I haven’t touched on the art scene yet, so let’s go over 5 brilliant Southern California visual artists.  These are either native Californians or have significant if not native ties to the Los Angeles area.

A. Davis

Alonzo Davis  up front shares that his art is inspired by travel.  He’s lived in Southern California for decades and says that it influences what you see in his body of work.  He uses bamboo, wood and paper in his work and once you get a feel for his style, you’ll be able to recognize it immediately.  He was involved in the California mural movement in the early ‘80s.  What I call his signature mural work can be found along the 110 freeway in downtown LA.  It was part of the 1984 Olympic Murals project and is called, His Eye on ‘84.

V. P. Honeywood

Varnette P. Honeywood is an artist you’re probably familiar with, but don’t realize it.  Born and raised in Los Angeles, with advanced degrees from USC, her work contributed to the motion picture industry.  Both small and large screen.  Her art can be seen in TV shows such as 227, A Different World, Amen, Golden Girls and The Cosby Show.  In movies her work is displayed in Bustin’ Loose and Beauty Shop.  She’s known for her use of color, the energy in her pieces and portraying the creative aspects of African American culture.

M. Bradford

Mark Bradford’s work makes me think, feel and need to meditate for a while.  He’s another born and raised in Los Angeles and you can find his work in both the Broad Museum in DTLA and LACMA (both of which I’ll be posting about in the near future).  I first encountered him at the Broad which has a number of his works.  He’s an activist and abstract artist who incorporates the struggles of real life into his works of art.

K. J. Marshall

Kerry James Marshall grew up in Watts/South Central Los Angeles and his work seems to highlight his experience growing up at the time and in the place that he did.  His work reflects to the viewer African American culture and history in a way that’s very unique to him.   The piece that always catches my eye is the one here labeled “Untitled (Club Scene).  The color and contrast plus the seeming shout outs to different types of music makes me really like the piece.

Charles White

Charles White spent most of his career in Los Angeles and has work in the permanent collections of both the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.  You can also find a mural of his at the Mary MacLeod Bethune Library in LA.  He had a profound influence on the LA art world through his teaching at the Otis College of Art and Design (Kerry James Marshall being one of his students) and through his social activism.  This link here provides a really good intro and shares some of his work.

Needless to say there are many more Southern California visual artists that could be mentioned, but these are some I have a connection with.  Are any of them familiar to you?  I’ll be sharing some Bay Area artists that are near and dear.  If there are some that you feel need mention, please share in the comments.

Until next time,

May the road rise to meet you and the wind be at your back.