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.

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.”

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

Innocnts Gallery will be participating in the 3rd annual OPaf @otherplacesartfair, taking place March 14th and 15th at Battery Leary-Merriam, Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, California.

OPaf 2020 features forty three art project spaces and artists from the United States and Mexico.

Innocnts Gallery will be working with artists @nicoledodson_ and @stepchild666 to create a site specific installation with included performances (TBH) on both days of fair.

For more information leading up to fair give @otherplacesartfair a follow.

It’s difficult to use words to reflect my time in Vietnam, because Vietnam is not words. It’s a colour, a smell, a taste, a warmth. It is it’s own energy entirely. The best i can do to paint a picture of my experiences is through these images. Thought provoking in every way, Vietnam is a poem.

- THOMAS GATT

Our man down under Thomas Gatt returned last year from a 6 month travel around the globe. Along the way he trained his eye and camera onto some thoughtful compositions. The culmination resulting a limited zine release “By The Water” with various images from these travels. Came out pretty sick. Gander at more on Thomas’ website here.

Here’s what Thomas had to say:

So for starters I was born in Sydney and have lived here ever since. I left Australia in February of 2018 for Europe to travel alone for 3 months spent between Berlin, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Malta and Barcelona. From there I flew over to New York where my brother lives and spent another 3 months there. I completely immersed myself in my surroundings and set out almost every day to shoot as much as I could and experience the diversity of the city I was in. Almost a year later, I put together what I believed to be a selection of images that best represents my visual perception of that particular moment in time.

I find beauty in darkness.

For me each image serves as a memory, as a collection they serve as a reminder of the period in my life when I was 18 on the other side of the world. The Title, By The Water.”

CHECK MORE FROM THOMAS HERE>

We recently commissioned our friend Nathan McKee to create an original cut & paste piece based off some of surfing’s most important film contributions. This piece was a gift for Joel Tudor as a modest tip of hat for his contributions to surfing (and he put us up at the house a few times). All Nathan’s work is hand cut and pasted using construction paper. The piece measures ? and will be released as a print very soon.