
Highlights from the Art Shows 2020
with Editors Janice Bremec Blum & Carmen BordasINSTALLATION BIRTH OF THE NIEMAND.

Flying Swan Palace by Du Kun ... Mizuma Art Gallery, New York, Tokyo, Singapore.
The Flying Swam Palace is a unique piece from the “Sights of the Mount Sumeru” series, through which Du Kun portrays his imagination of the modern gods of music… Amazing! Note the waterfall. Courtesy of LA Art Show
Eye Wide by Darius Steward.
LA ART SHOW
One week later, FRIEZE came to LA.
Guest editor Carmen Bordas expounds on her FRIEZE LA 2020 journey with our team... "It immersed me in a totally new experience."FRIEZE LOS ANGELES 2020
First of all, FRIEZE LA takes place at Paramount Pictures Studios, the historic studio lot located right her in Hollywood. It largely focuses on contemporary art and celebrates the exceptionally dynamic culture of LA and its global contributions to the visual arts.
The full program at Frieze Los Angeles brings together around 70 of the most significant and forward-thinking galleries from across the city and around the world. The fair experience happenings take place across the city.

ART TODAY 021718 “My hope is to uplift, educate and to bring joy and serenity to my audience through my paintings.” Synthia SAINT JAMES
Synthia SAINT JAMES is a world renowned multicultural visual artist, an award winning author and/or illustrator of 17 children’s books, several poetry and affirmation books, a cookbook, a play, a monologue, and the autobiographical book titled Living My Dream: An Artistic Approach to Marketing (which was nominated for a NAACP Image Award in 2012).
ART TODAY 021618 Artistry Commissions by Synthia SAINT JAMES
Synthia SAINT JAMES’ art and celebrity have been utilized in numerous promotional campaigns for such companies as Royal Caribbean International, Johnson & Johnson’s Ambi, Liberty Mutual, Seagram’s, Union Bank of California, Washington Mutual Bank, Maybelline, Kayser-Roth, Coca Cola USA, Essence Communications, Barnes and Noble, and AARP (a painting design for a Metro Rail Train).
ART TODAY 021518 Happy Chinese New Year 2.16.18! (Fresh off the easel) by Synthia SAINT JAMES: The Year of the DOG
According to several Chinese news sources, for the first time – because of poor air quality in Beijing, there will be no firework displays in the Sky this year. It creates too much smog. Some people are happy about this and some are not. Still, Happy Chinese New Year everyone, fireworks or no fireworks!
ART TODAY 021418 Martin Luther King – Called to Serve (new art) by Synthia SAINT JAMES
“I was so honored when the City of Rocky Mount, NC, the city where Dr. King first gave his ‘I Have A Dream’ speech nine months before he delivered it at the March on Washington, chose me to be the Keynote Speaker for the 30th anniversary of their MLK Unity Breakfast (which was held on Monday, January 15, 2018). I was truly humbled when I received a standing ovation for my presentation.”
ART TODAY 021318 “Honors Mindset” – A commemoration to Historical Black Colleges by Synthia SAINT JAMES
Synthia received her first Honorary Doctorate Degree (Doctor of Humane Letters) from Saint Augustine’s College, Raleigh, NC on May 8, 2010; the Historical Black College, where her foundation, The Synthia SAINT JAMES Fine Arts Institution is being established. Synthia, is also the recipient of the 2008 Woman of the Year Award for the 26th Senate District, and she has garnered numerous other awards, including the a Parent’s Choice Silver Honor, a Coretta Scott King Honor, and an Oppenheim Gold Award all for her books.
ART TODAY 021218 TribeLA Magazine celebrates Black History Month! If you have seen these U.S. Postage stamps, Synthia SAINT JAMES is the artist
Kwanzaa originated from the Swahili phrase Malinda ya Kwanza, which means first fruits of the harvest. The weeklong celebration, from December 26 through January 1, uses seven candles in a candelabra symbolizing the seven principles of Kwanzaa below…
Happy Birthday Synthia SAINT JAMES!!!
“I’ve been told that I have a golden and magnetic aura, and love that description which I hope to always live up to. I think of myself as a 68 year old petite woman with the heart and energy of a child. I’m always open and love to embrace new ideas, and creative challenges.”
Meet Alexandra Dillon!
A native of Los Angeles, Alexandra Dillon received her B.A. in film from UCLA, then returned to her lifelong passion for making art. Her love of Old Master painting led her to study classical realism in Florence, Italy, then New Orleans, finally settling in Venice, CA. She has since appeared in group and solo shows in Los Angeles.
ART TODAY 021018 The burned brushes that enhanced a legend for Alexandra Dillon: FAB Gallery’s PalimpsestVenice (watch the video)
…Alexander Dillon told TribeLA Magazine that she took the burned brushed home, and at first, she didn’t know what to do with them. She played with them turning them back and forth … then she began to paint and stories evolved. With all of her brushes, “They show up and tell me who they are,” she says. Working on each piece over the course of several days, she finds the emotion and personality of her characters. The results are beautiful and engaging faces, often reminiscent of Roman-Egyptian mummy portraits or Baroque painting. “I’m influenced by the art of every era”, she says.
ART TODAY 020918 Five Sisters by Alexandra Dillon
“I love to cook and I’m getting pretty good at Indian food. I really like the tacos from the truck on Rose in Venice, and I enjoy all the restaurants on Sawtelle.”
ART TODAY 020818 Axe by Alexandra Dillon: Passive aggressive behavior or edgy personality
Her portraits on worn paintbrushes are especially charming, however, her work on other found objects, such as axes, cleavers and locks, is more provocative. “The portraits on tools are complex,” she says. “They’re about inner motivations, personal relationships and powerful emotions. They are intended to make you think.”
ART TODAY 020718 Padlock eye by Alexandra Dillon, “We are all in some sort of bondage, usually self-inflicted”
“I’m an L.A. native and I think this is the most creative city in the world. I adore the beach. It’s the very edge of western civilization!”
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Poems: Linda J. Albertano and Her Brother, James AA Stone
Virtue rides into town on a
convertible Clydesdale. She's wrapped
in blue-and-white
stars
and is eating an apple concoction.
Ah, Virtue! They want
you.
Your symbols
are so succulent! They want to use
you
for purposes of personal
adornment.
Virtue drinks nothing but
water
from glaciers and the sap of lacebark
pine.
Chris Bonno writes about Brett Gilbert, the writer-comedian, father, illustrator, whimsical photographer, poster-ad designer, and oil painter
I had the privilege, long ago, of seeing numerous paintings done by Brett with oil paint and a series of different sized spoons, in person, in his then small apartment while he was finishing up a few. He was creating spot-on large versions of cereal boxes from the sixties and seventies.
ART TODAY 040218 Brett Gilbert’s talent is uncontainable with no boundaries – Happy April Fools Day!
"A love for art. I hope it inspires those who have always been wanting to start painting or creating to actually pick up the brush and paint that first stroke. I'm always messaging my fellow artists to jump start their day with my trademark text MAKE EPIC ART!!!!!"