December 2019
EJ Hill at Commonwealth and Council
On view: November 16, 2019–January 4, 2020 EJ Hill, an artist who grew up in black communities here in L.A., has become known for his durational performances in which his body is present in the exhibition. But at Commonwealth and Council, Hill is not present. In his stead, the words “Twice as good is too much” are repeated throughout the show, eliciting a kind of chorus. The phrase is made in neon and embedded onto a chalkboard, then it is…
Find out more »March 2021
rafa esparza at Commonwealth and Council
Artist rafa esparza has been making adobe for years, often working with family or community members to create bricks that are used in sculptures and installations. Now, for his solo show at Commonwealth and Council in Koreatown, esparza elevates the material to the gallery wall, using it as a delicate canvas for painted portraits. The works feature several community figures, including artist-activists like Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors and poet Yosimar Reyes. Though the portraits are lovingly rendered, cracks…
Find out more »June 2021
American Artist at Commonwealth and Council
In 2013, American Artist legally changed their name accordingly, a sly inquiry into the ubiquitous term. Now on view in Koreatown is American Artist’s solo show, “I'm Blue (If I Was █████ I Would Die),” an exhibition originally shown in New York’s Koenig & Clinton gallery in 2019. Though the show’s title recalls Eiffel 65’s one-hit-wonder, the scene in the gallery has a more serious tenor. Three school desks arranged in the gallery are outfitted with propped up riot shields…
Find out more »July 2023
Rosha Yaghmai at Commonwealth & Council
At Commonwealth & Council in Koreatown, seashells span the walls of the first gallery. Each one unique, they are the type of conch that you might hold to your ear to hear the ocean, and viewing them, one imagines this kind of auditory sensation — these shells, however, were fabricated by the artist out of epoxy and painted to mimic the natural seashells. Each one is sourced from a different place in the world, gathered here in a kind of…
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