Meet the Artist: Karen Frimkess Wolff

Artwork (or artist ) that changed your life and why? There were many but, to name a few: Francis Bacon - seeing his terrifying painting of the pope (after Velasquez) in the UCLA art gallery in 1960 I realized how powerful an image could be and that an artist didn't have to be nice or try to please. You could be honest about your thoughts and tell the world about it. Seeing Connie Zehr's poetic works and then taking a one-day class with her, learning that my art didn't have to be a permanent object if I wanted to create an experience instead. Woman House and all the experiences with the Women's Art Movement from 1972 to 1975 actually saved my life, let me find art in my own activities and interests and gave me the permission to establish a way of working that fit my own needs and requirements.

When did you first know you wanted to be an artist? From the time I knew anything, maybe 4 or 5 years old, I knew I would be an artist though I didn't know how or what it meant. I tried many ways to be an artist, hoping that one of the paying types like illustration, window design, or advertising would work for me. Finally, I realized I just had to draw and make the art that was in my head and that was called "fine art" so I would have to make a living doing something else.

What do you like about making art in Los Angeles? I was born here. I have always lived here so I'm comfortable here. The art community here is big enough to be exciting and interesting and I know a lot of artists that I respect and admire. I have plenty of support and good friends here. I would make art under any circumstances, and I have, but I appreciate the opportunity to be comfortable in familiar surroundings.

What do you dislike about making art in Los Angeles? Los Angeles is so busy with other things that art gets forgotten and ignored by the city. We have very little effective art press here so it's hard to get serious feedback on your work. Getting around to see art requires so much driving that I miss a lot that I would like to see.


Favorite book, film and food? In high school I read The Cloister and the Hearth by Charles Reade. It's about a young man who travels around and makes his living painting playing cards. I think it was supposed to be about a choice between marriage and the church but that wasn't the important part for me. Later, the diaries of Anaïs Nin were important to my life and development of my own work. Also, e.e. cummings' The Enormous Room. I have liked many films but nothing ever had as strong an impact as seeing The Wizard of Oz. I would have been about 5 when I saw it in a regular theater, when it was brand new. As an adult, maybe Midnight Cowboy. I love food and I am married to a talented chef so I eat really well. But I do love banana splits with 3 flavors of great ice cream, chocolate and butterscotch syrup.



Favorite website? I can barely do the basics on my computer so I don't really go looking at websites. I'm grateful that I have one and someone to keep it up for me. I look at the websites of my friends or new artists I meet.

Best art advice? Work regularly. You may not always have a lot of time but if you can establish and keep a regular work time, however short, you will get your essential work done.

Karen's magical works are on view at Happy through July 31. Come and experience her vision.

Carlos Ulloa Wood Veneer Prints

Carlos Ulloa’s Schrank opened on June 4. Carlos took over our project space, wallpapered it with his unique characters and made a cozy sitting room for inspired art viewing. If you’ve not yet seen it, stop by and check out the limited edition wood veneer prints available at $40.00 each. Take a peek inside our closet, have a seat and view these charming works, available for immediate purchase. Don't forget to go upstairs and see Karen Frimkess Wolff's show Calm Ideas & Mortal Things. Both are on view until July 31.

Opening June 4: Karen Frimkess Wolff & Carlos Ulloa

june 4 – july 31, 2010

opening reception friday, june 4, 6-10pm

KAREN FRIMKESS WOLFF: Calm Ideas & Mortal Things

In our main space, Karen Frimkess Wolff offers new graphite and pencil drawings specifically made for Happy. Known primarily for her sculpture and installation work, this is a rare opportunity to experience the Los Angeles artist’s haunting works. Using pure white gesso on press board as her surface, Karen’s landscapes convey a complex visual vocabulary that combines flora and fauna and a treasury of objects that sometimes soar, sometimes lay perfectly still, but always possess deep meaning. A brilliant draftsman and master storyteller, Karen returns to the simple act of drawing with a sense of aplomb, a hand that is always present and the soul of a gentle soothsayer. Whimsical and unapologetic in her approach, Karen creates meditative encouragements to thoughtful reflection. According to the artist “I want to notice carefully, to be grateful for beauty, to balance nature, artifice and my human contrivance.” Karen lives and works in Los Angeles. She received her B.A. in Painting from UCLA and her M.A. in Art History from California State University, Northridge.

CARLOS ULLOA: Schrank

Carlos Ulloa invades Happy with a menagerie of his signature collage silhouettes. Schrank (German for closet) presents these fragmented, ghost-like hybrids as secrets, memories, nightmares, antagonists or good friends that imbed themselves in Happy’s project room. Some fade into the woodwork while others expose themselves, shamelessly reminding the viewer of the skeletons we keep in our own closets. By creating these works and then repositioning them in our space, Carlos gives himself the opportunity to come to terms with the art he has created; he is able to further manipulate and re-investigate the work and ultimately exploit the delicate balance between the artist and subject. Limited-edition impressions are available in the Schrank. Come in and see what’s in Carlos’ closet. Carlos lives and works in Los Angeles. He received his B.F.A. from Hartwick College, NY and his M.F.A. from Vermont College of Fine Arts, VT.

happy
4675 hollywood blvd.
los angeles, ca 90027
323 661 2200

hours: sun-fri 12-6pm, sat. 11-7pm, closed tuesdays

Meet the Artist: Rochelle Botello

Artwork (or artist ) that changed your life and why?
In the mid-1990s I moved to LA and one of the first exhibitions I saw was work by Annette Messager at LACMA. I found her work to be beautiful, mysterious, odd, and disturbing. She created these amazing installations using knitted materials, fabric and photography. I was completely affected by her work. I just remember being under these strange forms hanging from the ceiling and just wanting to stay still. I still remember this experience so vividly. It was the first time I really thought about the possibilities of art making and definitely questioning the meaning of “art.”

When did you first know you wanted to be an artist? That is a funny question. As a child I liked to do two things: lie and pretend. I liked to think of myself as a storyteller, but I was mostly a liar. I would spend hours with my sister creating stories and then acting them out. My sister didn’t like playing “pretend” with me. I would tell her she wasn’t pretending right and make her do it over again. I still love telling stories...to straddle the lines between fiction and non-fiction. So much hasn’t really changed, except that now I call myself an “artist.”

What do you like about making art in Los Angeles? I like meeting other artists and discovering how they look at the world or understanding their artistic process. In LA there is a sense of “do- it- yourself” resilience that I just love. Galleries close and artists open up their homes and create other spaces to show work. Times are difficult but I also see artists supporting each other and creating a much stronger art community.

What do you dislike about making art in Los Angeles? I suppose it has to be the economic realities of having to work a day job and not spending more time in the studio. So it takes a real commitment…a commitment to the work, to keep working and to push the work in new directions.

Favorite Books, Films, Food?

Books: Writings by Agnes Martin (constantly re-reading), Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Accidental Masterpiece by Michael Kimmelman, Willful Creatures by Amiee Bender, Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson.
films: The Red Balloon, Harold & Maude and The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant.
food: Nabeyaki Udon, Korean BBQ and Indian Food.

Favorite website? Pandora Radio.

Best art advice? Trust your artistic process and keep working.

Come and see Rochelle's world in our closet. Yesterday's Combover is on view until May 30!

Meet the Artist: Corina Gamma

Artwork (or artist ) that changed your life and why? I think it was the retrospective of Rebecca Horn at the Guggenheim in New York many years back that motivated me to do a Masters in Fine Art.

When did you first know you wanted to be an artist? I don’t think being an artist is a question of choice. I think you are born with a kind of a storm inside of you. The choice is when you decide to make a living with it. I was obsessed with drawing since I was 12 or so. But, I became really committed to art in my 30s.

What do you like about making art in Los Angeles? There are a lot of clashes here -cultural, religious, there are many different characters ending up in Los Angeles, that makes this place interesting and exciting. It’s a micro-cosmos. It is also a place that teaches tolerance and I like that. Trying to get along is the only thing everyone here has in common. For an artist LA offers a lot of freedom - we are not restricted to a local tradition or lineage. It’s a place where one can experiment.

What do you dislike about making art in Los Angeles? LA puts more attention to film making, not art making. That is the strong culture here. There are other challenges like scarcity of affordable studio spaces.

Favorite book, film or food? I have a favorite book every month, but I really liked Arctic Dream by Barry Lopez. I’m attracted to the Polar Regions, but the way he describes the Arctic is truly poetic. And I love Indian food.

Favorite website? I don’t have a favorite website. But I love surfing the web.

Best art advice? To the policy makers: I do know there are more important problems to solve than funding art. But to have a creative outlet when you’re young teaches you about yourself. I think my art helps me give an identity; an individual identity. I don’t who I would be if art was not part of my life.

Layers of Separation by Corina Gamma is on view at Happy until May 30.

Corina Gamma & Rochelle Botello Opens This Friday

Friday April 2 – May 30, 2010

Opening Reception: Friday, April 2, 6-10pm

HAPPY is pleased to present new photographs by Corina Gamma in our main space. In “Layers of Separation” Gamma continues her investigation of the landscape. Employing her signature pure, opaque style, these winter tales (complete with bundled-up skiers) are atmospheric, illuminated sanctuaries. Gamma’s wicked sense of formal structure re-position these seemingly innocent weekend snapshots as suspenseful melodramas. Huddled figures eagerly await their fate as they are passively strung along, feet dangling from a ski lift cable that may or may not lead them to fun and frolic. Gamma’s figures yearn for freedom but are momentarily stuck in an empty world, encumbered by their uniforms and hoping for the best. Their fleeting moments of closeness, watched over by some unseen force, are soon to be forsaken for the perfect slope. Corina Gamma was born and raised in Switzerland and currently lives and works in Los Angeles. Her work can currently be seen in “State of Mind” at the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego. She is a graduate of Claremont Graduate University (MFA) and University of California, Riverside, CA, (BA) and currently teaches fine art photography at Long Beach City College. http://www.gammasphere.net/

In our project room is a site-specific installation by sculptor Rochelle Botello. “Yesterday’s Combover” is an imaginary world where girls can offer their hair to their dog, boys with hairy faces can ride bikes and men can play dress up. This animated world is filled with humorous and absurd scenarios that exploit extremes and contradictions; humor and tragedy, perversion and pleasure, fragility and brutality, control and letting go. By capturing traces of experiences both real and imagined, Botello crafts stories that address issues of identity, intimacy and sexuality. Constructed in bright color combinations and decorative patterns in unexpected juxtapositions, the sculptures are pieced together with everyday materials such as paper, duct tape and cardboard. Botello creates heartbreaking yet comic vignettes that gently expose the complex and contradictory nature of everyday life. Rochelle Botello was born in Denver, Colorado and currently lives and works in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of Claremont Graduate University (MFA) and the University of California, Santa Cruz (BA, Sociology). http://www.rochellebotello.com/

Artist Spotlight: William Conger

For those of you who've not yet seen our current show of gouaches by William Conger, here's a little something to get you started:

Audio interview of Conger from badatsports.com:

http://badatsports.com/2006/episode-51-william-conger/

Real and inspiring thoughts by Conger from Chicago Artists Resource:

http://www.chicagoartistsresource.org/visual-arts/node/355

William Conger's work is on view at Happy through Sunday, March 28. We hope you'll come by and experience these meditative and awe inspiring works. Ask us about our upcoming year of shows by local artists and events happening at Happy. See you soon.