LOS ANGELES has recently moved to the forefront of the contemporary art scene with HVW8 Gallery playing a pivotal role. HVW8 stands at the heart of Art, Music and Design in this emerging scene, bringing diverse groups together for its celebrated openings and exhibitions since 2006. In continuing its avant-garde tradition, HOME & AWAY is an exhibition series featuring HVW8 alumni from LA and NY making their European debuts. The exhibition will open at the Galleria Patricia Armocida in Milan and closes out in Amsterdam at the Andenken Gallery.
French multitalented (photographer, Video/Ad director and Creative Director of Blast Magazine) Remi Ferrente captured all those moments in this video report.
LISA LEONE
Born in the Bronx and raised throughout New York City, Lisa Leone has been surrounded by hip-hop culture for virtually her entire life. By the late eighties, as a widely published photographer, she was in a unique position to capture a behind-the-scenes perspective on the spirit of collaboration that fueled hip- hop’s early artistic triumphs. “To see a young Nas in the studio with Q-Tip, Premier and Large Professor was not only inspiring,” she reflects on one of the candid photos included in the show, “it is ‘the decisive moment’.”
HASSAN RAHIM
Hassan Rahim b. 1987, Los Angeles. Hassan Rahim is an artist and art director living and working in Los Angeles. His work, reminiscent of vague childhood memories and adolescent fantasies, utilizes photography, collage and mixed media to create strong contextual pieces which are both appealing and alarming to the audience. When his works are viewed as a whole, his obsessions become evident— marble surfaces, hoop dreams, deconstructed portraits of childhood idols, the exaggera- ted opulence associated with mid-90s celebrity athletes, and the American space program; executed in a manner that often exudes a sense of darkness within its message.
ALESSANDRO MORODER
Lives and works in Los Angeles. In his paintings and installations, Alessandro Moroder examines the masculine psyche through the notion of the spectacle by exploring it within various lenses, languages, and time periods. Whether it be the sheer size of the work, the layering of nostalgic text from his childhood or the post-modern stripe as a representation of lineage, each work creates a different dynamic while keeping the vernacular as true as possible. He uses his multilingual upbringing to guide certain aspects such as specific text, scale, or theme. Subject matter such as the attraction to being a misbehaved youth, Italian football and its social history, or the group as the individual in sport lend itself to a personal taxonomy of the male identity.
HVW8 ART + DESIGN GALLERY
HVW8 Art + Design Gallery was founded in 2006 with a focus of supporting fine art & avant-garde graphic design. It soon became one of the premier underground galleries in Los Angeles and over the past 7 years has exhibited emerging and established artists from around the world. HVW8 has also hosted numerous musical performances and special events, continuing to cement its reputation under gallery curator Tyler Gibney as an exhibition space for artists to showcase their varied creative expression. Past exhibitors include Parra, Geoff McFetridge, Hanni El Khatib, Kevin Lyons, Hassan Rahim, Mark Gonzales, Lisa Leone and Craig Costello (aka Krink).
