December 17, 2022 through January 14, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 17, 6-9 pm
Bermudez Projects in Cypress Park, never a safe space for art snobs, is about to open what may be its most shocking exhibit: “Thrifty,” a serious tribute to thrift store art, co-curated by the Los Angeles Times’ Patt Morrison and 89.3-KPCC’s John Rabe.
In two dozen artworks culled from collections across the region, naked ladies voluptuate across gauzy backgrounds, a grizzled sea captain stares into the night, a rabbi leaves a snowy shtetl, and a bare-assed beach couple cup each other’s bare asses. There’s sea foam and mountains, gas masks and puppies, still-lifes and at least one dominatrix Batgirl. You don’t need to read the label copy to enjoy these paintings. The artists painted what they wanted to look at.
Techniques vary. Most are by amateurs who clearly painted purely for pleasure. And they wound up at a thrift store, one imagines, because the next of kin who came across them didn’t know what else to do with them. But is that so bad? Rabe and Morrison say not at all … this is not art meant to appreciate; it’s art meant to be appreciated. Being at a thrift store ensures it gets into the right hands.
Morrison, a longtime collector, says, “You can have your Cezannes and Klimts and Orozcos – well, if you can afford them. I’ll take the oeuvre of Everyartist. Of course, thrift store paintings aren’t usually very technically accomplished. But think about all that it took to create them: the commitment of energy, of time, of passion. In the epoch of instant hip-pocket photography, these still have something personal to express that a photograph can’t. That’s why I look for them, and love them — warts, drips, and all.”
We’ll never know who painted most thrift store works, but “Thrifty” does include a few paintings by known artists, including a nude by Lawrence “Vincent” Garrison (1923-2007), on loan from Colombo’s Italian Steakhouse in Eagle Rock, where she has reclined for decades on the wall behind the bar.
And, we now know the biography of the “Henry Vaneck” who painted an exquisite harvest still life in the 1960s, which Americana expert Charles Phoenix has loaned to Thrifty. Co-curator Rabe tracked down Vaneck’s grand-daughter, and shares her grandfather’s fascinating life story as part of the exhibit. Loaning the Vaneck leaves a conspicuous hole in the walls of the Phoenix parlor, which is filled, salon style, with thrift store paintings. Why does he love them? Says Phoenix, “The depth of soul, the character, the honesty, the integrity, the naiveté. They’re the best kind of painting. Everyone loves thrift store paintings.”
Sorry, Charles, but it’s sadly not true. There aren’t any thrift store paintings at The Louvre, LACMA, or even MOCA. But, so what? Says Rabe, “With thrift store art, the artist’s process and politics are immaterial. There’s no provenance or questionably frequent NYT reviews to add interest or value. There isn’t even a gallerist between the viewer and the art. With these works, you’re mainlining 100% pure art.”
Many of the paintings in “Thrifty” will be going back to their generous owners, but a good number will be for sale, which makes Thrifty an excellent opportunity to support art for art’s sake.
