Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine

Opening Night: Lola’s “The Younger” at 80Forty Gallery

On Saturday night, Los Angeles pop-up space 80Forty transformed into Lola's "The Younger". Her exhibition, 2-years in the making, tells the personal story of Lola's creative upbringing in an environment full of personal touches. The space included her own fireplace mantel, as seen in our studio visit, with decorative furniture and 3d pieces on display. As the title suggests, we follow the 'younger' Lola into adulthood through a series of playful symbolism. In her youth, Lola spent time drawing with her father, also an artist, and playing with the toys inherited from her grandparents. These experiences find their way into her paintings, featuring Alice in Wonderland-like little girls in whimsical situations.

On Saturday night, Los Angeles pop-up space 80Forty transformed into Lola’s “The Younger”. Her exhibition, 2-years in the making, tells the personal story of Lola’s creative upbringing in an environment full of personal touches. The space included her own fireplace mantel, as seen in our studio visit, with decorative furniture and 3d pieces on display. As the title suggests, we follow the ‘younger’ Lola into adulthood through a series of playful symbolism. In her youth, Lola spent time drawing with her father, also an artist, and playing with the toys inherited from her grandparents. These experiences find their way into her paintings, featuring Alice in Wonderland-like little girls in whimsical situations. They are portrayed having breakfast with Star Trek dolls and Pez dispensers, and playing piano with Pac-man ghosts.


Life imitates art: Lola poses with her painting on opening night.

Despite her imagery’s youthfulness, there is a lingering shadow of a now mature, more self-aware Lola. When we met, Lola shared, “I kept my work, visually, more light-hearted to help ease through those real life circumstances… As the years have gone on, I’ve been compelled to challenge myself to create more difficult imagery as I continue to learn my craft.” Over time, our memory becomes a version of experiences jumbled together. Lola’s evolved into a surreal vision crafted from lessons learned and a growing imagination.

“The Younger” by Lola is now on view at 80Forty in Los Angeles through January 3, 2015.

Meta
Share
Facebook
Reddit
Pinterest
Email
Related Articles
Trey Abdella’s wild acrylic paintings are packed with strange dreamscapes and pop culture iconography. Much of his work is built around the idea of a “shrine,” a makeshift monument to the various stages of growth and social reference points.
Painter Adrian Cox continues to expand the mythology of his hybrid Border Creatures in "Awakenings." Opening at Beinart Gallery on April 6, the show takes us inside the Borderlands and the latest narratives involving his fictional race of creatures that are in harmony with the natural world. This show features a new being, named Penitent Spirit, dwelling his lush world. Cox was featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 47.
Moscow based photographer Katerina Plotnikova has been making a name for herself for her daring photos of young girls embracing wild beasts. (We first posted her work on our Facebook page.) Her haunting portraits are created with real, specially trained animals such as bears, owls, deer and foxes, blending surrealism with inspiration from fairytales. Perhaps our fascination with her images comes from a place we’ve almost forgotten, as deforestation and global warming become imminent threats to our planet. With each series, her work pushes the boundaries even further. Read more after the jump.
Japanese artist Hirabayashi Takahiro, featured here on our blog, brought his work to the United States for the first time, with a solo show that opened on Saturday night at Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles. “Trail of Souls” is an inspired exploration of “this world” and the “next world” present in traditional Japanese belief systems.

Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List