In an empty room, a woman sits, nude, unadorned, her face hidden by a thick wave of blonde hair. This composition assumes itself again and again in Gershon Kreimer’s photographic works. The people change, but the austere environment stays the same. His images serve as testimony to the power and pain of a solitary existence. It’s a message that resonates in the pandemic’s new state of normal.
Kreimer’s blonde nude is one of many works on display at NOT REAL ART’s grantee exhibition, opening virtually 7pm October 8. The photographer is recipient of NOT REAL ART’s 2020 Grant award, along with five other California-based artists. The online exhibit will feature a virtual gallery, plus a public art video installation. And, you can watch the video now right here:
Launched in collaboration with Art Share LA in 2019, the annual NOT REAL ART Grant exists to aid artists in their creative endeavors. Six artists received the no-strings-attached award last year, totaling a $2,000 payout for each winner. This year NOT REAL ART selected another six artists from a diverse pool of 150 applicants. A panel of distinguished judges chose the winners based on a combination of technical skill, ingenuity, and intention.
Read on to learn more about the winners and see a preview of their work before the show. A heartfelt congratulations goes out to these artists and their achievements.
NOT REAL ART’s 2020 grantee exhibition opens virtually October 9 on NOTREALART.com
Gershon Kreimer
Gershon Kreimer is a photographer based in Los Angeles. His stark nudes ensure an emotional connection with the viewer, entirely reflective of both Kreimer and the subject. The images, stripped of any distracting adornments, are a powerful reminder of our deep-rooted solitude.
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Listen to Gershon Kreimer’s interview with NOT REAL ART
Jacqueline Valenzuela
Jacqueline Valenzuela is a first-generation Mexican-American artist based in Los Angeles. Using bold colors, Valenzuela paints urban landscapes influenced by her immigrant community and the underground punk scene in LA. Her city scenes, filled with female-driven lowriders, emphasize the power of femininity in a male-dominated world.
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Listen to Jacqueline Valenzuela’s interview with NOT REAL ART
Kiara Aileen Machado
Kiara Aileen Machado is a painter from Lynwood, California, whose Guatemalan and Salvadoran background is central to her work. Using a rich color palette, Machado explores the complex identities of the Central American diaspora in Southern California. The lush plants in her paintings camouflage figures and cultural symbols, highlighting the hidden status of marginalized communities in a new environment.
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Listen to Kiara Aileen Machado’s interview with NOT REAL ART
Miki Yokoyama
Born in Fukushima, Japan, Miki Yokoyama is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. Working across murals, canvas, and performance art, Yokoyama explores primordial themes of life, death, and transformation. Her vision of the universe is one of transience, an interconnected experience ripe with the potential for beauty.
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Listen to Miki Yokoyama’s interview with NOT REAL ART
Paloma Montoya
Los Angeles-based artist Paloma Montoya explores themes of female sexuality and Chicano culture in her riotous, graffiti-inspired paintings. Raised by her Columbian-born mother and maternal grandmother in South Gate, California, Montoya’s work grew out of her experience as a “woman of color living in a working-class neighborhood.” Her style, bold and colorful, captures the women and subcultures of LA.
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Listen to Paloma Montoya’s interview with NOT REAL ART
Tijera Williams
Tijera Williams is a multimedia painter, photographer, and design artist from Long Beach, California. Her work is informed by a fascination with the classic compositions of the Italian Renaissance. Using a vibrant color palette more akin to Matisse than Michelangelo, Williams integrates her personal experiences into her work, infusing old narratives with a fresh perspective.
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