The Paintings of Lawrence Gipe: A Mix of Romance and Irony

FACES

“I want romance to coexist with irony, just as it has in literature for centuries,” says Los Angeles-based painter Lawrence Gipe. “But I get criticized for joining these two. . . . For some reason, in contemporary art the mingling (of the two elements) just hasn’t been very comfortable.”

Gipe, whose “Themes for the Fin de Siecle” opens Tuesday at Karl Bornstein Gallery in Santa Monica, says his works would not be complete without both elements. He paints towering romantic images of factories, locomotives and architectural facades--which he colorizes from black and white photographs from the 1930s and ‘40s--then adds both irony and a sense of contemporary reality through the stenciling of a single word--such as “GUILT,” “LOSS,” or “PRIDE”--across the bottom of the work.

In painting these decades-old images, Gipe reflects not only on “what has been” but also tries to “bring (the image) to the realm of the contemporary. . . . I try to combine (my) begrudging respect for the superficial beauty of the image with the understanding and the intellectual layer, the feeling of who we are today. I take on many things that I don’t believe in myself, but that I know many people still do believe in and celebrate.”

Gipe says his trains and factories, for instance, are symbolic of the prevailing belief in the ‘30s and ‘40s that “progress was there for the taking and we couldn’t make any mistakes.” But while acknowledging that belief, Gipe also sets out to show “that we have made some mistakes; that we need to look back and see where we went wrong.”

“I can definitely be quite moralistic, but I don’t apologize for that,” adds Gipe, who had his first solo show--at Karl Bornstein--in 1986, and is scheduled to make his New York solo debut this fall. “I try to make a work that’s very serious and moralistic, but yet contains some sensuousness. I want people to be able to look at this work in the future, and I think that sensuousness contributes to its longevity.”

CURRENTS

Josine Ianco-Starrels, senior curator at the Long Beach Museum of Art for the past three years, will leave the museum June 30 to pursue independent projects. “It was time for me to go,” said Ianco-Starrels, who previously spent 12 years at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, serving both as curator and director.

Ianco-Starrels said she will not continue to present her popular annual group show, “Magical Mystery Tour,” which she began at the Muni 13 years ago. But she already has a number of projects lined up, such as coordinating eight exhibitions for September’s Los Angeles Festival, including three shows in mobile “art trucks” and others in such venues as Santa Monica College and the Women’s Building. Other projects under discussion include two shows for Pasadena’s Armory Museum and one that would be held in Japan.

“I certainly do not lack projects,” Ianco-Starrels said. “The only thing that scares me is how many things I do have on the books . . . but luckily I’ve never been spoiled by working in institutions with large budgets, so I’m used to doing it all.” She also plans to continue working with individual artists, providing feedback on their work and helping them find representation. “I don’t intend to eat bonbons and watch television. I have an abundance of energy and I have no doubt that I will find an outlet for it.”

THE SCENE

A steady stream of onlookers including families with small children peeked into the lives of nearly 50 emerging artists at last weekend’s Santa Fe Art Colony Open Studio Weekend. Organizers estimate that close to 2,000 people visited the downtown artists’ complex during the two-day event, where they met the participating artists--who included Kim Abeles, Therman Statom, Rudy Mercado and Mary Bonic--saw their work and checked out their spacious but storage-short studios. The event provided a glimpse of artists’ domestic activities (Arnold Schifrin busied himself in preparing a vegetable casserole, for instance) and a chance to observe the artists’ taste in music (from reggae to classical to rock) and their sense of humor (such as the “Blasting Area: Wear Gas Mask” sign on Bill Spillman’s bathroom door). “These are mostly emerging artists that the public doesn’t get a chance to see,” said artist Heidi von Kann, who organized the event. “But these (events) also attract a lot of dealers and collectors, so eventually, artists will get exposure that way, too.”

Those who have missed Angles Gallery in Santa Monica, which has been closed since September for renovations, will be in for a surprise when they see the spruced-up gallery, which reopens Friday with new works made of locally found materials by British artist Richard Long. According to Susan Stringfellow, the gallery’s assistant director, Angles now “looks almost like a mini MOCA,” with a newly stuccoed exterior, several large skylights and the addition of a new 17-foot-high room. Friday’s opening reception is from 7-9 p.m., and the Long show runs through April 30. . . . Meanwhile, the latest gallery to join the Santa Monica boom is Richard Green, which has left La Brea Avenue and opens its new space at 2036 Broadway on Saturday. The inaugural exhibition, “Ed Ruscha: Prints 1962-1990,” features more than 90 prints. Saturday’s opening reception is from 2-6 p.m.

“Art is enlightenment--except in the dark.” Such is the thought of Marti Koplin, who has had to reschedule Koplin Gallery’s opening of works by Gaylen Hansen and Carolyn Cardenas because last Sunday’s opening was shut out by a power failure. “It was so terrible; I can’t tell you,” Koplin said. “A huge amount of people came, but nobody could stay because there wasn’t any power.” Koplin noted that the lights went off about 10 minutes before her 3-5 p.m. opening was scheduled to begin and stayed off for about two hours. Koplin has scheduled the show’s “relighting celebration” for 3-5 p.m. this Saturday.

OVERHEARD

“I was in a state of shock . . . It’s a very scary time,” said Madeliene Grynsztejn, associate curator at La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, when returning last week from panel hearings to award National Endowment for the Arts grants in the museum program and special exhibitions category. What Grynsztejn was referring to was a new NEA policy of distributing a copy of the Helms’ Amendment to all panelists before they meet to select grant recipients. “Our panel reacted to it rather quietly, but I was really surprised when they put that in front of me. It’s quite disconcerting to be given something like that when you’re supposed to have an open mind to consider a number of grants. . . . I don’t see how it can’t affect the program adversely.”

DEBUTS

The first U.S. showing of photographs by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand is on view through Thursday at USC’s Fisher Gallery. Says Selma Holo, Fisher Gallery director: “His Majesty is an erudite scholar and artist, and his paintings and music are highly admired by the Thai people. He is also a gifted photographer, and Fisher Gallery is honored to host this historic exhibition.” The show contains 101 photos taken over the course of the king’s 40-year reign.

HAPPENING

The 18th annual American Indian Festival and Market, featuring 26 contemporary American Indian artists from throughout the United States, will be held at the Natural History Museum Friday through next Sunday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Participating artists include potters, painters, printmakers and weavers. Information: (213) 744-3488.

ETC.

The Norton Simon Museum has raised its admission fees. The new fees are $4 for adults and $2.50 for students and seniors. . . . The Santa Monica Museum of Art has received a $100,000 grant from the James Irvine Foundation. According to the museum, the funds will be used to expand the museum’s professional staff and establish an in-house development office. . . . The Long Beach Museum of Art is accepting applications through April 1 for its juried arts and crafts festival to be held at the museum June 2-3. Judging will be Edith Wyle, founder of the Craft and Folk Art Museum. Information: (213) 439-2119. . . . Last week’s Art World printed the wrong date for Occidental College’s symposium “Cal Print ’90.” The symposium is actually being held March 24. . . . “Photography Until Now” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York closes on May 29, not April 29 as printed in Calendar’s Feb. 25 review of the exhibition.