21st Presence Almanac

PRESENCE ALMANAC

Twenty-First Chronicle

Curated by Elliott Desai

Cover photo by Elliott Desai

Inside Cover photo by Elliott Desai

FOR THE A DVA N C E M E N T OF ARTS & CULTURE

When I curate selections to feature in the almanac, I approach this task with a curiosity about how the art captures my attention.

I gravitate towards work that is appealing to look at and series that are oftentimes beautiful.

I gravitate toward pieces that bring a smile to my face or that uniquely interpret our real world.

And I also gravitate towards art that holds my interest - studying its construction and assessing if it’s enticing enough to look at again.

Overall, I’m seeking inspiration from these activities and then highlighting that worldview through the features.

I’ve made the locations a huge focus of this almanac, but this map is really an organization of venues meant for self-exploration.

Wherever we are, we can choose to be grateful, notice the creativity and joy around us, and contemplate the compounding of all these moments.

Without that perspective, this Twenty-First Chronicle would just be an airdrop of the buildings, images and skies from my week.

Without fail, I can travel west on Ocean Park Blvd to Neilson Way, park my car near Crescent Bay Park, and settle into an open section of the beach any day of the week.

HOLLYWOOD At Diane Rosenstein, Kenwyn Crichlow’s solo show Incandescence is on view until December 30 and features abstract oil paintings alongside early works.

Across the street is another printmaking practice by Sean Sullivan in Faith in Doubt, on view until January 20 at Chris Sharp.

Seeing these shows up close is an inquisitive and calming experience, and I recommend checking out the galleries’ previous exhibitions for oil paintings by other artists I love.

Then to conclude your trip, consider visiting Tanya Leighton.

Featured in this spread are works

by Adrianne Rubenstein in Heart Inspired by Trinidad’s topographic View Knot Bird and Blue, Oliver landscape, and I really love the Osborne‘s Recent Painting and from juxtaposition of large, vibrant pieces Sky Hopinka‘s Under the Moon, next to smaller works from the 1970s. Beneath the Flowers.

MID CITY Washington Blvd is a historic road that spans Los Angeles, and views of the city can be seen at major intersections (inside cover).

With the Hollywood Hills as your backdrop during golden hour, this boulevard leads to three galleries on the same block in Mid City.

OCEAN PARK

Ava McDonough’s solo show All I Hear Is the Symphony is currently on view until January 20, 2024 at Lowell Ryan Projects and I’m mesmerized by her printmaking.

I wanted a guaranteed way to enjoy the beach without crowds, and that’s when I found this slice of sand between Venice and Santa Monica.

These drawings and images emerged as a subconscious language after a hospitalization, and the shapes are used to communicate her experience.

PACIFIC PALISADES In theme with the other featured outdoor spaces, Palisades Park is in plain sight but often overlooked.

The local neighbors are the only people walking along Ocean Ave, and this path is now on your radar to pause and enjoy the sunset before concluding a trip on the west side.

Published December 12 at 3:32 PM Sincerely, Elliott Desai

OCEAN PARK

Photo by Elliott Desai

Photo by Elliott Desai

Photo by Elliott Desai

Photo by Elliott Desai

Photo by Elliott Desai

H O L LY WO O D

© Kenwyn Crichlow | Fire of Desire, 2020 Incandescence

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Diane Rosenstein Gallery

© Kenwyn Crichlow | Miss Mamin’s House, 1972 Incandescence

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Diane Rosenstein Gallery

© Kenwyn Crichlow | City Scene, 1973 Incandescence

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Diane Rosenstein Gallery

© Kenwyn Crichlow | Blackened Earth: The Hope For Freedom, 2022-2023 Incandescence

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Diane Rosenstein Gallery

MID CITY

© Ava McDonough All I Hear is the Symphony

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Lowell Ryan Projects

Sarah Blaustein ||Skip 2023Return, 2023 © Ava McDonough The R-1, Exhile’s TheI Hear Big Picture All is the Symphony

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Lowell Ryan Projects

© Ava McDonough | In Forgetting There Is Pleasure, 2022 All I Hear is the Symphony

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Lowell Ryan Projects

© Sean Sullivan | Origins, 2023 Faith in Doubt

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Chris Sharp Gallery

© Sean Sullivan | A day ends, 2023 Faith in Doubt

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Chris Sharp Gallery

© Sean Sullivan | Ex-Voto, 2023 Faith in Doubt

Photo by Elliott Desai Courtesy of Chris Sharp Gallery

© Sean Sullivan | Blue Eyes (for Piet), 2023 Faith in Doubt

Courtesy of Chris Sharp Gallery

© Adrianne Rubenstein | Cave Painting, 2022 Heart View Knot Bird

Courtesy of the artist and Tanya Leighton, Berlin and Los Angeles

© Adrianne Rubenstein | Windows, 2023 Blue

Courtesy of the artist and Tanya Leighton, Berlin and Los Angeles

© Oliver Osborne | Recent Painting (7 Leaves), 2022 Recent Painting

Courtesy of the artist and Tanya Leighton, Berlin and Los Angeles

© Oliver Osborne | Recent Painting (8 Leaves), 2022 Recent Painting

Courtesy of the artist and Tanya Leighton, Berlin and Los Angeles

© Sky Hopinka | Everything to be obliterated, 2023 Under the Moon, Beneath the Flowers

Courtesy of the artist and Tanya Leighton, Berlin and Los Angeles

© Sky Hopinka | Earthmaker considers the mountain, 2023 Under the Moon, Beneath the Flowers

Courtesy of the artist and Tanya Leighton, Berlin and Los Angeles

PALISADES PARK

Photo by Elliott Desai

Photo by Elliott Desai

Photo by Elliott Desai

OCEAN PARK

MID CITY

Crescent Bay Park

Ava McDonough

2000 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90405

All I Hear Is the Symphony November 18, 2023 - January 20, 2024 lowellryanprojects.com/ava-mcdonoughall-i-hear-is-the-symphony

Sean Sullivan

Faith in Doubt December 2, 2023 - January 20, 2024 chrissharpgallery.com/sean-sullivan_a

HOLLYWOOD Kenwyn Crichlow

Incandescence November 4 - December 30, 2023 dianerosenstein.com/artists/ 186-kenwyn-crichlow

Lowell Ryan Projects 4619 W Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016 lowellryanprojects.com

Diane Rosenstein Gallery

Chris Sharp Gallery

831 N Highland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

4650 W Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016

dianerosenstein.com

chrissharpgallery.com

MID CITY

PACIFIC PALISADES

Adrianne Rubenstein

Palisades Park

Heart View Knot Bird + Blue May 30 - July 1, 2023 tanyaleighton.com/artists/ adrianne-rubenstein

Oliver Osborne

Recent Painting March 7 - April 8, 2023 tanyaleighton.com/artists/oliver-osborne

Sky Hopinka

Under the Moon, Beneath the Flowers September 9 - November 4, 2023 tanyaleighton.com/artists/sky-hopinka

Tanya Leighton Gallery 4654 W Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016 tanyaleighton.com

700 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, CA

December 12 at 3:32 PM Los Angeles, CA

© Elliott Desai

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