Shana Nys Dambrot
The spirit season approaches, with an arts calendar full of angels, demons, witches, revenants, magic lanterns, poetic prophets, transmissions from the other side, and visions of our future selves—in literature, visual and performing arts, theater, and architecture. Plus, a friendly, accessible, and progressive art fair; a big neighborhood art night; celebrations of LGBTQ culture, Gen X nostalgia, and the vintage racing community; Dominican creative heritage; and art for all the oceans.
theatre dybbuk: Demons and Descents
Thursday, October 12
theatre dybbuk: Demons and Descents at Philosophical Research Society. Known for creating provocative performances and innovative encounters that use Jewish history and texts as entry points to illuminate universal human experience, in this unique multidisciplinary event, actors from theatre dybbuk read tales of the supernatural from Jewish folklore accompanied by an improvised musical score. Throughout the presentation, a visual artist will also create new work, inspired by, and intersecting with, the stories being offered. 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Feliz; Thursday, October 12, 7pm; $10-$15; prs.org.
Tiffany Trenda at Superfine Art Fair
Superfine Art Fair Los Angeles at Magic Box. Promising works by 250 artists across solo and gallery presentations, as well as curated sections, Superfine!’s buzzwords are inclusivity and accessibility, with 90 percent of the works priced between $100 and $5,000. dedicated to keeping diversity and politics front-of-mind throughout. Focus on making the whole art fair experience accessible and transparent. This includes spotlighting more work from underrepresented artists — LGBTQ, artists of color and female artists. 1933 S. Broadway, downtown; Opening Night: Thursday, October 12, 6-10pm; Fair Hours: Friday-Sunday, October 13-15; $25-$95; superfine.world.
Gina Teichert at Dorado 806 Projects
Friday, October 13
Wytches at Dorado 806 Projects. A timely group show explores the subject of witchery through the lenses of poetry and visual media by 13 established and emerging artists. It challenges stereotypes, dusts off the old mainstream narratives surrounding witchcraft, and focuses on the empowering aspects of this often misunderstood subject and its contemporary practices. It also aims to highlight the resilience, strength, and wisdom at the heart of this history, which is often overshadowed in pop culture witchcraft lore. 806 Broadway, Santa Monica; Opening reception: Friday, October 13, 6-10pm; On view through October 28; free; dorado806.com.
Paula Wilson Salty & Fresh, 2014 Digital video (Photo: Ricardo Mor. Courtesy Paula Wilson-Denny Gallery and Armory Center for the Arts)
Art Night Pasadena. Visual art, music, dance, spoken word, painting, sculpture, theater, literature, projections, performances, receptions, architecture, crafts, food, video, photography, outdoor installations, activations… The whole point of these events is to showcase the impressive and eclectic array of arts and culture in Old Town Pasadena and environs—all within largely walkable areas between institutional hubs, with plentiful green and public space, historic architecture, so many food trucks, easy public transportation, public art, and scores of creative local businesses. Circa Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; Friday, October 13, 6-10pm; free; cityofpasadena.net.
Ross Edward Doyle (Courtesy of New Arts Foundation)
Air Conditioning at New Arts Foundation. A group art exhibition, performance, music, and screening series that explores the critical possibilities of worldbuilding. How can the “real” be reformulated and built within? Where can our fantasies mesh with the everyday? With a deliberate emphasis on play, imagination, mutual presence, and shared action, Air Conditioning encourages a sense of collective agency— and will specifically raise funds for The Trevor Project, a West Hollywood-based mental health organization for LGBTQ youth. Great Hall at Plummer Park, 1200 N. Vista St., West Hollywood; Programs October 13-15; Reception: Saturday, October 14, 5-9pm; free; new-arts.us/aircon.
Andrew Petterson: Hurry Up and Wait
Andrew Petterson: Hot Shoe Chronicles at Bike Shed LA. Paintings exploring vintage tank shift motorcycles and the racing community, in an extension of the artist’s simultaneous lives in art, engineering, and automotive fabrication. His inspiration for this collection stems from the philosophy that fine art and automotives are equal—and potentially interrelated—creative forms. The intersection of these two passions reveals a personal and cultural narrative of kinship and community—driven by healthy competition. 1580 Industrial St., downtown; Reception: Friday, October 13, 7-10pm; free; andrewpettersonfineart.com.
Daniel Canogar, Billow I, 2020 (Interreality)
Saturday, October 14
Interreality at Desmond Tower. Conversations around technology’s influence on art-making have never been more pressing and relevant. Interreality enters this discourse with an expansive 35-artist group exhibition in a 15,000-square foot space at Desmond Tower, to examine how the physical and digital, once perceived as separate realities, have in fact always been and will continue to be entangled. Curated by artist and former Night Gallery co-owner Mieke Marple, Interreality bridges the traditional and digital art worlds through the presentation of works that span the spectrum. The exhibition is produced by Steven Sacks, founder and director of bitforms gallery, and Aubrie Wienholt, founder of PR for Artists. 5500 Wilshire Blvd., Miracle Mile; Opening reception: Saturday, October 14, 7-10pm; On view through November 25; free; interreality.art.
Danielle Eubank: NYALESUND 02 (AltaSea)
Blue Hour: Above & Below at AltaSea. Blue Hour projects connect science, culture, and community by combining art and technology to tell the story of the emerging Blue Economy—sustainable use of ocean resources to support economies, livelihoods and ocean ecosystem health. Benefiting the project’s ongoing education programs, Above & Below is curated by celebrated artist and environmentalist Kim Abeles. The 2023 exhibition features installation, ceramics, video, glass, photography, sound, and painting by more than 20 artists, celebrating the ocean through various art installations spread throughout Berth 57—a 60,000-square foot warehouse on the AltaSea campus at the Port of Los Angeles. 2451 Signal St., San Pedro; Opening reception: Saturday, October 14, 5-10pm; $100 includes dinner, drinks, and a groovy gift bag; altasea.org.
David Heredia
Qué lo Qué Plática & Pop Up at LA Plaza de Culturas y Artes. In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes and Multiracial Americans of Southern California presents a celebration of Dominican art, heritage and culture. The pop-up art exhibition features works by artist and author David Heredia (Heroes of Color, Little Heroes of Color), and includes conversations with Heredia and special guests like comedian, actor, and author Aida Rodriguez, filmmaker and actor Adargiza De Los Santos, Hector Y. Martinez (Professor of Sociology and Social Psychology, Chapman University), with actor and author Isadora Ortega. These dynamic Dominican creatives will share on the topic of the intersection of their heritage and their art. 501 N. Main St., downtown; Saturday, October 14, 2-4pm; free; lapca.org.
Castle Ivar (FORT:LA Witch Houses 4)
FORT:LA Trail: Witch Houses 4: Towers and Turrets. Friends of Residential Treasures (FORT:LA) has released the 4th edition of the popular annual Witch Houses trail, featuring spooky architectural gems selected by Amber Benson, Buffy the Vampire star and novelist. The self-guided map features storied homes dotting the Hollywood Hills and spanning mid-Wilshire to West Adams—from Wolf’s Lair, an impressive French Normandy featured in Escape from Witch Mountain; to Chateau Le Moine, a Disney-esque castle with ivy-covered walls, a cobblestone facade, and turrets; and the definitely maybe haunted Stimson House, a former USC frat house turned convent that was the most expensive home built in L.A. in 1892. The Witch Houses 4 Trail map is free and available to all FORT:LA website subscribers; fortla.org.
Việt Lê and Jamie Maxtone-Graham: eclipse (Wende Museum)
Sunday, October 15
Spatial and Spiritual Returns: A Performance Lecture and Panel with Vicky Đo, Janet Hoskins and Việt Lê at the Wende. This hybrid performance lecture, panel and conversation spans creative and critical interventions in Southeast Asia, its diasporas, and worlds beyond. Join Vicky Do (artist; curator, Sàn Art, Sài Gòn), Janet Hoskins (Professor of Anthropology and Religion, University of Southern California, LA) and Việt Lê (artist, writer, curator; Chair, Visual & Critical Studies, California College of the Arts, SF) as they share their insights on conjuring artistic and religious communities (Cao Đài, Mother Goddess). They will also discuss their varying approaches towards contemporary aesthetics, ethnography, and enchantment. 10808 Culver Blvd., Culver City; Sunday, October 15, 2pm; free; wendemuseum.org.
William Blake: Satan Exulting over Eve (detail), 1795. Color print with graphite, pen and black ink, and watercolor (Courtesy of the Getty Center)
Tuesday, October 17
William Blake: Visionary at the Getty Center. A remarkable printmaker, painter, and poet, William Blake (1757–1827) developed a wildly unconventional world view, representing universal forces of creation and destruction—physical, psychological, historical—through his own cast of characters. By combining his poetry and images on the page through radical graphic techniques, Blake created some of the most striking and enduring imagery in British art. This major international loan exhibition explores the artist-poet’s imaginative world through his most celebrated works. 1200 Getty Center Dr., Brentwood; On View October 17 – January 14; free; getty.edu.
Melissa Ferrari
Wednesday, October 18
Melissa Ferrari: Relict: A Phantasmagoria Magic Lantern Show at Philosophical Research Society. An experimental documentary performed with antique magic lanterns and hand-drawn animation, invoking the history of magic lantern phantasmagoria as an exercise in belief and perception. Relict considers the zeitgeist of pseudoscience, fake news, religion, and documentary ethics collapsed within contemporary cryptozoology. Relict employs the visual language of pre-cinematic images, infused with the aesthetics of veracity in current nonfiction filmmaking, including CGI speculative animated documentary, thermal imaging, and interventions of rotoscoped documentary re-enactment. 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Feliz; Wednesday, October 18, 7pm; prs.org.
Adam Greener and Karolina Leonte in Be Kind, Rewind (Art Unified)
Be Kind, Rewind at Art Unified. In an era where the relentless march of technology propels us forward, artists Adam Greener, Karolina Leonte, Johan Andersson, Betsy Enzensberger, and Dave Mason invite you to press pause, rewind the tape of your life, and enjoy the delicate tapestry of nostalgia. This exhibition celebrates the evocative power of art to transport us to times, both personal and collective, when the world felt both bigger and more intimate. 1329 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice; Opening reception: Wednesday, October 18, 6-9pm; On view through November 18; free; shop.artunified.com.
Mieke Marple: Don’t Ask Why, 2023 (Interreality)
Yuge Zhou: Underground Circuit, 2017 (Interreality)
Refik Anadol: Pacific Ocean C, 2022 (Interreality)
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