MILK AND HONEY
Contemporary Art in California
Opening Reception: August 7, 6-10PM
Exhibition Dates: August 7 - September 4
This August, we at Slow Culture will be celebrating our two year anniversary and we wanted to do something special. For those unfamiliar, prior to us occupying this space, it was home to THIS Gallery. Having become friends with them over the course of their three year tenure here, we felt it important to maintain the spirit and camaraderie of what made THIS Gallery special while building a community of our own. Two years later, 32+shows/performances/pop-ups under our belt, we feel like we’ve achieved this goal and it’s time to pay tribute to the foundation set forth by THIS.
Slow Culture is proud to present Milk and Honey: Contemporary Art in California. A 45 person group exhibition centered around the book comprised of painters, photographers, illustrators, sculptors, designers, and directors currently living and working in California. Curated by previous THIS Gallery co-owner, the late Justin Van Hoy, Milk and Honey showcases the amazing network of friends he was constantly cultivating. Designer, curator, and all around inspirational friend, Justin set the precedent for what we hope to achieve with our space.
“Conceptual notions are born and killed off in the blink of an eye because everything is visibly available instantly. This accelerated aging in the art world is the Internet’s fault, plain and simple.”
All of this is creating a very interesting time for the art world. New bodies of work, collaborations, and schools of artists are presented and discarded at such a rapid pace that many valuable artists and avenues of visual work are lost due to a lack of a proper stage. There is an absence of patience and cadence surrounding themes and viewpoints, and, as a result, we—the audience and participants—are a society that has come to rely on a constant stream of contemporary visual imagery in our everyday world.” - Justin Van Hoy
In the span of three years since the book has been published, the pace at which these ideas can be discarded has accelerated ten fold. There has been a lack of emphasis on creating foundations outside of our online communities, which is why we feel like the influence of artists presented in the book is significant now more than ever. With the influx of artists and creatives flocking to call Los Angeles home, we felt it important to recognize this community of artists who have helped influence this movement and continue to inspire us.