On Saturday a friend and I checked out the opening reception of the RIPE Exhibition: A Wine Show about Art Tasting at the Crewest Gallery. Located in downtown LA, the Crewest Gallery showcases work from the hottest, unknown, and underground artist such as Max Neutra, Man One, SMEAR, and much more. Presenting various styles of art from digital to sculpture and graffiti to paint, Crewest gives artists a hub to show their pieces and viewers a place to stop and stare. With music by DJ Phyz Ed, drinks, and conversation bouncing from wall to wall, Crewest is type of gallery to check out whether you’re an avid art lover, new to the scene, or if you fall somewhere in between.
The RIPE event unveiled creative work making use of wine barrels, bottles, corks, or a combination of the three. Whether it was an assortment of skulls and roses atop a barrel lid, a bottle with a message to Egypt, or a functional chair with secret storage made completely out of a barrel, the space was full of talent to say the least. The four-hour event was a great way to either start or end the night and the gallery is a fun place to check out what’s going on aesthetically in the city. While the opening reception ended Saturday, the exhibit will run until March 27th, 2011.
“Wine Barrel Bench” by Antonio Quevedo, $1,500
“Wine Barrel Dolly” by Michael Pizarro, $200; “The Beginning and the End” by Oscar Magallanes, $1,600; “Meditation” by Ando Pndlian, $1,200
“To Egypt with love” by Cyrdes, $200
In addition to checking out the art, you can also purchase current or previous pieces. Looking through art from previous shows, I found an adorable piece, Watercan Love by Joe Iurato, from the Streets Degrees of Separation exhibit January 8th, 2011. Watercan Love is my very first art purchase and I absolutely love it! It’s the type of art that makes you feel good every time you see it and makes you eager to purchase similar pieces. It’s already framed and up in my room and it looks perfect. I love catching quick glimpses of it as I watch TV, work on a blog, or start to fall asleep. It’s exactly what I want and the best piece to start off what may turn into an obsession with art. I look forward to seeing more of his work as soon as possible. My walls and rooms say thanks Joe, but my wallet doesn’t—guess you can’t win them all!
"Watercan Love" by Joe Iurato
To check out upcoming shows at Crewest Gallery, you can follow ‘em or obsess over them at the links below.
www.crewest.com
www.facebook.com/crewestgallery
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RIPE Art Images & Watercan Love Image: Danielle Salmon
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