Head Space: a solo exhibition of paintings by Labrona

Canadian artist Labrona is best known for his extraordinary paintings on freight trains that roll all over the US and Canada. “I'm just a guy that paints trains, does art, doesn't want a regular nine to five. I use my art as my voice,” he says. “I send my thoughts and emotions on to the railways for people to see…A train yard is like a forever-changing outdoor art gallery.” The hulking thirty-five year old lumberjack from Ottawa has been working for years with many of Canada's best known graffiti artists and his work has been shown in galleries all over the world. It is only recently, however, that people have really begun to take note of his unique skill, giving him the opportunity to design a new line of hand-crafted skateboards and solo shows in various North America cities. Drawing his inspiration from 80s skate culture, rundown industrial areas, and German Expressionism, Labrona's fascination with painting heads comes from his desire to convey raw human feeling - “You can tell so much from an expression, the eyes and mouth… there are many different stories within each painting.” The paintings in HEAD SPACE continue this enthralling narrative exploration.

Opening Reception
Saturday, November 3, 2007
From 7:00 PM - Midnight
Show closes November 15th

Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art
1257 N. La Brea Avenue
West Hollywood, CA 90038
(SW corner of La Brea and Fountain)

Contact the gallery by email [email protected], visit www.carmichaelgallery.com or call 323.969.0600 for more information.

The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday 3:00PM to 8:00PM and by appointment.

About Labrona (written by his artist friend, Other):

“Labrona's name was concocted one night in some ski pub in the echoing mountains of Banff National Park by one Anil Dular, a mythical hip-hop speaking Cherokee navigator turned selective logger up off the coast of Alaska…This is the world that Labrona runs in. A French Canadian house builder who spends as much time in Riviere de Loup (River of the Wolf) as the beer-swilling metropolis of Montreal, Labrona is a collector of disco blues Chicago style albums and an old school 360 boneless type of skateboarder. Most importantly, he is a painter of metal beasts that roam his habitat - Labrona has made a name for himself painting poignant faces on the sides of boxcars, wheaties, and any old freight car that shifts off into the night a bit happier for the addition, yet retaining the sad air only a freight train can convey in its creaks and squeals and stand still mosquito silence… So you see it is hard to describe a Labrona…maybe you will find the meaning in his paintings…”




About the Carmichael Gallery:

The Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art in West Hollywood, CA was opened in August of 2007 by Seth and Elisa Carmichael as a showroom for emerging art from around the world. After moving to Los Angeles in September 2006, the Carmichaels began curating shows in various locations around town, frequently converting raw retail spaces, high-end luxury lofts, and other non-traditional spaces into galleries before securing the permanent space on La Brea that now holds the gallery.

As curators, the Carmichael's focus is on international emerging artists, with an emphasis on underground, pop, outsider, lowbrow, street and graffiti inspired work. Seth's taste in art is heavily influenced by Japanese animation, the black and white indie comic books of the 1980's, the literature of the Beat Generation, Jazz, the youth subcultures of the 1980's and early 1990's including skateboarders, punks, ravers and graffiti artists and the music, fashion and design that exploded out of these underground movements. Elisa's fascination with this art movement has evolved from her wide-ranging passion for poetry, plays, philosophy, novels, opera, jazz, old and contemporary classical music, writing, theatre, movies and fashion. Her frequent travels have strongly shaped her views on human nature and she is excited about bringing more and more of an international voice to the LA art community.

Scottish born Elisa grew up in Bermuda and Australia before moving to France where she met Seth in 2005. Born and raised in Washington, DC, Seth lived in Olympia, Boston, Berkley and New York before relocating with Elisa to Los Angeles. Seth and Elisa are true art world outsiders; with no art school education or connections to existing galleries or established artists, they began by cold calling and emailing artists and inviting them to be part of their shows. Driven solely by their passion for the work they are showing and a desire to expose that work to as many people as they can, the gallery is a true testament to their hard work and a loud and clear new voice on the LA art scene.