EXHIBITS

JULIAN BERMUDEZ EXHIBITS™ can be found well beyond the realm of the “White Cube.” Below is a list of Past Exhibits.
Click HERE for Upcoming Exhibits.

Enrique Castrejon: Axioms of Solitude (September 28 through November 2, 2013)

Exploring the nuances of solitude and isolation, Enrique Castrejon chose to create his own personal universe by producing a multi-platformed symphonic exhibition in three stages: a large-scale, site specific installation, mixed-media paintings, and drawings. The resulting “song” gave audiences a greater insight to the artist’s personal struggle and continued self-exploration.

Erynn Richardson: Ethereal Echoes (June 8 through August 4, 2013)

Erynn Richardson is a reluctant romantic, but you wouldn’t get that when experiencing her intricately constructed mixed media etchings in her first solo show, “Ethereal Echoes,” at Bermudez Projects. The show consisted of more than twenty artworks in which the artist attempted to capture the essence of objects she’s struggled not to be attached to; yet by the extremely elaborate nature of her work process, shows us how attached to them she actually is.

John Rabe’s Acid Free (February 9 through April 30, 2013)

As host of 89.3-KPCC’s Off-Ramp, John Rabe delights local public radio listeners with broadcasts combining the best journalistic practices with his highly personal style. “John Rabe’s Acid Free,” a new photographic journey, mirrored Rabe’s broadcast style and, in 20 large-scale images, offered a take on LA we had never seen before. These new photos can only be described as psychedelic, despite the artist never doing acid. Through his unique perspective, the artist highlights and transforms the colors of the real world to find a parallel with the emotions of the scenes he photographs. All taken and processed on his iPhone, the photos in “John Rabe’s Acid Free” show LA honestly and lovingly, un-cynically and un-jaded, in a mix of fresh and familiar voices.

Beautiful, Brutal Things | Highlights from Bermudez Projects (January 5 through January 26, 2013)

Kicking off its new year, Bermudez Projects presented highlights from its collection in its Downtown Los Angeles space featuring the works of Amanda Beckmann, Enrique Castrejon, Gordon Henderson, John S. Rabe, and Johnny Taylor. Paintings, illustrations, photography and prints were presented to illustrate the diverse range of artistic styles, media, and movements by the next generation of American artists.

A Positive Impact | Art in the Wake of the AIDS Crisis (November 30, 2012 through January 18, 2013)

In commemoration of World AIDS Day, AltaMed Health Services presented an exhibit featuring the works of Enrique Castrejon, Ruben Esparza and Miguel Angel Reyes, long-standing members of the community and ardent advocates for HIV and AIDS education. Their works offered diverse perspectives and reactions in the wake of the AIDS crisis. Words and symbols, such as the pink triangle, are used to express solidarity and community. Images, including details of the HIV cell itself, are fragmented and measured in order to incite a deeper investigation and understanding. And, throughout the exhibit, the human body is presented as a symbol of strength, fragility and perseverance. In addition to the exhibit, AltaMed commissioned all three artists to work collaboratively in creating an original painting, The Affirmation of Eden, which is on view in the Main Lobby of the organization’s Corporate Office.

Carlos Ulloa: Calamitous Conundrums (November 3 through December 29, 2012)  

Through Carlos Ulloa’s imagination, sea urchin eggs become one subject’s nose, below the steel-grey eyes of a housecat, rimmed in red fur bracelets … and is that a seed-pod above the eyes, or a trio of snails? A man with watermelon brains is crowned with a wild boar whose body has morphed into a giant blue eye … is he a racist with stereotypes on the brain? These wild re-imaginings are translated into the found images the artist stitches together into the intricate portraits in this exhibit — the artist’s first solo exhibit in Los Angeles — which presented over a dozen framed mixed-media collages and a series of limited-edition prints on wood veneer.

Movin’ On Up: Black Art Now (October 26 through December 12, 2012)

Curated in partnership with KPCC 89.3 Southern California Public Radio to further SCPR’s mission of connecting the communities of Southern California, this exhibit presented artworks by the next generation of Black artists who continue to examine the themes from past generations, as well as explore current and future concepts on both a local and global scale. The artworks on view included those by Kerry James Marshall, Robert Pruitt, Miles Regis, Lezley Saar and Suné Woods.

Johnny Taylor: Light Years (September 1 through October 27, 2012)

To inaugurate its fall season, Bermudez Projects welcomed its first international show with Light Years by Canadian artist Johnny Taylor. Taylor’s first solo show in the US, the exhibit took its name from one of a dozen new pieces inspired by Taylor’s last trip to LA. Standing in front of one of them, letting your mind wander into the almost architectural frameworks, and you will grasp Johnny’s vision … as he puts it, “a vision is much like memories themselves: clear yet overlapping, immediate yet distant, dissolving and falling into place at the same instant.”

The Art of News: The Nexus of News, Art and Message (July 26 through October 20, 2012)

Curated in partnership with KPCC 89.3 Southern California Public Radio to further SCPR’s mission of connecting the communities of Southern California, this exhibit examined how artists utilize visual imagery to critique or support information, as well as art’s power to influence the masses. Featured artists included Lalo Alcaraz, Robbie Conal, Enrique Castrejon, Shepard Fairey, Atsumi Okano, Miles Regis, and Edward Walton Wilcox.

SPACELAND: Los Angeles – Vast, Light, Modern (June 2 through July 28, 2012)

Celebrating Bermudez Project’s One-Year Anniversary, this exhibit brought together artists from the past year — and introduced two new artists — to produce original works illustrating the exhibit’s theme(s). This multi-media, multi-sensory exhibit featured artworks by Amanda Beckmann, Enrique Castrejon, Gordon Henderson, John S. Rabe, Johnny Taylor and Carlos Ulloa. Artistic styles included painting, photography, mixed-media collage, drawing and a site-specific installation encompassing the space from floor to ceiling.

Amanda Beckmann: Hasten Slowly (April 7 through May 25, 2012)

Amanda Beckmann’s latest body of work signifies her confidence and comfort with the artistic process. Her debut solo exhibit last year was a complete success; ironic considering its title, Failure is an Option, which referred to Beckmann’s realization that she had to ignore her anal instincts and take a few risks. Over 20 works were on view, including the animated short, So It Goes, which brings the artist’s collages to life in a new, exciting way.

Enrique Castrejon: Waifs & Strays (February 2 through March 22, 2012)

By examining, investigating, dissecting and reinterpreting images of the male form, Enrique Castrejon explores the nuanced social mores of gay culture through mathematical equations and measurements to transform nude bodies, scantily clad “masseurs,” bears, twinks, jocks and studs into geometric line drawings on collage. The exhibit explored the allure and pitfalls of male cruising, sexual anonymity and playful reckless abandon.

David Weidman: Modern Master: Prints 1967-1974 (November 11, 2011 through January 14, 2012)

During the 1950s, David Weidman began his career as a commercial illustrator and animator, earning great acclaim for working with the upstart animation studio United Productions of America (UPA) which produced classics such as Mr. Magoo and the Academy Award-winning Gerald McBoing-Boing.  But in 1963, Weidman chose to become a printmaker, utilizing his knowledge and experience as an animator to create brilliantly-colored kaleidoscopic works-on-paper displaying a pared-down, flat style expressing whimsy, magic and wonder. And, in the mid-60s, to prove his versatility, Weidman created a series of non-representational modernist prints with deep, saturated colors reminiscent of Mark Rothko’s color-field paintings and Wassily Kandinsky’s abstract expressionism. In conjuction with Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, Bermudez Projects | Downtown LA presented more than 15 original works from this modern series, including a rare, never-before-seen print. All were created between 1967 and 1974, and reaffirm Weidman’s keen graphic sensibility, expert use of color and mastery of composition.

Chicano Art Exhibit (October 19 through December 30, 2011)

As part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, 89.3 KPCC’s AirTalk hosted a conversation with Chicano artists looking back at this critical period in art history when Chicano artists were trying to define and express themselves even as the LA art scene as a whole was re-defining the boundaries of contemporary artistic expression. The discussion included younger artists whose creative expression is informed by those who preceded them, but whose work expands beyond the preoccupations of the cultural trailblazers. In addition, a small exhibit presented a fraction of the diverse range of media and styles seen in Chicano art. Artists such as Frank Romero, Gronk and Patssi Valdez represented the vanguard of their generation, while others including Enrique Castrejon, David Flury and Sonia Romero represented a new generation of contemporary Chicano/Latino artists in Southern California and the United States.

Gordon Henderson: Dogs Deserve Our Compliments (September 9 through October 29, 2011)

For more than a quarter-century, LA-based artist and performer Gordon Henderson has been beguiling his fans with the Nib Geebles calendar. The 26^th Calendar, titled Dogs Deserve Our Compliments, was published in 2011, and to celebrate, Bermudez Projects in Downtown Los Angeles mounted an exclusive exhibit featuring the original ink-on-paper drawings from the calendar. Rendered in a bold, graphic style – inspired by the works of R. Crumb, Charles Addams, Paul Klee, B. Kliban and the music culture of the 70s and 80s – these drawings explored subconscious social mores where people float in their environments anticipating a phenomenal occurrence or, in some cases, attempt to make sense of what has already transpired.

Amanda Beckmann: Failure Is An Option (July 7 through August 24, 2011)  

Amanda Beckmann’s beautifully rendered collages-on-board are like spending a long, lazy afternoon in the best second-hand store imaginable, leafing through dog-eared books and magazines, stroking old silk Rooster® ties and the Bakelite cabinets of vintage radios, picking up gold-leafed barware and imagining the cocktails they held.  Beckmann’s works are a kaleidoscope of color, texture, depth, and form. They’re intricately composed and transport viewers into the sub-conscious wonderland of this modern-day hunter and gatherer. Held at Bermudez Projects | Downtown LA, “Falure Is An Option” was the artist’s first solo exhibit, and in it she transformed 20^th century nostalgia into 21^st century modernism, with more than  20 small and large scale artworks, including a series of never-before-seen works on paper. 

John Rabe: The Vast Wasteland Project (May 26 through June 22, 2011)

John Rabe’s photographs of discarded television sets are reminders of our own mortality. The hyper-saturated Polaroid-inspired images, taken with the Hipstamatic® iPhone app, lend a retro, dreamlike feeling to Rabe’s sophisticated compositions, which capture a mood that’s welled within him for over 40 years…his fondness for nostalgia, and – as far as television goes – admiration, disappointment, and pleasure. The inaugural exhibit at Bermudez Projects featured over 40 photographs, as well as an audio track of the original “Vast Wasteland” speech given by Newton Minow and a trailer for the upcoming short film. THE VAST WASTELAND PROJECT investigated our relationship with mass media and its status in the collective consciousness.
 

Enrique Castrejon: Measured and Fragmented (October 14 through October 27, 2010)

Popular culture, queer images, politics, sex and images of beauty all inspire Enrique Castrejon’s mesmerizing artworks. Through mathematical equations, Castrejon meticulously transforms graphic imagery into geometric line-drawings on paper by measuring distances between points. In creating rigid shapes – fragments – Castrejon challenges our perceptions of what is real, forcing us to think critically about information that bombards our everyday lives. Approximately 30 artworks were on display, including a 3-minute short film introducing the artist’s drawing methodology and philosophy. Presented in partnership with Design Within Reach®, MEASURED AND FRAGMENTED explored the relationship between art and design, architecture and space by presenting these works outside the milieu of museums and galleries.

David Weidman @ Design Within Reach (January 28 through January 31, 2010)   

David Weidman began his career as a commercial illustrator and animator during the 1950s. During the 1960s and 1970s, he produced an extensive body of work, including lithographs, serigraphs, and posters. However, perhaps Weidman’s greatest acclaim is having worked for the upstart United Productions of America (UPA), which produced animated classics such as Mr. Magoo and the Academy Award-winning Gerald McBoing-Boing. At 88, Weidman’s oeuvre conveys a vintage modernism complete with striking color style, graphic sensibility, and expert use of saturated colors. His highly graphic works-on-paper display a pared-down, flat style expressing whimsy, magic, and wonder. Over 15 framed works were on view throughout the DWR Pasadena studio in this exclusive experimental exhibit. During the opening reception, the artist was honored by the City of Los Angeles as a Cultural Treasure.

The Samurai Re-Imagined: From Ukiyo-e to Anime (February 19 through August 9, 2009)

One of the challenges facing museums today is engaging younger audiences without alienating current constituents. So, as a major fan of comic books and animation, it was a no-brainer for me to develop this exhibit for Pacific Asia Museum. Basically, the show explores the roots of anime and manga by examining how the image of the samurai has evolved over the centuries. The exhibit juxtaposes early works, such as Katsushika Hokusai’s “Octopus Samurai and Farmer,” with contemporary ones, like Stan Sakai’s “Usagi Yojimbo.” It highlights many visual, stylistic, historical, and literary connections, bridging the past with the present. Thousands of people toured this exhibit, quadrupling the previous year’s attendance. But, the best results were seeing a more diverse demographic; witnessing teenagers with their parents or grandparents talk about the art; seeing young adults highly engaged within a museum environment; and watching adults turn into kids once they entered the exhibit. 

The Persistence of Vision: 2009 Student Animation Competition (May 23 through August 9, 2009)

Someone once told me that I transcended age. I interpreted this to mean that I was able to relate with young people, as well as adults. From that moment on, I’ve kept that idea in the back of my mind when developing new projects. Before The Samurai Re-Imagined opened, I knew it would be the perfect vehicle for inspiring creativity. I presented the exhibit to a group of over 100 students attending Cal State Northridge’s animation program. The plan was to have them tour the exhibit with me, then return to school to create original animated short films that would be presented in a day-long festival. The processes involved in creating these animated films — character designs, backgrounds, and storyboards — would also be on exhibit at Pacific Asia Museum. Each student was so excited at the opportunity that they kept returning to the exhibit for more ideas and inspiration. “The Village by the Shallow Falls,” “Phoenix Lotus,” “Repentance,” and “Meibatsu” were presented to a sold-out audience that included reps from Dreamworks, as well as CSUN faculty, students, family, and friends. 

Exhibit Coordinator, Pacifika: Young Perspectives on Pacific Island Art (May 1 through August 24, 2008)

How do you breathe new life into an art collection that has been made out to be exotic? You go to straight to the source to dispel any myths. And, that’s exactly what I did with Pacifika, an exhibit aimed at breaking down the negative stereotypes — while simultaneously instilling pride — within and outside Southern California’s Pacific Islander community. Using the solid, albeit small, collection of Pacific arts from Pacific Asia Museum, I aimed at creating an exhibit that was relevant to museum-goers and the PI community. After spending a year with PI teens, college students, and adults, I learned that they were constantly dealing with issues of race, gender, age, and class. I discovered how Pacific Islanders, through costumes and adornments, communicate authority, pride, and power. These topics came to life in the exhibit by presenting these students’ own voices through an audio track, a video, personal essays, hand-made costumes, and dance performances. This was the first time PI youth had an active role in a museum exhibit, letting them be seen in a positive way by community leaders, mainstream media, and themselves.