Curating sounds like such an uppity term. All I really did was send out a batch of emails to local artists I’ve gotten to know over the past five years, asking if they’d like to be a part of the launch of our new arts and culture vertical, the Hi-lo, by showing their work in the inaugural exhibit in our newly designated gallery space, a project I’ve been pushing for since soon after the Post expanded under new ownership in June 2018.
Why shouldn’t a hyperlocal newsroom, one also dedicated to elevating its local arts and culture scene, have a gallery where it can showcase the work of and support local, even regional, artists? Seems like a no-brainer to me.
The first show of the Hi-lo Gallery is titled “Emergence,” a group of paintings, prints and sculpture about the process of coming into being. The show coincides with the emergence, so to speak, of the Hi-lo, a doubling down of our commitment to inform, engage and connect you with all aspects of food, music, art and life in Long Beach. We may have partied hard, a little too hard, during the launch, but it was ultimately a great success.
Many of the artists created work specifically for the show and its theme. Budding artist Crisselle Mendiola’s illustration about breaking out of the comfort of a shell and stepping into the unknown, very much aligns with not only what the Long Beach Post is doing as a whole for local news, but our small and mighty Hi-lo’s experimental foray into more aggressively covering local arts and culture and supporting those who add to its vibrancy.
Curated in collaboration with POW! WOW! Long Beach, as in, with the help of the festival’s head honcho Tokotah Ashcraft ahead of its fifth anniversary, all of the artists have painted a mural for PWLB in the past, some for the first time this year. From artist Tidawhitney Lek’s print of a young Cambodian girl preparing to perform a traditional dance to Bodeck Luna’s portrait of emerging rapper Ruby Ibarra, who performed at the first Long Beach Filipino Fest in 2018, Emergence brings together a generally young set of emerging artists that are making waves in this community and beyond.
If you haven’t seen the show yet, check out the images below, and if you’re interested in supporting a local artist consider purchasing one of their pieces (prices are listed, and, no, we don’t take a percentage). You can email [email protected] for inquiries. Each artist’s name is also linked to a website or social media platform where you can learn more about their work.
“Emergence” will be on view at the Hi-lo Gallery by appointment through Thursday, Sep. 5. Contact [email protected] to schedule a visit.
Steve Martinez
Skull Fragment 1, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
24” x 18”
$600
Steve Martinez
Little Sparrow, 2019
Acrylic on wood
12” x 9”
$400
Allison Bamcat
Fixated, 2019
Acryla gouache on wood panel
10” x 20”
$350
Dave Van Patten
Manifestations Emerging, 2019
Pen and ink on paper
9” x 12”
$450
Mer Young
Emerge, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
25” x 25”
$250
Tidawhitney Lek
Permission, 2019
Linoleum block on paper, 1/9
22” x 30″
$100, w/ frame $160
Tidawhitney Lek
Dawn Dusk, 2019
Linoleum block on paper, 1/9
22” x 30″
$100, w/ frame $160
Woes
WOES IN PARADISE III, 2019
14” x 18”
Acrylic on found cutting board
$1,200
Bodeck Luna
Island Women Rise, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
24″ x 18″
$1,500
Bodeck Luna
Fountainhead, 2019
Acrylic on canvas
18″ x 24″
$1,200
Jason Keam
Unconditional Love, 2019
3’ x 3.5’
Acrylic on wood
Fabrication by Joel Thomas Design Works
$9,000
Cynthia Lujan
Do Not Enter, 2019
Acrylic and marker on canvas
24” x 36”
$600
Crisselle Mendiola
Untitled, 2019
Gouache on cold press illustration board
19” x 27”
$650
Nat Iosbaker
From My Spring in Long Beach, 2019
Aerosol, enamel, silver leaf on wood panel
18” x 24”
$325
Jacob Kazakos
The Link-Cable Occurrence, 2019
Digital
13” x 17”
$169.69 (sold)
