Beautiful Bizarre introduces the Hive Gallery’s
10 Year Anniversary show
THE HIVE GALLERY 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
The Hive Gallery 10 Year Anniversary
Opening Reception:
April 4, 2015 | 8-11PM
Exhibition Dates:
April 4, 2015 – May 2, 2015
Performance art and cake cutting by: Wilkinson the Butler
Middle room tunes provided by: Super Bee
Food provided by: Karma
Drink Specials: Peking Tavern 10% off drinks for Hive Guests
Best of The Hive
William Zdan, JT Steiny, Airom Bleicher, Steven “Wireboss” Darden, Michelle Orozco, Irene Garcia, Nate Seubert, Billy Dyson, Michael Ryan, Jose Javier Carabes, Mike Bilz, Nicole Waszak, Sean Ghobad, Chrystal Chan, Chet Zar, Natasha Wescoat, Annette Hassell, Jessica Ward, David Dave Lovejoy, Bill McEvoy, N.C. Winters, Mary Ancilla Martinez, Lizz Lopez, Orion, Farida Lam, Lisa Moneypenny, L.Croskey, Charles Swenson, Brendan Sharkey, Eric Hamm, Ted von Heiland Jr., Anna Chung von Heiland, Tokyo Jesus, Eimi Takano, Jim McKenzie, Nick Knudson, David Natale, John Mahoney, Jason Hadley, Nag Champoy, Sam Koji Hale, Clark Walter, Camille Bachand, Erick Rodriguez, Soty Mae, McBiff, Clinton Neuhaus, Walt Morton, Jaime Jiminez, Caitlin Clarkson, Deanna Adonna, Frank Venadas, Darcy Yates, Jared Yamahata, Jimi Martinez, Edward Cao, Sunny Jin, Ron Outlaw, Apricot Mantle, Roxy Roxanne Morataya, Tas Limur, Heidi Calvert, Marisa Silos, Jinx Art, Nikki Nikki Garcia Poling, Teodor Martin Dumitrescu, Ken Dougherty, Adam Roth
The Hive Family Reunion
Leyla Akdogan, Walt Hall, Meagan Boyd, Allen Deforest, Bethany Pratt, Janna Stern, Catherine Brooks, Treiops Treyfid, Kindred Gottleib, Dulcinea Circelli, Glenn Fox, Sara Hedstrom, Yuki Miyazaki, Ave Rose, Macsorro, Laura Diamond, Dominique Lopez, Douglas Alvarez, Tooter, Steven Umana, Mark Hans Posey, Radhika Hersey, Randy Kono, Sphinx, Marigrace Albelda, Madeliene Haim, Salah, Eric Oneill, Edyth Gonzalez, Sophia Gasparian, Tom McDermott, Diana Levin, MaraCole, Daniella Batsheva, Catherine Kaleel, Carol Powell, Paul Torres, David Boe, Boxcar Joe, Christian Hernandez, Linda Vallejo, Ellen Schinderman
Featured Resident Artists
Andrew Danielsen, Alexis Michael, Arlou Somo, Artrates-agency.com, Cynthia Rogers, Daisuke Okamoto, Gian Flores Norte, Greg Gould, Jennifer Korsen, Keli Arslancan, Ken Dougherty, Marcel DeJure, Patrick Haemmerlein, Stephen Holman, Teod Tomlinson, Vakseen
Resident Artists
Alain F. Norte, Ambar Januel, Andre Khazraei, Atsuko Yoo, Celine Ordioni, Dante Hill, David Reyes, Doug Meyer, Dulcinea Circelli, Eza Barbosa, Gretchen Ingram, Jade Goegebuer, Jinx, J.Salvador, John Federico, Katherine Bingley, Keith Wong, Lichiban, Maritza Torrez, Meirav Haber, Michael Phillips, Mirabelle Jones, Mike Street, Naoshi, Nathan Cartwright, PAZ, Sam Salerni, Shrine, Stephan Canthal, Superpao, Tslil Tsemet
Bathroom Installations
Stephanie Weitekamp, Gian Flores, Daisuke Okamoto, Maritza Torres, John Haley III
New Avatars
Anthony Stewart, Eric O’Neill, Jade Goegebuer, Alo De Leon, Aanchal Anand, Nicole Filiatrault, Rick Strieck, Joey Rotten, Nicole Waszak, Zoetica Ebb, Alexandria Sandlin, Christopher J Olson, Daniela Preciado, Mo Powers, Ashford Harrison, Jason Bud
Hall of Honey Installation
Christopher Ulrich, Nathan Cartwright, Michael Allen, Bill McEvoy, GMONIK, TEWSR, Stephen Holman, Stephanie Weitekamp, Arlou Somo, Steven Lopez, Macsorro, Luciano Martinez, Rick Zar, Teod Tomlinson.
Entering The Hive Gallery you are first flanked by two walls showcasing the works of two featured artists. This is the first exhibition of several exhibitions that are a part of the monthly show. This month’s featured artists are Peter Good and ChinaCat 663.
The Hive is another world, more than it is another gallery. It is compartmentalized by several spaces that exhibit different theme shows all in the same night. Beyond the featured artists we enter the main gallery, four walls which showcase the main theme exhibit. For the anniversary show the main room will include a large group show of artists who have been featured at The Hive Gallery in the past or near very future. There will also be the Hive Family Reunion, a group show of artists who have held residency at the Hive for at least 6 months in the past and are continuing to work as artists outside of the beehive community.
Between the gallery wall space and the ceiling is another space functioning independently on theme. Every few months this section of space is either repainted with a conceptual design or it displays an art installation. For the 10 year anniversary show artist and gallery director Nathan Cartwright curated “The Hall of Honey” Hiveland Installation that stretches across this space above the gallery walls. This installation, which includes video, sculpture and painting, is an enormous collaboration between Nathan and some of his favorite artists at the Hive. Artists have painted larger than life statues to represent their avatars in a fantasy realm called, Hiveland, which will be discussed in a moment.
Behind the central wall of the main room are two walls dividing the main room and the back room. These two walls are miniature spaces featuring select artists apart from the main exhibition, known as the Tall Wall and Small Wall.
For the 10th anniversary the Tall Wall is hosting POP SWAP, an international art swap between Dream Factory artists (Frankfurt, Germany) and The Hive Gallery. The Hive has sent a number of artworks from Los Angeles and Japan to the Dream Factory. Artists coming to The Hive include Vitxy (Spain), John Jenkins (USA), Marc Remus (Germany), SPOT (Germany), Max Cantrell (South Africa/Spain), Tim Lee (USA), Lisette Chavez (USA).
Beyond the theme room are the resident spaces. On either side of the room the space is divided by smaller compartments that exhibit the works of resident artists. For those readers who have not visited The Hive Gallery it’s important to understand that The Hive reaches beyond a conventional exhibition space concept. It is a place that serves as both gallery space, and as a complex for miniature galleries within a gallery. Resident artists rent sections of The Hive to maintain visibility for their work. Each month patrons not only get to see a new theme show, but also have the chance to revisit works from resident artists and to meet with. The Hive is where many artists in Los Angeles, such Audrey Kawasaki, begin their careers. Under the direction of Nathan Cartwright careers are cultivated in an environment that becomes a second home, thus making the artists at The Hive a second family.
Patrons and artists of The Hive Gallery know it as Hiveland, an art haven conceived by Nathan Cartwright. Hiveland is an intellectual concept manifest by artistic personas, or avatars, that artists create to live in the world of Hiveland. “Hiveland is a parallel reality to the Hive,” Nathan explains. “I pick artists that have been featured, and they create avatars that then live in this world called Hiveland. There’s six realms, actually there’s seven, but the seventh can’t be accessed. It’s total Dungeon and Dragons. And each (realm) corresponds to a chakra. There’s the Muladhara, which is like the darklands. That’s where the dark queen lives. Then there’s the Fire Lands—that’s like the sex chakra. The Melting Pot is a land of swamps. The Heart Land is where the Queen Bee lives. The throat is call the Forest of Zub.”
So not only is The Hive Gallery a complex space of galleries, it is layered with a philosophical construct. It’s a place where emerging artists are cultivated in the business of selling their work in galleries, but also honing their skills. Every month Nathan hosts a sculpting night where artists come together and sculpt. When you look back at the history of The Hive and see the artists emerging from it today you will see that this is one of LA’s best kept known secrets. The Hive is a sanctuary for the underground art scene, but it is also responsible for being the bridge into the mainstream for many contemporary artists.
Whether you have access to Los Angeles or not this is significant gallery to keep tabs on. Future manifestations coming from Hive will be the continuation of their Tarot deck series, for which Hiveland artists create stylized Tarot cards that are then included in a deck. This is yet another layer of exhibition conceived by Nathan. There is also discussion that the Hiveland concept will become a book…perhaps a game. Though The Hive is a full-time commitment, Nathan participates in many gallery group shows throughout Los Angeles, His concept for Hiveland is ever-expanding and the hundreds of artists associated with the gallery provide endless opportunities for creative projects. Nathan is one of those artists who tells someone about an idea he was thinking about doing, and then he does it, no matter how grand and complex. So who knows what honey The Hive will manufacture in the next ten years.