It is truly with a heavy heart that we must break the news that one of Supertouch’s dear friends, photographer SHAWN MORTENSEN, passed away last nite. A kinetic force of optimism and seemingly limitless positive energy, Shawn’s hearty career as a photojournalist and artist took him around the world several times over, unselfishly spreading his endless supply of good vibes as he went. Particularly renowned for his portraits of musicians, artists, and entertainers, Shawn photographed a stunning array of pop culture demigods in his 20+ year career including Keith Haring, Tupac, Henry Rollins, James Brown, The Notorious BIG, Bjork, Jun Takahashi, Leo Fitzpatrick, Christopher Wool, Mark Gonzales, Ed Ruscha, Vivienne Westwood, The Bad Brains, Dash Snow, Grandmaster Flash, Neil Young, MIA, John Lee Hooker, Nigo, Sofia Coppola, Agnes B., Sonic Youth, The Beastie Boys, Keith Richards, Chloe Sevigny, The Foo Fighters, Everlast, Kraftwerk, Wu Tang Clan, and The Sex Pistols, to name but a few. Shawn was also a successful commercial photographer who worked with clients like SUPREME and NIKE, and publications like VIBE, and I-D Magazine, where his streetwise eye was a highly prized commodity. Within the artistic community of his homeland of Los Angeles, Mortensen was a local legend whose constant presence at weekly art openings was a staple of the scene, his favorite Polaroid camera always in hand. At the time of his death, 43-year-old Mortensen was working on a series of new artwork titled “M.O.R.= Monsters!, Outlaws, & Renegades” set to debut at SPACE15TWENTY in Los Angeles in June of this year, and a collaborative photo-based T-Shirt line with Hollywood fashion brand BARRACUDA. Our hearts go out to Shawn’s family during this difficult time. Needless to say, Shawn may be gone, but he will not be forgotten. For newcomers to Shawn’s work, his excellent book, “Out of Mind” is a must-have reference. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Beijing-born and Queens, NY-based Chinese artist YI CHEN is a rising force in the world of modern figurative painting. His newest show “Beaut-Esque” that opened its doors at Culver City hotspot HONOR FRASER GALLERY this Saturday nite was full of gorgeous, color-dense examples of his playful and expert signature style full of playful references the modern masters (Picasso and Hockney spring immediately to mind), and loads of painting chops to spare. The artist uses culturally mediated images from advertisements and fashion magazines as inspiration for his work and sees his paintings and collages as metaphors for hybrid, mutated concepts of beauty borne from a global popular culture. This concept of hybridization and mutation formulate a tense balance in his work, combining enticing beauty and repelling grotesqueries that result in magnetic paintings. Chen begins his creative process by assembling collages of human (and sometimes mammalian) facial features cut out from popular fashion magazines. These collages of perfect/imperfect specimens are the foundation of his work. Like an artistic scientist, he disregards race, gender and age and selects individual characteristics and reconstructs them to form a new human species. These collages then become the figurative models for his lushly rendered oil paintings. All art-crawling denizens of the Southland should consider this essential viewing. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

LA might not be ground zero for the next visual renaissance (at least not from how things are looking as of late), but it is home to some solid decorative art. Enter SYLIVA JI who’s been painting for some time now in a fun style that might be best described as Nagel Vs. Gustav Klimt on Dia De los Muertos. Her solid new solo exhibition “Haute Eopch” at Culver City’s COREY HELFORD GALLERY featuring Ji’s usual array of painted doomsday femme fatales opened to a packed house on Saturday nite where the looks made it worth the drive and the ratio of lovely ladies to men was advantageously high. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Unfortunately for the frighteningly stagnant LA art scene most of the great shows of the last few years have been by non-LA artists. Luckily for LA, we get a regular stream of good shows by non-LA artists to keep us happy. The most recent of said exhibitions is by LA-born, but NYC-based painter KEHINDE WILEY whose new collection of figurative masterworks “The World Stage: Brazil” opened this weekend to a packed house at Culver City art hotspot ROBERTS & TILTON GALLERY. Choosing his subjects for this series from the notorious favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Wiley asked each to assume the pose of a local sculptural work on display in the city as a means of interpreting the country’s storied colonial history through the images of some of its most vibrant modern inhabitants. The results, as always with KW, were staggering and this new collection of grandiose portraits is exactly the shot in the arm the Southland needs to help kickoff the 2009 gallery season with a fresh breath of colorful optimism. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

LANCE ARMSTRONG IS A SHOW-STOPPER IN HOLLYWOOD
By Diane Pucin, LA Times, March 8, 2009

“Ben Stiller did the introductions and newly hot artist Shepard Fairey did a mural, but Lance Armstrong was the star Saturday night at the Ricardo Montalban Theater in Hollywood.

As part of his cycling comeback, Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner, has made clear that he is riding not only to win more races but also to raise more money for his cancer charity, the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
Armstrong is flying Sunday to Europe in advance of the third race in his comeback journey, the Milan-San Remo Classic. But on Saturday, Armstrong rode 2.2 miles with about 700 recreational cyclists and then spoke to an enthusiastic audience of art and cycling lovers.

Fairey has gained recent attention for his creation of the Barack Obama “Hope” image, and there was a Fairey-created mural celebrating Armstrong’s cycling comeback and cancer-fighting commitment painted on the side of the theater.

Stiller introduced Armstrong by making a joke about how when the two of them walk down the street, people stop to marvel at Armstrong’s ability to inspire awe because of his cycling accomplishments after recovering from cancer, and then they stare at Stiller and say, “Thunder, man,” because of Stiller’s starring appearance in the less-than-esoteric movie comedy “Tropic Thunder.”

More than 20 artists have created works that will be displayed beginning July 16 at the Emmanuel Perrotin Gallery in Paris and will be sold with the proceeds going to Armstrong’s foundation. Besides Fairey, other notable artists participating in this fundraiser include Tom Sachs, Eric White, Marc Newson, Os Gemeos and Taryn Simon.” Click HERE to continue reading…

Read more “Stages” show coverage at THE EXAMINER, FOX BUSINESS

To officially launch the LIVESTRONG “Stages” benefit art show (full details below) powered by NIKE that will debut during LANCE ARMSTRONG’s run in this year’s TOUR DE FRANCE, an epic kickoff celebration was held on Saturday nite at Nike’s MONTALBAN THEATER in the heart of Hollywood. The evening began with a massive public charity ride from Children’s Hospital—after Lance spent part of the day visiting with pediatric cancer patients—to the theater where he then took the stage to formally announce the charity art show with the help of BEN STILLER, Nike’s MARK PARKER, Livestrong CEO DOUG ULMAN, and SHEPARD FAIREY. Speaking before a packed house of loyal yellow-clad followers and Livestrong soldiers, Lance eloquently detailed his plan to expand the global scope of cancer awareness through his return to professional cycling and engaging the creative community more closely in the battle with “Stages.” Closing out the nite was surprise musical guest BEN HARPER who performed a full set with his new band THE RELENTLESS SEVEN before a truly stunned crowd. Exhibited throughout the venue were Lance’s new TREK “art bikes” designed by BARRY McGEE and KAWS, as well as his twin Tour of California cycles, most notably the now-infamous stolen time trial bike. Onlookers crowded around displays of Nike’s stunning new NSW Livestrong gear (proceeds from the sale of which go directly to Livestrong) that included offerings by artists MISTER CARTOON and FUTURA, and mingled with some of the “Stages” artists in attendance like ROSSON CROW, ERIC WHITE, and Mr. Fairey (who might have signed more autographs than Lance by night’s end). Keep an eye on Supertouch for more exclusive details on the show coming soon. Meanwhile, HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Sneaker connoisseur EDDIE CRUZ represents lance’s favorite spot UNDFTD and the must-have “Stages” FLOM Futura Dunks. Below: Mr. Cartoon’s AF1 looks even meaner in yellow…

NIKE has always given 100% of the proceeds from their innovative and comprehensive LIVESTRONG apparel & foorwear collection to the anti-cancer foundation LANCE ARMSTRONG founded in 1997. With their new “Stages” collection designed by JESSE LEYVA, the company has moved to incorporate the cream of the crop of NSW’s coveted offerings to expand the reach of a program that has already generated over $10 million for the cause. Kicking off the lineup are reissues of some of sneakerdom’s most sought-after DUNK and AIR FORCE 1 releases by FUTURA, MISTER CARTOON, and SO ME, all in the trademark yellow Livestrong colorway. Backing them up are the corresponding AIR MAX PACK (Ones, 90s, and 180s), the new hybrid EVERYDAY LUNAR RACER, the CUTTERS PACK TIEMPO created especially for urban fixed gear cyclists, the original LUNAR RACER, the rare FOOTSCAPE WOVEN, and apparel pieces like the M-65 and FIREFLY jackets. First offerings hit shelves in the coming months with lots more surprises to come. Stay tuned to ST for updates on the way. Meanwhile, HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »