La Luz de Jesus

La Luz de Jesus Gallery is a commercial art gallery founded in 1986 and located in Los Angeles, California.[1] It is closely associated with the Lowbrow art movement, Kustom Kulture, and pop surrealism. It is located in Soap Plant / Wacko in Los Feliz.[2][3]

History

La Luz de Jesus Gallery was established in 1986, in Los Angeles, California by entrepreneur and art collector Billy Shire.[2][4][5] The original gallery was located in a bright pink building on Melrose Avenue, upstairs from Shire's retail store Soap Plant / Wacko.[6] As Melrose Avenue became increasingly gentrified, the gallery was relocated to the Los Feliz district on Hollywood Boulevard near Vermont Avenue. The early years of La Luz de Jesus gallery, before its relocation to Hollywood Boulevard, coincide with the Golden Age of Lowbrow.

In April 2005, Shire opened a sister gallery, Billy Shire Fine Arts, in Culver City, California,[7] which closed in 2010.[8]

Mission and influence

La Luz de Jesus Gallery provides both an exhibition space and a support structure to Lowbrow and pop surrealist artists.[9] The gallery's mission is to make underground artists and counterculture accessible to the general public. The gallery shows primarily figurative and narrative painting and unusual sculpture, with a focus on themes and styles including folk art, outsider art, religious art, taxidermy art,[10] and alternative erotica.[6] The gallery presents a new exhibit each month with an opening reception on the first Friday of every month.

The gallery has been the first to introduce to the public many then-unknown artists who have gone on to claim their place in the art world. These artists include Manuel Ocampo,[6] Joe Coleman,[11] Shag,[11] and Robert Williams.[11] Other notable artists that have exhibited at the gallery include Marco Almera,[12] Joel Hernandez,[13] and Joe Sorren.[14]

In addition to regular solo and two-person shows, the gallery also hosts a variety of group shows, including a much-anticipated annual group exhibition entitled "Everything But the Kitschen Sync" which introduces relatively unknown and emerging artists at the beginning of their careers.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Trinh, Jean (June 8, 2021). "50 Years of Counterculture Art at Soap Plant, WACKO and La Luz de Jesus Gallery". PBS SoCal. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "La Luz de Jesus; It's art over the counterculture". LA.com. 2006. Archived from the original on August 26, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Soap Plant Wacko/La Luz de Jesus Gallery". Fodor's Travel.
  4. ↑ "La Luz de Jesus Gallery: Bonni Reid and Cameron Tiede". LosAngeles.com. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012.
  5. ↑ Zucman, Glenn (May 7, 2019). "La Luz de Jesus". Los Angeles Observer. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "Meet Matt Kennedy of La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Feliz". Voyage LA Magazine. February 13, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  7. ↑ "In The Arts". Los Angeles Times. August 8, 2008. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  8. ↑ Lieu, Lynn (May 17, 2014). "Billy Shire at forefront of lowbrow art movement". The Desert Sun. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  9. ↑ Hamilton, Denise (July 17, 1988). "Folk Art With a Touch of Madness Is Thriving at West Hollywood Gallery". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 29, 2026.
  10. ↑ "La Luz de Jesus Gallery Presents: Rogue Taxidermy". Forth Magazine. May 11, 2010. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012.
  11. 1 2 3 Hart, Hugh (November 18, 2011). "La Luz de Jesus Gallery marks 25 years of 'lowbrow' art". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 18, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  12. ↑ Owen, Arrissia (January 5, 2018). "Velvet Painter Marco Almera Gives Alex's Bar Old-School Flair and An Ode to an OC Punk Icon". OC Weekly. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  13. ↑ Brazilian, Alexa (March 1, 2024). "How Contemporary Artists Are Taking Papier-Mâché Out of the Classroom". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Scott Hove and Joe Sorren at La Luz de Jesus gallery". Los Angeles Times. April 5, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Everything But the Kitsch 'N Sync – Opening Night". Hi-Fructose Magazine. March 14, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2026.

34°06′01″N 118°17′24″W / 34.1004°N 118.2899°W / 34.1004; -118.2899

This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.