Innocnts longtime compatriot Mtendere "Teebs" Mandowa currently has a solo exhibition on view at New Image Art in West Hollywood. A beautiful collection of new abstract paintings by Teebs inspired by the birth of his daughter Aya and his time spent nurturing and learning from her at home over a 16 month period.

Reoccurring elements from past works including ladders and blue/red cross-patterns are infused seamlessly with new organic shapes and dreamlike landscapes. Teebs palette continues to evolve with some of the new works  in various shades of bashe, white, and brown earth tones. Much like his music the work is sensitive and warm and flows nicely from piece to piece.

Exhibition is on view till May 27th with gallery hours of 1-6pm Tuesday to Saturday. 

For inquires or an exhibition catalog please CLICK HERE. 

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Rumor has it we've made an Innocnts zine with @lady.mustard, @jupescoops, @sabinasauce, @sucks.4u, @bryan_peterson_, and more. We could only afford to make like 10 so perhaps you will be one of the few to get one this weekend at Printed Matter's LA Art Book Fair. Much appreciation to @newimageart for inviting us!

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A really cool thing happened when we were hanging Teebs solo exhibition Overgrown a few weeks back at New Image Art. Yes we were drinking IPA's but that's not what I'm speaking of. In the process of hanging the 200 small abstract studies we began to pick out favorites and that evolved into a cool discussion, critique, and process of elimination leaving us with one final piece.

Well we had so much fun doing it we decided why not let everyone else who feels inclined do the same. So we did just that on April 1st at New Image Art where Innocnts hosted and moderated a cool discussion in which Teebs spoke candidly about the work and process that went into his recent solo exhibition at NIA titled OVERGROWN. Together as a small group gallery patrons picked out 2 favorite remaining unsold small abstracts and were then asked to discuss what about those particular pieces they found interesting. The critique and discussion was thoughtful and by then end we had one remaining piece. Teebs surprised everyone by allowing each participant to take home the piece in which they spoke for. It was a great night of discourse around art which should really happen more often amongst art appreciators. Look forward to doing more similar things like this in the future at Innocnts.

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Mtendere Mandowa (pronounced “ten-de-ra”, Chichewa for “Peace”) or Teebs as he is better known, a producer, a painter, and contributing member of the Innocnts family  comes to New Image Art for the first time, bringing to view his most captivating solo exhibition to date.

Following the release of his much anticipated sophomore album Estara, Mtendere began to redirect his creative focus into completing the body of work that would later be exhibited as “Overgrown”. His painting practice bares much relation to his music production: collaging, overlapping, and mixing imagery with painted gesture to create meditative and minimalist visual soundscapes. The work emanates a sense of organic appeal with feelings of warmth and movement similar to that of his music. Currently residing in the hilltop neighborhood of Mt. Washington in close proximity to the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of Highland Park, Mandowa continues to pull influence from his surroundings noting the changes of eastside Los Angeles communities as a point of creative interest. The paintings showcased in this body of work play upon a push and pull between the crowding of space and the pressence of negative space, similar to the surrounding east side communities. At times the works seem “overgrown” with organic shapes bending and folding atop one another while at other times the work remains sparse and refined. Utilizing a combination of work including large-scale mixed media paintings, over 100 smaller abstract studies on wood, delicate mixed media works on paper, and countless re-purposed vintage vinyl albums, “Overgrown” proves to be indeed a lush environment of creativity.

Mandowa’s “Overgrown” solo exhibition will be held at New Image Art located at 7920 Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood, California. The gallery will host and artist reception and public opening on Saturday, March 14th from 7pm till 10pm. Live music with vinyl selection by Richard Thompson via Tijuana with cold beers provided by our friends at Pabst Blue Ribbon.

For additional information please email: info@newimageartgallery.com

New Image Art is pleased to present, This Crazy Life, a group show featuring Gregory Bojorquez, Patrick Martinez, and Michael Vasquez, opening Saturday, April  26, 2014, 7-10pm.

This Crazy Life encompasses the poetic commonalities found in today's urban/inner city environments. The works depict an authentic viewpoint of "beauty through chaos" that seems so natural within the backdrop of urban struggle and growth. By interpreting their own personal realities through forms of portrait based photography, paint, and mixed media, these three artist are able to inform and contribute to a larger social understanding of urban culture through their contextual relationship with art.

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