This past weekend, Thinkspace Projects celebrated the opening of solo exhibitions by Hilda Palafox, Olga Esther, Mike Egan and Langston Allston. If you’re looking for inspiration to pique your mind, body and soul be sure to visit the gallery because there’s still plenty of time to see each of these beautiful collections! The exhibition remains on view through November 6, 2021.
There’s always something exciting happening at Thinkspace Projects so if you still want more, they have a full schedule of online events for all exhibitions, including virtual tours, live streaming, interviews and much more… so be sure to follow their blog Sour Harvest to stay updated on all the artsy things you love! If you’re looking to add to your budding collection of art, take a moment and visit their store to view available inventory.
Hilda Palafox, Olga Esther, Mike Egan, Langston Allston
Thinkspace Projects
4217 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. 90016
#310.558.3375 | [email protected]
Hilda Palafox (aka Poni), Un día a la vez
We’re excited to welcome back Hilda Palafox for her second solo exhibition with our gallery, following her sold out exhibition Cuando Baje La Marea which took place in May 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 lockdown. We’re thrilled that Hilda can attend this time, and we can’t wait to celebrate her incredible new body of work with you all.
My work is inspired by the mystery of the feminine, in the meaning of its physical, emotional and spiritual state. An exploration of the visible body as shapeless matter willing to mold itself.
Hilda Palafox (b. 1982 Mexico) attended the School of Design of the National Institute of Fine Arts (EDINBA) and majored in Editorial Design. Since 2011 she began her career as an artist producing works in different media. From illustration, ceramics, painting to monumental murals in Mexico, the United States, Canada, Japan, and Brazil. Hilda presented her first solo exhibition in Japan after an artist residency at AIR Onomichi in 2018. Followed by solo exhibitions in Los Angeles, Melbourne and Mexico City. The female body inspires Hilda Palafox’s work as the central element. Her images present a fresh look at the traditional representation of the female body in Western art. The shapes, colors, and textures seem to embody Latin American women, radiant colors, robust silhouettes, dark skin, and monumental bodies whose edges intermingle with the spaces containing them. Her work is inspired by the mystery of the feminine, in the meaning of its physical, emotional, and spiritual state. An exploration of the visible body as shapeless matter willing to mold itself. Her images investigate the autonomy of the figure, the independence of composition, and freedom of color.
Olga Esther, Princesses, Gender Mandates and Other Stories
Olga Esther (b. 1975 Spain) is an artist based in Valencia, Spain and we are honored to be hosting her U.S. west coast solo debut. Olga Esther paints princesses who don’t want to be princesses, birds who cry blood and toads who kill themselves because they are ignored. She uses the symbolism of “princess-tales” to talk about gender and feminism. She paints the invisible ones, the little forgotten girls, the little nobodies of this world, but above all, all those who do not have anyone. Esther is based in Valencia, Spain. She is a graduate of fine arts from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and received art scholarships in both Prague and Mexico as well as holding a master‘s degree in video games.
We live in societies based on relations of domination and on the exclusion of the different, the other, the vulnerable. These attitudes of domination take place at all levels and lead us not only to the destruction of nature and the mistreatment of nonhuman animals, but also to the oppression and discrimination of some human beings over others, whether by gender, ethnicity, sexual option or different abilities.I believe in a more just world, and that world we can not achieve through denial and hatred of the vulnerable “other”. I believe in a diverse world based on inclusion, compassion, empathy and caring for others. A world in which non-human animals are respected as individuals capable of suffering physically and emotionally and in which we all care for the Earth, as our home and the home of future generations.
Mike Egan, Life Is Hard
Mike Egan (b. 1977 USA) is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and earned his fine arts degree from the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Egan’s works are created using acrylic paint, shellac, wood and nails and tell stories about death, devils and saints. He is greatly influenced by horror films (particularly, Day of the Dead and Halloween), churches, The German Expressionists and his time in funeral homes as an embalmer.
We’re excited to be hosting his debut west coast solo exhibition, following numerous group show appearances over the past several years.
The subject matter in my work tends to deal with life, death, and religion. I’ve been working in funeral homes for the last five years and I’ve become quite familiar with all three subjects. Through funerals we tend to celebrate not only someone dying but we also celebrate that person’s life. Through religion we hope that our loved ones are in a better place, that they are not suffering anymore.
My inspiration comes from many different sources: The German Expressionists, stained glass windows, Halloween, Southern folk art, funeral homes, horror films, music, lowbrow/outsider art, Religious icons, etc. I am always adding and subtracting ideas and colors to my work to make each painting have its own story. I like to think that each painting is in some way a goodbye to somebody who passed away. A funeral portrait.
Langston Allston, Off the Porch
Langston Allston (b. 1991 USA) is an artist and muralist living and working in New Orleans. His work has appeared in shows around the country, including a two-person show with artist and cultural historian Big Chief Demond Melancon at the Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Art in Brooklyn (2018) and a solo show with the National Public Housing Museum in Chicago (2018). Langston’s work has also been included in the 2020 exhibition of southern artists, ‘Make America What America Must Become’, at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans.
Beyond his studio practice, Langston has also created murals and installations for a wide range of clients from corner stores and nail salons to Alembic Community Development and the Chicago Bulls. The consistent thread through his work has been a genuine curiosity about the world around him, and a commitment to making honest and legible work that speaks to his community.
Allston recently completed a residency at the Joan Mitchell Foundation in New Orleans, Louisiana and is currently building a body of work for his debut solo exhibition with Thinkspace, planned for March of 2022.
