If you’re in Los Angeles tomorrow night, make sure you stop by OHWOW gallery for the opening night of our friend Daniel Arsham’s latest exhibition. Entitled “the fall, the ball, and the wall,” this is Arsham’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, and features everything from two-dimensional work to sculpture, installation, public art, and performance, in an effort to (re)consider architecture, the natural world, and the manner in which they interact. The show illustrates the artist’s continued interest in manipulating architecture and in challenging expectations of accepted realities.

Arsham (who we profiled in Corduroy Issue #8) presents three bodies of work, like structural interventions that cause walls to appear in a state of flux, as if they are melting or dripping. They speak to the notion of architectural rigidity and of a partition’s standard presentation.

With a new series of work on canvas, meantime, Arsham depicts realistic building constructions, which include elements that spell out words (like “UH HUH,” image seen at left). And his aestheticized sculpture and installations realize hypothetical architectural elements and counterintuitive designs, queuing new possibilities and coercing material to behave in unexpected and atypical ways.

Whether through his solo creations or collaborations with architects, dancers and choreographers (like his good friend Merce Cunningham, whose set pieces from his final performances will be on display), Arsham presents work that undoubtedly possess visual drama and evoke a visceral response. And we encourage everyone to see and experience it for themselves.

Daniel Arsham’s “the fall, the ball, and the wall” runs until February 16th at the OHWOW Gallery, 937 N. La Cienega Blvd. in Los Angeles. The opening reception takes place this Friday from 6-9 pm.

Artist/photographer Ari Marcopoulos has a lot to celebrate this month, with the launch of a new camera bag collaboration with Incase, and a special exhibition of his work at Los Angeles gallery, Project Space.

Released last week, the Incase | Ari Marcopoulos Camera Bag sees the artist extending his creative vision to product design. The camera bag is sleek yet functional, with its sharp gray color and rounded edges complimenting its wealth of deep pockets, padding and weather-resistant material.

The bag also comes with a copy of “Now is Forever,” a limited-edition book of unpublished Ari Marcopoulos full-color photographs. The book reads like a travelogue, with images from Italy, Japan, United States, France and England. Select images from the book are now also on display as part of Project Space’s artist installments, which most recently featured work from New York photographer Janette Beckman and Dutch artist Parra. (Project Space is a joint performance, exhibition and installation space created by art magazine Arkitip and Incase).

Read on to find out how to purchase the bag and to see a behind-the-scenes video explaining how the curious collaboration came together…

“Ari Marcopoulos: Now is Forever” runs until October 15th at Project Space, located at 603 North La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles. You can purchase the camera bag at the gallery, in select boutiques or online at goincase.com/ari. And check out a behind-the-scenes video of Marcopoulos’ camera bag collaboration below:

The Argentina-born Rottenberg is known for her unique video art installations that sheds light on issues of gender inequality and social standing. In “Mary’s Cherries” (2003), three female wrestlers perform a series of actions in small claustrophobic chambers, from pedaling exercise bikes, to powering a UV light that promotes the growth of red fingernails. Each nail is then cut and dropped through a hole in the floor where another laborer massages and rubs it, softening it so that the fingernail can be easily transformed into a sticky maraschino cherry. Yes, it’s as bizarre as it sounds and yet it’s also strangely compelling, speaking to the larger issue of exploiting women and de-personalizing their unique identities.

Rottenberg’s installation work debuted at the hotel this week and will run for six months. So even if you’re not staying at The Standard, it might be worth popping in to grab a glass of wine and take in the show. Get more details about the exhibition at www.standardhotels.com and find out more about Rottenberg’s work HERE.

- TC