Thinkspace Projects Dives Into February With Group and Solo Exhibitions

Gallery I | Hello Bear-Chan! | Yasuhito Kawasaki

Gallery II | Into the Wild | Group Show curated by City of Talents

Gallery III | Phenomenon | Nortisohi Mitsuuchi

Gallery IV | Stages of Grief | Caroline Liu

FEBRUARY 4 - FEBRUARY 25

Thinkspace Projects

4207 W. Jefferson Blvd. & 4217 W. Jefferson Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90016

T: 310.558.3375 | Tues. - Sat. Noon to 6PM

Thinkspaceprojects.com

Opening Reception

Saturday, Feb 4, 6-10pm

DJ, Refreshments, and More

Los Angeles, CA (January 27, 20232) - Thinkspace Projects is excited to keep the New Contemporary Art momentum going in 2023, with a compilation of solo and group exhibitions designed to compliment each other beautifully. Kicking off with a lively reception on February 4th and continuing throughout the month, Thinkspace continues to use their recently expanded space as a community art hub, offering a world of creations for local enthusiasts to view.

In Gallery I, Thinkspace Projects is thrilled to present Yasuhito Kawasaki’s debut North American solo exhibition entitled Hello Bear-Chan! Deftly working with both paintings and ceramics, Kawasaki is experiencing a meteoric rise with collectors around the world. Using a casting technique he has honed over years of work, he is known for his trademark sculptures of innocent looking children. While the visuals vary, each is a self-portrait, drawing on some element of himself.

In collaboration with City of Talents, Thinkspace Projects presents Into the Wild in Gallery II. The group exhibition is curated by Jean Claude Geraud, the founder of City of Talents, Toulouse, a contemporary and urban art agency. Featuring new works from Clémentine Bal, Humbly, Diren Lee, Jade Kim, Kwang Hyun Kim, Mackcha, Keigo Nakamura, and Byun Sehee, the group exhibition unites the works of artists from all around the world. Full of childhood memories, nostalgia, vivid colors, and forgotten worlds, the artists compliment and juxtapose each other in pursuit of a complete experience. From Bal’s whimsical sculpted characters to Nakamura’s existentialist paintings, the show is full of diverse representations of innocence and youth.

In Gallery III, Thinkspace Projects is pleased to present Phenomenon, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Noritoshi Mitsuuchi. Resembling children’s drawings, or, perhaps more accurately, an adult’s interpretation of a child’s imagination, Mitsuuchi taps into the aspects of youth that often fall away with the responsibilities of adulthood. Drawing heavily on the inspiration of pop culture and ancient art, Mitsuuchi creates work reminiscent of Japanese folklore and European fairy tales.

“I create art that stimulates the viewer’s memory and #imagination by focusing on beauty that may be subtle, yet surely exists in the vast history of art.”

Gallery IV features Caroline Liu’s Stages of Grief. The painter, muralist, and fiber artist uses her work to explore and hold onto her personal memories following a severe concussion that left her short term memory damaged. Her work is the result of a therapeutic practice, allowing her to explore and preserve her own identity. Cultivating a mixture of happy and sad moments, fear, comfort, and intimacy, she crafts overtly saturated narratives. This show in particular deals with grief and loss, serving as a visual journal to share feelings of confusion and love lost.

These shows open February 4, 2023 with a reception from 6PM to 10PM. They will remain on view until February 25, 2023 at Thinkspace Projects.

About Thinkspace                                       

Thinkspace was founded in 2005; now in LA’s thriving West Adams District, the gallery has garnered an international reputation as one of the most active and productive exponents of the New Contemporary Art Movement. Maintaining its founding commitment to the promotion and support of its artists, Thinkspace has steadily expanded its roster and diversified its projects, creating collaborative and institutional opportunities all over the world. Founded in the spirit of forging recognition for young, emerging, and lesser-known talents, the gallery is now home to artists from all over the world, ranging from the emerging, mid-career, and established.

Though the New Contemporary Art Movement has remained largely unacknowledged by the vetted institutions of the fine art world and its arbiters of ‘high culture,’ the future promises a shift. The Movement’s formative aversion to the establishment is also waning in the wake of its increased visibility, institutional presence, and widespread popularity. Thinkspace has sought to champion and promote the unique breadth of the Movement, creating new opportunities for the presentation of its artists and work. An active advocate for what is now one of the longest extant organized art movements in history, Thinkspace is an established voice for its continued growth and evolution, proving their commitment by expanding its projects beyond Los Angeles, exhibiting with partner galleries and organizations in Berlin, Hong Kong, London, New York City, Detroit, Chicago, and Honolulu among many others, participating in International Art Fairs, and curating New Contemporary content for Museums. Committed to the vision, risk, and exceptional gifts of its artists, the gallery is first and foremost a family. From the streets to the museums, and from the “margins” to the white cube, Thinkspace is re-envisioning what it means to be “institutional.”   

Media Inquiries: Hijinx PR | Heidi Johnson | heidi@hijinxarts.com | 323.204.7246