Los Angeles I'm Yours
November 2013

Mat Gleason Bringing Gallery To Chung King

Mat Gleason Bringing Gallery To Chung King
This is big news: local art critic and founder of Coagula Art Journal Mat Gleason is opening a gallery on April 21. This is great! And, even better, is that he’s opening it in Chung King Road, which has clarified that Chinatown is the new art destination. Great news! Check out their release after the jump.

Mat Gleason, the visionary founder and publisher of Los Angeles’ first underground journal for art criticism, is putting his money where his mouth is and marking the Journal’s 20th Anniversary, with the launch of Coagula Curatorial. The new gallery will open with two shows: Coney Island of the Mind – A solo show of works by Tim Youd and Beuys in the Basement - An exhibition of Michael Montfort’s photographs of artist Josef Beuys. Coagula Curatorial opens on Saturday, April 21.

Curatorial Slant
With a focus on meticulously curated shows Coagula Curatorial will showcase Gleason’s picks for must-see works by the world’s rising art stars paired with works by established artists. From the eyes of this consummate critic, Coagula Curatorial will present quarterly shows highlighting artists to watch and pieces to collect.

“Coagula Curatorial has been in the works for a number of years. There has always been a real void between the artwork on view and the kind of talent that exists. If the galleries and museums are not going to show good art and curate great shows, somebody has to,” states Gleason.

Known for his ability to spot rising talent, Gleason’s critiques for Coagula Art Journal have consistently spotted art trends, art movements and emerging individual artists on a national scale.

The New Business Model
Walking a fine line between commercial gallery and non-profit art space, Coagula Curatorial will specialize in combining emerging artists with the great artists of today. Just as Coagula Art Journal has called many an art world tradition into question, Coagula Curatorial will challenge younger artists to press beyond conventional training and encourage new artists to work outside-the-box.

With a goal to both educate and enlighten novice collectors and meet the needs of the serious collector, Coagula Curatorial will provide a range of works in two price tiers: under $1,000 and over $10,000. This model aligns with Mat Gleason’s vision to showcase the future and present state of art in America.

Unlike traditional galleries, Coagula Curatorial will not represent specific artists. A true art space, the gallery will feature a series of large-scale exhibitions designed to meet a need in the art community to highlight impactful works.

Coagula Curatorial will also place an emphasis on strong art fair presence beginning with the upcoming SF ARTMRKT in May.

The Return of Chinatown & Historic Chung King Road
Chung King Road, the trailblazing row of galleries in Los Angeles’ historic Chinatown is on the verge of a renaissance. Coagula Curatorial is on the forefront of the revival of this iconic district, which some describe as a displaced Westside arts faction — hip, edgy and young. And while the art is breaking boundaries, the galleries are still paying tribute to the culture of Chinatown, keeping the original storefronts and feel of this quaint street.

The Inaugural Exhibition: Tim Youd & Michael Montfort
Coney Island of the Mind is a solo show featuring more than 100 paintings, drawings & assemblage pieces by artist Tim Youd. This exhibit combines the artist’s love of literature with his lust for the flesh, wistfully merging sculpted assemblages of cerebral observations of great writers on the subject of the female anatomy with large expressionist drawings of the same subject. The installation overwhelms in an amusement park-like madness of the impossibility of the male gaze to ever fully comprehend the feminine. Viewers are left as in awe of the biological source of life as they are titillated by the artist’s raw yet obsessive forays outside the bounds of traditional figurative subject matter and presentation.

Beuys In the Basement is an exhibition of 30 never before seen photographs of artist Josef Beuys taken in the 1960s by the late German émigré photographer Michael Montfort. Most noted for his collaborations with the poet Charles Bukowski, Montfort was a midcentury documenter of rogue creative genius on two continents, following and photographing eccentric greats as diverse as actor Klaus Kinski, writer William S. Burroughs and singer/poet Jim Morrison.

Coagula Curatorial is located at 977 Chung King Road, Los Angeles CA 90012. The Gallery launches with two exhibitions, Coney Island of the Mind & Beuys in the Basement on Saturday April 21 from 7pm – 10pm. Both shows run through June 3, 2012. Gallery hours are: Wednesday thru Saturday from 12pm – 5pm and by appointment.

http://www.laimyours.com/12569/mat-gleason-bringing-gallery-to-chung-king/