Emerging visual artists and life partners, Al-Baseer Holly and Cristina Martinez, are showcasing new paintings at The East Angel in Los Angeles, California. Titled “2 Sides to Every Story,” the presentation features vivid figurations and portraits alongside abstract imagery that evoke the artists’ experiences of growing up in a Black and Brown community. All of the pieces were made by the pair in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide civil unrest.
“I want to show the world the many different emotions and phases we go through in our life with my ‘many face god’ paintings that I’ll be showing at 2 Sides to Every Story,” said Al-Baseer Holly, “hoping others see themselves in my work.” Cristina Martinez added, “Living and working in the forced stillness during the pandemic, we simultaneously felt an intense urgency to make change and tell stories through our paintings. It was a chance to make space for contemplation and growth, to explore our many faces in the midst of global chaos and massive transformation. My work reflects on that never-ending cycle of wilting, blooming, and growing as experienced in the Black and Brown communities.”
Holly began his career as a recording artist working alongside Pharrell WIlliams and other key figures in the industry. The artist has also spearheaded collaborations with fashion luminaries including Tommy Hilfiger. His work has been shown most recently at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland and the Bruce Lurie Gallery in LA. For Tacoma-born Martinez, her work celebrates her Black and Mexican heritage. Her social media following has garnered her connections with corporate sponsors including Vaseline and Nike as well as singers Ciara, H.E.R., and Jojo. Last spring, Martinez painted a mural on the 79th floor of the World Trade Center in New York City entitled The Roots which represents female empowerment and diversity.
View select works from “2 Sides to Every Story” in the slideshow above. The exhibition is on view until November 14.
Elsewhere in art, NADA Miami has announced its 2020 edition filled with diverse programming and gallery previews both physical and digital.
The East Angel
670 S. Anderson
Los Angeles, California
James Jean recently took to Instagram to share details on his forthcoming print edition titled Lady with Axolotl. The work, which measures roughly 22 by 16 inches, is an homage to Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine portrait from 1489-90. The original portrait featured a young woman named Cecilia Gallerani from the Milanese court who married the Duke of Milan. The duke, who was da Vinci’s patron for 18 years, was nicknamed “the white ermine” — a mythical beast. The portrait is just one of only four portraits of women painted by da Vinci. The other paintings are the Mona Lisa, Ginevra de’ Benci and La Belle Ferronniére.
The celebrated Taiwanese-American artist’s contemporary take on the da Vinci original portrays a female subject holding the axolotl — a salamander native to Mexico with the ability to regrow its limbs, spinal cord, tail and even portions of its brain. “As our holiday release, Lady with an Axolotl is meant to inaugurate a new era of healing. Her eyes, red with pain, peer into the past, while she lovingly cradles an axolotl that looks into the future,” said Jean in a statement.
Lady with an Axolotl will be available for 24 hours starting at 8:00 AM PST on November 17 and ending at 7:59 AM PST on November 18. The edition is limited by the number of prints sold during those 24 hours and never reprinted. Each print arrives signed and numbered by the artist.
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