Pleasure Garden
April 22nd - July 30th
Laurie Shapiro Studio Gallery
Los Angeles, CA
Appointment Only
Fill out this link for a viewing time :
https://laurieshapiroart.com/gallery
Disillusioned by the “Boys Club” mentality, a need like no other to work and be surrounded by feminine energy brings about this second show inside Laurie Shapiro’s Studio Gallery displaying female artists curated by Olivia Mia Orozco. All of these artists' work in some way explores female archetypes, the female body as a garden of Lucious fruit, Fertility gods, the Garden of Eden, or the Female body seen in nature. The tenderness of mother earth could wrap around this world and heal it if not for the greed and corrupt narcissists creating more pain and divides. Pleasure Garden aims to create a space of contemplation, serenity, and healing for all. A moment to step away from the immense pain and heaviness the world has currently experienced. Featured artists include Ann Weber, Caitlin Fowler, Lauren Desberg, Alexandra Carter, Meg Lionel Murphy, and Laurie Shapiro. The artwork in this show includes hanging sculptures, photography, fantastical paintings, and of course installations, all in one of LA’s most unique gallery spaces.
If there’s a private locker room boys club, there is most certainly a pleasure garden of nourishment and loving thoughts inclusively open to all. Keeping true to the pleasure gardens’ historic purpose, during the course of this show performances, talks, meals, and events will ensue between April 22nd and July 30th.
In reference to the historic Pleasure Garden, Giuliana Bruno author of “Atlas of Emotion” says “As architectural historian Sylvia Lavin effectively shows, the way that the feminine and the picturesque have been codified has resulted in the marginalization of both.” This show seeks to take back ownership of the feminine and redefine space in a celebrated garden neither diminished nor put on a pedestal for its femininity. Celebrated for its strength in creating visceral artwork able to penetrate the emotions of all onlookers.
When considering the paradoxes of lightness and darkness and heaviness versus weightlessless in the world and finding a sense of balance, there is comfort in the words of Milan Kundera on this subject: “The heaviest of burdens crushes us, we sink beneath it, it pins us to the ground. But in love poetry of every age, the woman longs to be weighed down by the man's body. The heaviest of burdens is therefore simultaneously an image of life's most intense fulfillment. The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth, the more real and truthful they become. Conversely, the absolute absence of burden causes man to be lighter than air, to soar into heights, take leave of the earth and his earthly being, and become only half real, his movements as free as they are insignificant. What then shall we choose? Weight or lightness?”
Artwork shown above by Alexandra Carter
"Materna Sinistra"
The Messenger
More Shows coming this July 2022
The Messenger is a new dance theater performance by Olivia Mia Orozco created in collaboration with Julienne Mackey. Informed by Hopi creation and agricultural mythology, and Hopi Folktales, the work blends these influences to create an inspired story honoring the earth and bringing lessons from the past to enrich our futures collectively. The work plays with themes of the infinite nature of reality and the interconnectedness in us all.
It was recently presented inside Laurie Shapiro's installation and
Performed with Alexa Eisner’s installation, Atom Cycle as part of Performance Practice's LAX festival.
Promotional Images by Lauren Desberg
Cotton Candy at the Los Angeles Dance Shorts Film Festival
Miss Cotton Candy surprised guests at the Los Angeles Dance Shorts Film Festival as they arrived at the 5th annual film festival this past November 2021.
