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Los Angeles Times
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
At the Japanese bathhouse, the lens comes off and ‘everything feels more beautiful'
A woman listens to her CD player as she soaks in the bathtub. Another checks the temperature of her bathwater as she eats a juicy piece of stone fruit. Two lovers embrace at the edge of a hot tub. Women wash their feet, women soak their feet. A woman lotions her legs in the locker room, cream dripping down her shins like smoke and pooling in a puddle beneath her. There are images of bathing throughout painter Zoé Blue M.'s early oeuvre, but in her latest exhibition, 'Hard Boiled,' M.'s first solo show at Jeffrey Deitch in New York, the Japanese bathhouse is at the center. More specifically, 'Hard Boiled' features scenes from the takkyu onsen — a Japanese phrase that translates to 'table tennis bathhouse.' For M., the takkyu onsen is a space that is both real and imaginary. While many modern bathhouses feature areas for table tennis, the way M. merges the sport with the spa in her paintings is more personal. She is a fixture at Little Tokyo Table Tennis — the pingpong club, clothing brand and cultural community founded by her brother, Jiro Maestu — and a fan of Grand Spa and Beverly Hot Springs. Whether she's slipping into a hot tub or slapping a pingpong ball with her paddle, the artist cherishes both environments for helping her to hyper-focus into her own breath and body. Her paintings come from these pauses. In this as-told-to interview, the L.A. native discusses creating 'Hard Boiled'and the way caring for her body has become a part of her practice as a painter. I'm fascinated with bathing as a ritual. It's almost like you live your life with a lens on and then it's removed in the bathhouse. You focus on the beauty of the body, the beauty of femininity. Everything feels more beautiful in the bathhouse. Every style of body feels so beautiful. I'm most interested in existence within these spaces, and seeing in these spaces. Allowing the body, aging bodies, different types of bodies, to become part of one's visual landscape. There's no better education than just seeing, at least to start. I was also thinking about bathhouses as these places used to fetishize women in Japanese pop culture and manga. [I was looking at] the beauty of this space, while keeping in mind how people have used images of it in a fetishistic way. But if we can't look at things in more than one way, how are we ever going to reframe anything? In this painting ['Butterfly'], she has a big back tattoo, which wouldn't traditionally be allowed in a bathhouse. I made it a butterfly because the show is about these bathhouses that have pingpong, and Butterfly is a really famous table tennis brand. This painting is actually a repurposed image from a traditional Japanese bathhouse. It's an amalgamation of a lot of different things, but it's based on an image of an actual bathroom I saw. Architecturally, it's very similar to the bathroom in the photo, I just changed all of the tiling and other things about it. I freaked it. I started doing the same face for everything because in Japanese ukiyo-e prints, the figuration is always the same — like every girl in a print will have the exact same face but have different outfits. In terms of anime, it's often the same template of a face, and then everything else changes around it. I was also into religious narratives, like frescoes, where it's the same person doing something over the course of time in one frame. So it's all of those ideas in one style of figuration. I'm very focused on breaking down the hierarchy of what figurative painting is. In theory, a portrait would be a figurative painting in the sense that the painting is about that figure. But I'm more interested in painting that utilizes figuration, where there's no longer that hierarchy. Everything has value to it at an equal level. Or sometimes, the architecture has more value than the figure. In a lot of Impressionist paintings, nature is actually the main character and the figures kind of get absorbed into it. I'm trying to utilize that in my paintings. I don't want them to be as much about the figure as the color, the temperature in the space, the wind or the water. All of these things are just as important. Within a bathhouse, there are so many different rooms, with their own temperatures, made out of different things. Obviously, these paintings move a lot, but they're also oddly still. A while ago, I discovered this thing in Kabuki theater called mie. It's when, within the play, the actor strikes this really dramatic pose. It's a tool the actor uses to draw the attention of the viewer to an important moment. It's a very dramatic pose with a very dramatic facial expression, but done with complete stillness. When I discovered this concept, I knew that's what I wanted my paintings to be like. I wanted my figures to be midjump, but still. Within that moment of stopping, there's all of this information. That's what stopping does a lot of the time. The minute you stop and think [is] the minute you can parse things out. My paintings come from this moment of stopping, where within stopping there is movement. It's interesting to think about hyper-focusing into an action for a moment. In pingpong, all you're thinking about is the ball. How do I hit it this time? Getting in the cold plunge is all about paying attention to your breath in the cold. A lot of my work is hyper-focusing into one moment. But then, in these paintings, there's a lot of these little moments happening at the same time. I went through years of being the most deeply unhealthy person, in relation to my practice and my life. About a year ago, my body was pretty much deteriorating. My hands weren't good. My back was killing me. I wasn't exercising. Everything was in the way of my time in the studio. Once I met [my boyfriend] Allek, whose whole thing is health and preservation, I learned a lot about longevity and sustainability. How do I keep painting? In the duration of making this body of work, I nailed down how to reframe my whole lifestyle to make this sustainable for me. How can I do this for the rest of my life? For a long time, I thought it was so much cooler and punk to always be in the studio. Rip Adderall. Never sleep. Have 45 Red Bulls a day. Paint my head off. Also, being bipolar, I was really into mania. I was down with the highs and lows; I thought that was the price. I was used to it, I liked it, and I thought I needed it. There's also something about growing up in a place that feels like being on the precipice of the end of the world more than other places. I have a romantic relationship to that. I always felt scared growing up. It's part of the paintings. Everything is on the precipice of disaster, and it might never come, but we're always aware of it. It's how mental illness feels. There's an energetic field to that. In that way, I just have this relationship with L.A. that I love. I find my work deeply ingrained in L.A. My mom is deeply L.A. We're deeply Japanese American, from L.A., from Little Tokyo. We have a lot of roots here. That's so much a part of my work. I don't need to preach L.A. to anyone, but I'm definitely a diehard L.A. girly. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Tierney Finster is a writer, editor and artist whose work has appeared in Dazed and Confused, the Face, MEL, Playboy, Pin-up and others. She was born in the Valley and loves L.A.
Los Angeles Times
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Our guide for what to see during Frieze Los Angeles
Ah, art week. When you think you'll have enough time to make it from the fair in Santa Monica to the exhibition opening in Mid-City, to the function in Lynwood, to the after-party in the Arts District and not collapse from traffic-induced exhaustion. Blame Frieze! It's the sun in the middle of L.A. art week's solar system. This year's exhibitors come from all over the world — Mexico City, Paris, São Paulo, Minnesota. Many also come from the home base. This year's L.A. contingent includes Stars Gallery; Make Room; Jeffrey Deitch; Anat Ebgi; Sebastian Gladstone; Matthew Brown; Commonwealth and Council; Ochi; Charlie James; David Kordansky; L.A. Louver; Regen Projects; Roberts Projects; Château Shatto and many more. Feb. 20-23. Santa Monica Airport. It's that time of year again: Where on a (hopefully) unseasonably warm winter day, we chill by the pool at the Hollywood Roosevelt, explore the dozens and dozens of galleries throughout the rooms and bless our good fortune that we live in the greatest city in the world: L.A., baby. In its seventh edition, Felix Art Fair this year includes local galleries such as Charlie James Gallery, Morán Morán, Murmurs, One Trick Pony and Tierra Del Sol, among international exhibitors like Luce, Pangée and Studioli. Feb. 19-23. Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. 'To Star,' Mia Scarpa's solo show at John Doe, is the latest example of the artist's work as highly specific, highly personal and immediately connective. Scarpa creates the kind of world where you recognize a glimmer of yourself and want to live deep inside. She sees her pieces less as images and more as objects, chock full of references from her upbringing in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and her daily life and work in L.A. The exhibition will run through March 22. 107 E. 11th St., Los Angeles. 'American Gurl: home—land,' presented by MOCA culture:LAB and Womxn in Windows, showcases short films from artists Alima Lee, Cauleen Smith, Solange Knowles, Melvonna Ballenger, Shenny De Los Angeles & Amanda Morrell (iiritu) and Ella Ezeike, exploring diaspora, home and displacement. On view through May 24 through Womxn in Windows' residency at the MOCA culture:LAB. Some of the stills from the artists' films are also on view on billboards throughout the city, in collaboration with Save Art Space. 250 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. Joey Barba and Javier Bandera of Paisaboys once again collaborate with artist Guadalupe Rosales of Veteranas and Rucas, this time for an art-week party at the iconic Lynwood nightclub, El Farallon. Sponsored by Nike, the event will feature an installation from Rosales and the artist rafa esparza. Feb. 20, 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. 21 and up. RSVP here. 10700 S. Alameda St., Lynwood. @paisaboys @veteranas_and_rucas While the excitement of art week starts to buzz in, much of L.A. is still reeling from January's catastrophic wildfires. Support the L.A. Fire Department Foundation through its capsule collection designed and curated by End to End, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the LAFD's nonprofit. The collection features hoodies, tees, crewnecks and more that honor L.A. and the people who protect it, plus other LAFD collaborations to come from Born X Raised, Madhappy, Warren Lotas and more. Tschabalala Self's 'Dream Girl,' running through April 26 at Jeffrey Deitch L.A., takes a long look at 'the constructed self' and the 'construction of femininity.' Each painting and sculpture in the show creates a kind of looking glass into the mind of Self, a celebrated figurative artist based in Hudson, N.Y., who describes the work as 'existing within liminal spaces which speak to psychological, emotional and spiritual aspects of personhood.' 925 N. Orange Drive, Los Angeles. Helmut Lang, the Austrian fashion designer who defined an entire decade with his sumptuous minimalism, has been exhibiting his mystifying work as a sculptor since the mid-'90s, but this is his first institutional solo show in L.A. Curated by Neville Wakefield and held at the MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House, 'What Remains Behind?' explores the tension between the past and the future. Running through May 4. 835 N. Kings Road, West Hollywood. Happening Feb. 20-23 in Atwater Village, the Other Art Fair remains a breath of fresh air during a saturated art week. The show features 140 exhibiting artists, including legend Judy Baca, who will be presenting a new mural in connection to her ongoing project 'The Great Wall of Los Angeles.' 2800 Casitas Ave., Atwater Village. Paul Flores' first solo show is about honoring the moments, signage, smells and sounds that make up his hometown of Los Angeles in his memory. Flores, an artist and graphic designer who has been making work on his own and in collaboration with other L.A. artists for years, has a style that is unmistakable, inspired by the visual language left behind in a rapidly changing place. 'Good Morning Los Angeles, How Are You?' unapologetically leans into the nostalgia of a city Flores loves, and the love is deeply felt. Running through March 29 at Control Gallery. 434 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles. Curated by L.A. artist Devon DeJardin, 'Saddle Up: Artistic Journeys Through Cowboy Culture,' explores the lore of the Wild West through the artistic, personal and societal perspective of a group of young artists. 'Rooted in tradition yet vibrant and dynamic, the spirit of cowboy culture and the American West in 2025 feels distinctly renewed,' says DeJardin. Running through March 29 at albertz benda. 8260 Marmont Lane, Los Angeles. Jonathan Rafman creates a reflection of our society's relationship with technology and nostalgia in 'Proof of Concept,' his mesmeric new show at Sprüth Magers. Anchored by an installation that reconceives television in the era of artificial intelligence — featuring a stream of visual media —'Proof of Concept' is Rafman's latest foray into the place where the future, past and the digital world intersect. Running through April 12. 5900 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. It's Alice Coltrane forever, in our hearts and at the Hammer Museum. Curated by Erin Christovale, 'Alice Coltrane: Monumental Eternal' dives deep into the spiritual and sonic worlds of the jazz icon and devotional leader that Coltrane was, and her lasting influence on art and music. The exhibition features ephemera from the depths of Coltrane's personal archive — including audio recordings, photographs, video and handwritten letters — paired with sculpture, installation, performance, video and more from a range artists including Adee Roberson, Nicole Miller, Martine Syms, Cauleen Smith and Star Feliz. Running through May 4. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. L.A. artist Kelly Akashi's show at Lisson was originally meant to feature all new work and open on Jan. 31. Devastatingly, in early January, Akashi's home and studio were lost to the fires — putting the exhibition on pause. Now, like the proverbial phoenix, Akashi's show will go on, recontextualized to meet the moment. Akashi's work is unlike anything else: a multidisciplinary practice that ranges between glassblowing, casting, candle-making and stone carving, plus her signature hand motif that is usually cast in bronze or crystal. The collection of works for this show, featuring a number of new pieces, mixes glass, earth, stone, lace and bronze elements, along with some bronze cast and borosilicate glass forms that Akashi recovered from the rubble of her studio.
