Two-Part Exhibition Curated by Peter Frank Opens at Temporary Space LA in July

Two-part exhibition celebrating the works of Margaret Nielsen & Scott Grieger, curated jointly by the artists and noted critic Peter Frank. The 4,000 square foot exhibition will present works selected from two careers spanning 45 years. 

The exhibition will feature a digital overlay accessed via on-site iPads. The digital exhibition includes a timeline showcasing the artists’ finished works and studies juxtaposed against world events and the personal happenings of the artist. This unfiltered digital experience provides an opportunity for visitors to have a more in-depth experience with the art and the artists, allowing them to view their entire bodies of work in addition to the works that are on the exhibit.

Signs & Alarms: The Art of Margaret Nielsen and Scott Grieger, 1970-2015 surveys the work of two important Los Angeles artists at a moment of renewed prominence for each of them. Both Nielsen and Grieger have long been associated with a post-Pop, quasi-conceptual focus on the image and the sign. This focus characterizes the work of many artists in Nielsen's and Grieger's generation, especially in southern California. But in Nielsen's and Grieger's hands this concentration on single, centered imagery has taken on expanded poetic resonance. Nielsen is a fantasist preoccupied with the forces of nature and their interaction with culture, while Grieger is more a satirist concerned with the follies of humankind and the elusiveness of ideas and language itself. -- Peter Frank, curator of Signs & Alarms.

For painter Margaret Nielsen, the journey has been a recurring theme in her artwork. The painter travels through her work and her own psyche, portraying aspects of life with a universal commonality and delving into the mystery of the human condition. Through the use of recurring imagery such as birds, the four elements, and other natural motifs, Nielsen connects the private, intangible world with the external, physical world. Her paintings, often small, jewel-like, and intimate, evoke Jung’s notion of the collective unconscious in that they touch upon experiences common to us all in the journey through life.

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Margaret Nielsen attended Chouinard Art Institute, received her BFA from California Institute of the Arts, and her MA in clinical art therapy from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. She has exhibited her paintings extensively, both nationally and internationally, as well as produced numerous public art projects.

Since the beginning of his career, Scott Grieger has sought to question and challenge assumptions of art and culture. He uses his art to communicate the ironies he observes, juxtaposing conventionally disparate art historical periods, media, imagery, and ideas. Humor and satire are used to question dominant positions, both hidden and implied, often through both text and image. The scope of Grieger's work has been vast, from combining the signature style of Donald Judd with the body of a guitar to placing the Venus of Willendorf on a bucolic wooden sign next to her husband, Mr. Willendorf. As Grieger states, “free thought is the goal,  and in humor there is insight.”

Scott Grieger earned his BFA from Cal State Northridge after also attending Chouinard Art Institute. He began teaching at Otis College of Art and Design thirty-six years ago and is currently Professor and Program Director of Painting. His work can be found in the public collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Part 1 of Signs & Alarms: The Art of Margaret Nielsen & Scott Grieger, 1970-2015 will open with a reception on Saturday, July 18th from 6pm - 10pm. The show will be on view through August 29th. Signs & Alarms will be re-hung with new works for Part 2, which will open on September 5th and be on view through October 24.

RSVP to attend the opening on Temporary Space LA’s ‘EVENTS’ page at

www.temporaryspacela.com or call 323-297-8464.

Temporary Space LA is an alternative exhibition platform to the traditional art gallery model.  Unlike the traditional gallery model, Temporary Space will not represent artists. Instead of showcasing the art of developing or emerging artists, Temporary Space LA will exhibit the art of mid-career and late-career artists, with particular emphasis upon artists who have been under-appreciated, both critically and economically, by the art establishment.

Temporary Space LA is located at 5522 Wilshire Blvd.  Los Angeles, CA 90036.  Exhibition Hours are:  Monday – Saturday from 10am – 8pm.   For additional information, please visit www.temporaryspacela.com. Public inquiries please call 323-297-8464.