Archive: Cold Days to Sunny Days

In January 1999 Cold Days, an exhibition by Judy Ledgerwood, opened at the Renaissance Society in Chicago. This exhibition was the impetus for Judy's first exhibition at 1301PE Sunny Days which opened March 23, 2002.

Cold Days at The Renaissance Society

As stated in the 1301PE press release for Sunny Days the all white canvases in Cold Days "were to be encountered after trudging through the snow in Chicago."

"Those primarily white site-specific paintings provided Ledgerwood with a starting point for this exhibition [Sunny Days]."

Sunny Days at 1301PE

"In the new works, she explores the melancholia that lies behind the sun. While the Cold Days painting were monochromatic, in the new works Ledgerwood uses a more complex tonal range as a challenge to describe the fleeting moment of Los Angeles in spring."

Food/Wine: The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills

Today we stopped by The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills where Susanne Friend works. Susanne is an art conservator 5 days a week and a cheese afficionado at The Cheese Store on Saturdays.

The Gallery: Chromophilia Installation

On Monday Judy Ledgerwood arrived from Chicago to begin installation on her exhibition Chromophilia which opens this Saturday.

Ceramics drying in the sun

In progress wall painting

Tempera paint bottles

Archive: 6150 Wilshire Before 1301PE

Before galleries moved into 6150 Wilshire Blvd. the building was a LANZ department store. Lanz of Salzburg is primarily known for producing nightgowns, classic pyjamas and other sleepwear.

According to Wikipedia, Developer A.W. Ross saw potential for the area, and developed Wilshire as a commercial district to rival downtown Los Angeles. Ross's insight was that the form and scale of the Wilshire strip should attract and serve automobile traffic rather than pedestrian shoppers.

Although the preponderance of shopping malls and the development in the 1960s of financial and business districts in downtown and Century City lessened the Miracle Mile's importance as a retail center, the area has retained its vitality thanks to the addition of several museums and commercial high-rises.

LACMA's building on Fairfax and Wilshire used to be a May Co Department store. Images from the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection.

Food/Wine: Good Wine

Some good wines can be found at...Elvino www.elvinowines.com

The Gallery: Goodbye Fireplace

Some 1301PE fireplace moments:

Original fireplace in group exhibition from January 2008 featuring work by John Reynolds (left) and Kerry Tribe (right).

Fireplace was subsequently covered up for during the gallery expansion in 2008.

Concealed fireplace in Jan 2009 group exhibition "Mind the Step"

In May 2009, Pae White asked for the fireplace to be uncovered for the installation of "November Gutter Leaves, Pasadena" in her exhibition Smoke Knows. Yesterday the fireplace on the ground floor of 1301PE was filled in to prepare for Judy Ledgerwood's exhibition "Chromophilia".

Before (Jose working on the fireplace)

After

Music/Radio: In Our Time

At the gallery we've been listening to In Our Time, a radio program about the history of ideas on BBC 4. When Brian was visiting Ireland for Philippe Parreno's exhibition at the IMMA, he did a studio visit with Isabel Nolan. She turned him on to the program. Fittingly, the first program he listened to was on James Joyce and A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man.