Bridge Projects

Bridge Projects Bridge Projects is an exhibition space with public programs connecting art, spirituality, and living

Working with our friends at the Visual Commentary on Scripture, London’s National Gallery and Berlin’s Bode Museum and G...
06/06/2023

Working with our friends at the Visual Commentary on Scripture, London’s National Gallery and Berlin’s Bode Museum and Gemäldegalerie are uniting art and theology.

Ben Quash, the chair in Christianity and the Arts at King’s College London and Director of theVCS, explains the distinction between theology and religion: “Theology is the tradition of thought that allows the God-related questions to be addressed in academic ways. If you’re asking questions about whether it’s reasonable to believe in God at all, what sorts of ideas about God have shaped human civilisations and how they have been expressed in practice, in ethics and in liturgy, you’re asking theological questions and you don’t have to be a believer to do that.”

In April, the VCS inaugurated a collaboration with the Bode Museum and the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin entitled “Unlocking Christian Art.”

And earlier this spring, London's National Gallery opened the exhibition "Saint Francis of Assisi." From early medieval panels, relics, and manuscripts to contemporary films, paintings, sculpture, and a Marvel comic, the exhibition shines a light on how the saint has captured the imagination of artists throughout the centuries, and how his appeal has transcended generations, continents, and different religious traditions, featuring classical works by artists like Boticelli along with contemporary works by Antony Gormley, Giuseppe Penone, Andrea Büttner, and an exciting new commission from Richard Long.

Featured artworks:
Antony Gormley, 'Untitled (for Francis)', 1985, Lead, fibreglass and plaster, 190 × 117 × 29 cm, Tate (T05004) © Antony Gormley / photo © Tate
Andrea Büttner, Vogelpredigt (sermon to the birds), 2010. Woodcut diptych, each: 70 7/8 x 47 1/4 inches (detail)

Giuseppe Penone, Albero porta – cedro (Door Tree – Cedar), 2012 © Giuseppe Penone. (detail)

Yesterday was Pentecost, a Christian liturgical celebration of the birth of the Church, the ascension of Christ, and bro...
05/29/2023

Yesterday was Pentecost, a Christian liturgical celebration of the birth of the Church, the ascension of Christ, and broadly seen as a reversal of the events at the Tower of Babel. Babel was a place of incomprehension and fracture, while Pentecost, through miracles of the Holy Spirit, was a place and time of understanding and unity.

Cildo Meireles' "Babel 2001" is a large-scale sculptural installation that takes the form of a circular tower made from hundreds of second-hand analogue radios that the artist has stacked in layers. They compete with each other and create a cacophony of low, continuous sound, resulting in inaccessible information, voices or music.The room in which the tower is installed is bathed in an indigo blue light that, together with the sound, gives the whole structure an eerie effect and adds to the sense of phenomenological and perceptual confusion. The radios are all of different dates, the lower layers nearest the floor being composed of older radios, larger in scale and closer in kind to pieces of furniture, while the upper layers are assembled from more recent, mass-produced and smaller radios. This arrangement emphasises the sense of perspectival foreshortening and thus the impression of the tower’s height, which, like its biblical counterpart, might continue into the heavens." (Tate Modern)

Babel was included in the artist’s retrospective exhibition at Tate Modern, London, in 2008.

Featured images: Cildo Meireles, Babel, 2008. Radios, lighting and sound, overall display dimensions variable.

Two of the most internationally renowned artists of their generation: Vija Celmins and Gerhard Richter are exhibiting to...
05/17/2023

Two of the most internationally renowned artists of their generation: Vija Celmins and Gerhard Richter are exhibiting together for the first time at the Hamburger Kunsthalle in a show entitled "Double Vision."

Challenging the concept of pictorialism, Celmins sees her work as a form of translation (“re-description”) from one surface to another—either by looking directly at objects or on the basis of photographs. She applies hard-edged realism and rigor to soft subjects like webs, water, and the stars. Gerhard Richter’s extensive artistic oeuvre, which is characterized by a vast richness of variation and an impressive range of styles, consistently and persistently revolves around fundamental questions of seeing and representation, much like that of Celmins.

In recent years, both artists have expressed an abiding interest in the religious dimensions of artistic practice. "Art is the pure realization of religious feeling, capacity for faith, longing for God . . . The ability to believe is our outstanding quality, and only art adequately translates it into reality," said Richter in an interview. Meanwhile, many curators and critics liken Celmins single-minded, palpable diligence as a sort of spiritual vocation, the quietude of her works religious in their earthly sanctity.

The exhibition will comprise some 60 paintings, drawings, prints and objects by the two artists, and is sure to be full of philosophical reflections on art—and other surprises.

Featured images:
Vija Celmins, Hot Plate, 1964.
Gerhard Richter, Seestueck, 1970.
Gerhard Richter, Schaerzler, 1964.
Vija Celmins, Blackboard Tableau #14, 2011-2015.

Congratulations to Lauren Halsey, whose exhibition “portal hoppin hood poppin” has just opened at the FLAG Art Foundatio...
05/09/2023

Congratulations to Lauren Halsey, whose exhibition “portal hoppin hood poppin” has just opened at the FLAG Art Foundation. The Spotlight exhibition series includes a new or never-before-exhibited artwork accompanied by a commissioned piece of writing, in this case an essay by historian Robin D. G. Kelley.

"Halsey’s portal doubles as an altar, a space of mourning: prayer hands, outstretched hands, angels rising phoenix-like, winged black cherubs looking down from the clouds, portraits of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ‘Too blessed 2 be stressed,’ the title of a popular gospel song, is emblazoned beneath a cannabis leaf. To the right sits a photo of a framed picture of ‘Footprints’ commonly titled (‘Footprints in the Sand’) a well-known allegorical Christian poem extolling God’s absolute and unwavering love. Alongside these sacred tropes small children flash gang signs, a lowrider bounces high toward the heavens, and members of the hip hop group South Central Cartel pose with guns for their 1994 LP ‘Gang Stories.’ To the uninitiated, Halsey’s juxtaposition of Christian iconography and gang culture may appear jarring, but they not only occupy the same urban landscape, both symbolize a state of mourning. L.A. gangs are known for honoring the dead by pouring libations, creating makeshift memorials in the streets, memorializing the martyrs on t-shirts and tattoos. Halsey’s dedication to the many worlds she occupied, her keen powers of observation, her irreverence, and fiery imagination allows her to find warmth and humanity in an otherwise cold reality."

Halsey's work was presented in "Otherwise / Revival," Bridge Projects’ 2021 exhibition celebrating the influential role played by the Black Pentecostal church on contemporary artists.

Featured artwork:
Lauren Halsey, portal hoppin hood poppin, 2023 (detail). Mixed media on foil-insulated foam and wood, 102.5 x 105 x 15 in.

After the Biblical Exodus from Egypt, Moses was commanded at Mt. Sinai to build the tabernacle, a portable, earthly dwel...
05/06/2023

After the Biblical Exodus from Egypt, Moses was commanded at Mt. Sinai to build the tabernacle, a portable, earthly dwelling place for Yahweh, used by the Israelites to worship as they wandered the desert for forty years.

In a new exhibition entitled “tabernacle” presented by our friends at FOCA, curator Matthew Lax uses the motif of the tabernacle to explore themes of diaspora, community, and ritual within a framework of uncertainty and physical dislocation.

Participants include artist and theorist Boz Deseo Garden, Skid Row-based performance group Los Angeles Poverty Department, Andre Keichian who explores personal histories through photo, video, and sculpture, and Miller Robinson, a multi-disciplinary artist of Karuk, Yurok, and European descent whose performance-based objects evolve over time.

Featured artwork:
Andre Keichian, “deflections of a scattered line,” 2023, glass negative photographic plate fused with sand from the Pacific shoreline, palm wood, sand, chalk line. Photo: Ian Byers-Gamber

On , we are celebrating one of Ethiopia's most original and prolific contemporary artists, Elias Sime, who works with t...
04/20/2023

On , we are celebrating one of Ethiopia's most original and prolific contemporary artists, Elias Sime, who works with the humblest of materials – mud, bottle caps, yarn, and buttons.

The visual power of Africa's sacred and spiritual topography is not linked to any single belief, but is made vibrant through the inclusion of many. Inextricably linked to its colonial history, geography, and land, the creation of vibrant works by artists like Elias Sime remind us of the infinite transformative possibilities of reclamation and repair, in an environment in desperate need of such pursuits.

From the Cohan Gallery website: "Elias Sime deftly weaves, layers, and assembles technological components into abstract compositions, often on a monumental scale. Sime moves fluidly between suggestions of topography, figuration, and sublime color fields. His works serve as records of the global exchange of commodities, and express the tenuousness of our interconnected world, alluding to the frictions between tradition and progress, human contact and social networks, nature and the man-made, and physical presence and the virtual."

Sime is currently exhibiting "TIGHTROPE: አረንጔዴ ነው (IT IS GREEN)" at James Cohan Gallery in NYC. The works in this exhibition represent a new chapter within Sime’s ongoing "Tightrope" series, whose title reflects the precarious balance between the advancement technology has made possible and its detrimental impact on the environment.

Featured artwork:
Elias Sime, Tightrope: It is Green 2, 2023.
Elias Sime, Tightrope: It is Green 4, 2023.
Elias Sime, Installation View Venice Biennale, The Milk of Dreams, Venice, Italy.
Elias Sime, TIGHTROPE: ECHO!?, 2021.
Elias Sime, We Are All Green #7, 2019.
Elias Sime, Tightrope: Evolution 2, 2017.

“The typical mark of modern critics is that they are zealots of explanation; they want to deny the arts their mystery, a...
04/18/2023

“The typical mark of modern critics is that they are zealots of explanation; they want to deny the arts their mystery, and to degrade mystery to a succession of problems. But their effort is perverse." — Denis Donoghue, in his essay "Of Art and Mystery"

Although Polish-Russian artist Magdalena Abakanowicsz spoke as early as 1976 about her work as "the mystery which can never be revealed," Donoghue's call to "reinstate mystery and distinguish it from mere bewilderment of mystification," became a touchstone for Abakanowicsz, who regularly mentioned Donoghue's essay in her interviews with art journalists.

Both Donoghue and Abakanowicsz had a formative experience on Catholicism. Living under the Soviet regime in Poland for forty-five years, Abakanowicsz had to keep her background hidden and refrain from attaching any spiritual meaning to her works. Finally in 1980, she took the risk of alluding to the religious, poetic, nature-loving Polish culture from which her work emerges, eventually describing herself as a shaman.

Currently on view at the Tate Modern, " Every Tangle of Thread and Rope," is a massive collection of her radical Abakan sculptures— soft not hard; ambiguous and organic; towering works that hang from the ceiling.

Featured artwork:
Magdalena Abakanowicz’s work at Tate Modern. Photograph: Guy Bell.
Magdalena Abakanowicz, Abakan Red, 1970.

It was on this day in 1906 that African American holiness preacher William Joseph Seymour launched a 24-7 prayer room at...
04/14/2023

It was on this day in 1906 that African American holiness preacher William Joseph Seymour launched a 24-7 prayer room at 312, Azusa Street in downtown Los Angeles. As this multiracial group grew to crowds of over 1500 people, so did their spiritual hunger. Today, 117 years later, most of the world's 584 million Pentecostal and charismatic Christians trace their heritage directly or indirectly back to this day in 1906, to an unglamorous building on Azusa Street, and the unlikeliest of global statesmen, William J Seymour.

At its core Pentecostalism is radically culturally diverse. Those gathered at Azusa Street remembered how the Spirit had first been poured out at Pentecost to bless different cultures, and this is what they were experiencing for themselves as Africans, Latinos, Asians, and Europeans.

Bridge Projects' 2021 exhibition "Otherwise / Revival" was a group exhibition that visualized the impact of the Black Pentecostal movement on contemporary artists. Sculptures, paintings, video, and performances celebrate the significance of music, praise, breath, and community as the participating artists reflect on their traditions, heritages, passions, and talents to cultivate a space where art thrives and expresses a unifying language for all.

Featured images:
Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Love You Nephew, 2018.
Nery Gabriel Lemus, This is the Air We Breathe, 2020.
Letitia Huckaby, Barbara, 2020.
McArthur Binion, Healing Work, 2020.
Lava Thomas, Freedom Song No 5 - We Shall Not be Moved, 2019. (detail)
Caroline Kent, A Kind of Witness, 2015. (detail)
Sedrick Huckaby, Estuary, 2021.
Lezley Sarr, Never Let the Devil See You Cry, 2020. (detail)
Genesis Tramaine, Last to Get my Hair Done, 2020. (detail)
Willie Cole, Mother and Child, 2012. (detail)

It was on this day in 1906 that African American holiness preacher William Joseph Seymour launched a 24-7 prayer room at...
04/14/2023

It was on this day in 1906 that African American holiness preacher William Joseph Seymour launched a 24-7 prayer room at 312, Azusa Street in downtown Los Angeles. As this multiracial group grew to crowds of over 1500 people, so did their spiritual hunger. Today, 117 years later, most of the world's 584 million Pentecostal and charismatic Christians trace their heritage directly or indirectly back to this day in 1906, to an unglamorous building on Azusa Street, and the unlikeliest of global statesmen, William J Seymour.

At its core Pentecostalism is radically culturally diverse. Those gathered at Azusa Street remembered how the Spirit had first been poured out at Pentecost to bless different cultures, and this is what they were experiencing for themselves as Africans, Latinos, Asians, and Europeans.

Bridge Projects' 2021 exhibition "Otherwise / Revival" was a group exhibition that visualized the impact of the Black Pentecostal movement on contemporary artists. Sculptures, paintings, video, and performances celebrate the significance of music, praise, breath, and community as the participating artists reflect on their traditions, heritages, passions, and talents to cultivate a space where art thrives and expresses a unifying language for all.

Featured images:
Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Love You Nephew, 2018.
Nery Gabriel Lemus, This is the Air We Breathe, 2020.
Letitia Huckaby, Barbara, 2020.
McArthur Binion, Healing Work, 2020.
Lava Thomas, Freedom Song No 5 - We Shall Not be Moved, 2019.
Caroline Kent, A Kind of Witness, 2015.
Sedrick Huckaby, Estuary, 2021.
Lezley Sarr, Never Let the Devil See You Cry, 2020.
Genesis Tramaine, Last to Get my Hair Done, 2020.
Willie Cole, Mother and Child, 2012.

It was on this day in 1906 that African American holiness preacher William Joseph Seymour launched a 24-7 prayer room at...
04/14/2023

It was on this day in 1906 that African American holiness preacher William Joseph Seymour launched a 24-7 prayer room at 312, Azusa Street in downtown Los Angeles. As this multiracial group grew to crowds of over 1500 people, so did their spiritual hunger. Today, 117 years later, most of the world's 584 million Pentecostal and charismatic Christians trace their heritage directly or indirectly back to this day in 1906, to an unglamorous building on Azusa Street, and the unlikeliest of global statesmen, William J Seymour.

At its core Pentecostalism is radically culturally diverse. Those gathered at Azusa Street remembered how the Spirit had first been poured out at Pentecost to bless different cultures, and this is what they were experiencing for themselves as Africans, Latinos, Asians, and Europeans.

Bridge Projects' 2021 exhibition "Otherwise / Revival" was a group exhibition that visualized the impact of the Black Pentecostal movement on contemporary artists. Sculptures, paintings, video, and performances celebrate the significance of music, praise, breath, and community as the participating artists reflect on their traditions, heritages, passions, and talents to cultivate a space where art thrives and expresses a unifying language for all.

Featured images:
Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Love You Nephew, 2018.
Nery Gabriel Lemus, This is the Air We Breathe, 2020.
Letitia Huckaby, Barbara, 2020.
McArthur Binion, Healing Work, 2020.
Lava Thomas, Freedom Song No 5 - We Shall Not be Moved, 2019. (detail)
Caroline Kent, A Kind of Witness, 2015. (detail)
Sedrick Huckaby, Estuary, 2021.
Lezley Sarr, Never Let the Devil See You Cry, 2020. (detail)
Genesis Tramaine, Last to Get my Hair Done, 2020. (detail)
Willie Cole, Mother and Child, 2012. (detail)

Today Christians around the world remember the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Mount Calvary. The Stations of the ...
04/07/2023

Today Christians around the world remember the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Mount Calvary. The Stations of the Cross or the Via Crucis refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ en route to his eventual death, and the visual drama of the fourteen stations, whether naturalistic or stylized, is meant to stimulate empathic participation in Christ’s suffering.

Over time, The Stations of the Cross have evolved into a container for nearly any inquiry—formal, social, political, or metaphysical—and they have been read throughout art history. From Peter Paul Rubens and Matthias Grunewald, to Henri Matisse, Barnett Newman, Michael Kenny, Francesco Clemente, theater-artist Robert Wilson, Tammy Nyugen, and also Bridge collaborators Lucas Reiner and Daniel Callis. While some neutralize their religiosity; others find in the Stations a secularly-safe way to engage the divine. We’ve compiled a grouping for your reflection.

If you’d like to learn more about the stations of the cross throughout art history, we invite you to view a lecture by Dr. Nora Heimann at the link in our bio.

Featured images:
Robert Wilson designed a space/sound installation to Franz Liszt's Via Crucis, the 14 Stations of the Cross, 2012.
Tammy Nguyen, JESUS TAKES UP HIS CROSS, 2022.
Lucas Reiner, Station XIII (Descent), 2010.
Daniel Callis, Grief Net Station 15, 2020-22.
Barnett Newman, The Stations of the Cross: Lema Sabachtani, 1958.
Henri Matisse, Chapel of the Rosary in Vence, 1943.
Michael Kenny, The Stations of the Cross, 1998-99.
Francesco Clemente, Fourteen Stations, 1981-82.

Passover, which starts this evening, is perhaps the most celebrated Jewish holiday and the seder, a home-based ceremony ...
04/05/2023

Passover, which starts this evening, is perhaps the most celebrated Jewish holiday and the seder, a home-based ceremony and meal, occurs on the first night of the eight-day holiday. At the heart of this ritual is the seder plate that holds the various ritual foods that symbolize the holiday. The seder commemorates a key event in Judaism: the redemption of the Jewish people from bo***ge in Egypt. In contemporary times, the Passover seder has more broadly come to represent themes of renewal and rebirth, freedom from oppression, and social justice and activism.

Nicole Eisenman’s 2010 painting "Seder" captures an emotional as well as a physical likeness of her friends and family, including some invented characters. Most distinctively, she places the viewer as a central figure in the Passover ritual — a strategy not seen in more traditional depictions. She illustrates universal emotions of love, anxiety, and loneliness with a touch of humor, even irony. Eisenman’s paintings are known for their macabre themes, dark humor, and canny critiques of pop culture and art history. Among her influences in Seder are the opulent Impressionist and Post-Impressionist luncheon scenes of Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Pierre Bonnard.

Featured images:
Nicole Eisenman (American, b. France, 1965), Seder, 2010, oil on canvas, 39 1⁄16 × 48 in.
Installation view of the exhibition Masterpieces & Curiosities: Nicole Eisenman’s Seder. The Jewish Museum, NY.

Address

Los Angeles, CA

Opening Hours

Wednesday 11am - 6pm
Thursday 11am - 6pm
Friday 11am - 6pm
Saturday 11am - 6pm

Telephone

+12103837966

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Bridge Projects posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share via Email
Share on WhatsApp Share on Instagram Share on Telegram

About

Bridge Projects is an exhibition space with public programs connecting art history, spirituality, living religious traditions, and contemporary art practices.

Bridge Projects exhibits solo and group shows and commissions new works by local and international artists. It began in 2017 with a series of LA-based salons engaging a diverse community of artists, scholars, and collectors.