It’s been a few years since we last curated our "We Are The Romantic Ones" Valentine’s Day group exhibition, so it was a pleasure to dive back into curating at the local artist-run space, Quiet Please Pop-Up, in East Los Angeles. The show featured a mix of emotive artwork from friends with diverse artistic backgrounds and locations, including pieces from Spain, France, Australia, England, New Mexico, Texas, Oregon, and all over Southern California—Ventura, Long Beach, Wilmington, Boyle Heights, Echo Park, San Pedro, Oxnard, and more. Add the local East LA community, who definitely came out to support, and we had a pretty rad melting pot of culture that ties into the INNOCNTS’ open approach to community building.

Longtime cultural documenter (a fancy term for OG film photographer) Gregory Bojorquez came through and blessed us with some candid, impromptu shots of opening guests. We were going to post some quick iPhone pics, but I guess there are perks to having good friends on the other side of the LA river. Give Gregory a follow if you’re inclined—his archives run deep.

A huge thanks to everyone who was able to make it and contributed to the success of the opening! The exhibition will be up for a month by appointment. Appointments are super flexible, so don’t be shy to reach out to us or Quiet Please Pop-Up. If you’re not in the LA area but are interested in the artwork (we ship), feel free to reach out for an available artwork catalog (PDF). And thank you to those who’ve already made purchases!

Proceeds from all artwork sales will support two causes we’re proud to back. Thanks for considering a purchase! Please message us for inquiries or to request an exhibition catalog.

The Ventura Training Center is a firefighter training and reentry program for formerly incarcerated firefighters, providing them with the opportunity to continue using their skills professionally after incarceration. // @antirecidivismcoalition

Community Brigade is a surfer-established firefighting program creating lasting cultural change by empowering volunteers to prepare for and respond to wildfires. This 501(c)(3) organization partners with the LA County Fire Department. // @communitybrigade

We’re excited to bring back our “We Are The Romantic Ones” exhibition on Saint Valentine’s Night in 2025. This will be the fourth edition of the show, showcasing emotive, heart-driven artwork by a diverse group of artists we’re proud to call friends. The exhibition will run for a month, with the opening on Valentine’s Night from 6-9pm. Drop us a message for pre-show catalog of available work.

Our friend Umar Rashid has just wrapped up another amazing exhibition at the renowned Blum Gallery in Culver City, Los Angeles. The show runs through the weekend, if you happen to catch this post in time. Either way, be sure to give him a follow on Instagram and explore more of his work.

Since Stab put their recent article behind a paywall and it’s relevant to us in some ways, we thought we’d bring back the old Innocnts Blog to share it with you all. Now that the blog is back, we can hopefully continue sharing more interesting content that doesn’t quite fit on Instagram. There are a lot of takeaways from the article, as you’ll see. The main point is that it’s time to start supporting the smaller brands you like. The heritage brands are struggling, and the outlook doesn’t look promising for them. Have a read, and apologies for the font size—after all, that’s why it’s free!

@1peace1ply is a DIY project started by Tyler Stover with the simple goal of repurposing plywood used to board up local businesses during the recent protests. All that wood is likely doomed for landfills but instead can be used to create skateboard related obstacles like grind boxes and jump ramps. With minimal tools and supplies these obstacles can be built simply using one 4’ x 8’ piece of plywood.

As kids transition into the summer months, it’s important they have activities that keep them healthy and open minded. Through connections in various communities these recycled skate obstacles can make their way into areas where their impact can be felt the most.

We’ve put together a very simple how-to PDF that describes step-by-step the method that Tyler has created for the perfect all plywood grind box. Tools, time, and investment are minimal and with just a few friends, you can make a difference in your area for the next generation of skateboarders all the while making use of the wood going to waste. Organize some friends, hit up a local business for some plywood, make some grind boxes, and set up some youth for a summer of skateboarding.

@1peace1ply has a short list of volunteers ready to take your plywood if you’re in the LA / Ventura areas. We’ve already built a handful of boxes and dropped them off locally. They’re working great and we’re ready build more so drop us a line if you got some wood or know of a good home for the boxes we’ve built. If you’re outside of our physical reach we encourage you to start your own regional network. Put our PDF to use and get working! Let’s continue to lead by example as skateboarders.

1 sheet of plywood can make: One manual box with a grind rail or two kicker ramps

If you want to volunteer to collect Wood, store wood, make skate features, or anything else related to this project please drop us a line here.

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It recently came to our attention that our friend Thomas whom we know from via his wonderful photography, is also a very accomplished painter as well. He recently shared some work he completed for a solo exhibition that unfortunately got cancelled due to COVID-19 but the work is know available for your viewing pleasure earlier than expected. We caught up with Thomas regarding this new body fo work and here’s what he had to say.

“Been working on these paintings during the past 9 months for a show that was to take place at my home in Darlinghurst, Sydney Australia. Unfortunately shit happens and the exhibition was canceled due to that virus thing. So here they are. All works are acrylic on cotton canvas.”

Quarantine life is real and all these live IG’s going down have definitely helped the time go by with some flavor. We reached out to our longtime contributor Alf Alpha to come through this Sunday and take over the Innocnts IG for a couple hours to play some good ol’ fashion hip-hop classic, lowrider oldies, and rare cumbia tracks. Please join us 12pm-2pm Sunday April 12th as well do the quarantine with class.

For inquires on work by Johanna click here.

JOHANNA OLK
Her skin was as soft as her heart and her eyes as dark as her soul
2020
acrylic on canvas
130x89cm