While walking around in Little Tokyo on a sunny October Saturday afternoon (before I headed out to join the moved-by-music crowd of the Eagle Rock Music Festival), I paid a visit to one of my favorite galleries to see what new local talent they had on display. Hold Up Art is a contemporary art gallery space that “curates local Los Angeles talent, and the miles of influence that inform the contemporary art movement in Los Angeles”. I like this place especially because, staying true to their mission statement, the employees are really friendly and eager to engage in conversation regarding the art world.
This is where I first laid eyes on the work of Gosha Levochkin, and this is where I first heard of the artist as well. I got stuck on looking at the first artwork you see upon entering the space for about a good ten to fifteen minutes just analyzing and taking in the thing. Throughout the whole show, I think I spent and average of that said time with each piece that was there–his usage of watercolor and ink is just…superb.
I’m impressed by artwork that are done in watercolor (I honestly think watercolor is pretty difficult to work with when it comes to painting) and respect artists who do a fair amount of work with the medium, but I have to say that Gosha took the cake when it comes to my personal standard of watercolor work. In all honestly, he topped Tim Burton on my list–it’s just that mind-blowing.
The way the show was curated was very different as well; I’ve yet to see a show that was curated like this. Each piece of artwork was on a black cloud and connected by telephone poles and electrical wires.
You can see the apparent Japanese pop-art influence in all of the works you see, and this dude is so skilled with watercolor that he even has his own brand of watercolor paint that costs $70!
So if you’re starving for a visual orgasm, head over to Hold Up Art and feast your eyes on the most impressive blending of colors I can’t seem to stop raving on and on about!
