solo works. From precisely painted shoes created with Witte to soaring purple and blue wings made with Miller, the exhibition straddled an interesting line between diverse art and cohesive elements of style.

Positioning the works in the still-raw exposed brick environment of the Rendon’s first floor gallery created a strong contrast with the vibrant colors, bold patterned backgrounds, and often startling images – a hand, a face, all larger than life.

In the Rendon’s enclosed parking lot, lit to glow at night, and vibrating with color by day, four vintage vehicles served as canvases for KFiSH and collaborators as well: automotive art painted with King, Gault, and Boatwright, who worked with KFiSH previously on an art project in the desert of Nipton, Calif.

The beautiful and unusually patterned cars – mystical eyes on one, white lightning bolts interspersed with patterns that resembled animals on a lustrous rose and gold background – stood like sentinels, welcoming guests to the very busy event.

Each of the exhibitions at the Rendon so far – 60 plus artists in separate rooms creating individual art experiences, in Hidden Rooms; the similarly large-scale performance art in Stories, and now Blend, have offered an immersive experience, both in terms of the size of the works, and their collaborative nature.

KFiSH had a taste of that collaboration working on Hidden Rooms, prompting him to shift from conceiving a solo show at the new gallery space to working with other artists. He notes that collaboration “pushes me to work in different styles and grow as an artist and try out different mediums.”

Known for his use of “controlled chaos” patterns in a bright palette as well as bold portraiture, the LA-based artist incorporates elements of beach culture with street culture and pulsating, repetitive designs. Energetic and complex, the patterns are evident in many of the works at the Rendon.

Collaborating with Gault, “Childhood Hero” features a striking, shoulder-up image of a blue-haired man in sensei headband, turned in half-profile. Dragon-like swirls spill from the end of the tied headband and weave hypnotically along one side of the canvas. Behind them and the man’s portrait, another pattern in dark gold and brown, reminiscent of Japanese characters and tribal markings, reflect the other patterns in the foreground.

Working with Boatwright, similar patterns emerge in the background, these painted in gold leaf. “Tantamount” is a transcendent work, glowing with light. A double image of a woman’s profile, is bisected by a long and narrow green, yellow, ruby, and blue “scar” along one cheek of the most dominant of the pair. The piece reminds the viewer of the art of kintsugi, in which broken objects – or here, a scarred woman, are not to be hidden, but rather to be cherished, repairing them with gold and the glue of urushi lacquer. An hypnotic work. With Shplinton, KFiSH created “Study of Night,” a beautiful full-canvas portrait of a woman with her finger pressed to her lips. The peach-like tones of the work and the dazzling intensity of her eyes are both hard to look away from; she beckons the viewer.

The pieces were created in uniquely LA locations including the Hollywood Hills and the beach. In color palette and overall vibe, the works reflected their point of creation, as well as the edgy look of the new gallery space.

The show was the perfect opener for a gallery that, like the hotel space itself, is bound to be used for more community-engaging and collaborative art; work that serves as a bracing dose of street-art spirit, and a corrective to more formal exhibitions.

Art at the Rendon

http://artattherendon.com