Jim Shaw & Lari Pittman

Just wanted to urge everyone in LA to make sure they see these two shows before they close on Saturday -- both are spectacular, museum-scaled exhibits from local legends at the peak of their powers, and both include insanely oversized paintings that really need to be experienced in person.

At Blum & Poe, Jim Shaw's giant Mississippi River Mural -- a tattered American landscape scene filtered through a grid of iffy B&W mythological cartoon figures -- is one of his theatrical backdrop adjustments. It includes a sculptural stigmata element, which from a certain angle (see fig 1) reveals a droll reference to Duchamp's Étant donnés.

Lari Pittman's Flying Carpet with a Waning Moon Over a Violent Nation -- a blurry American landscape scene (Native American genocide?) filtered through the portholes of a sinking ship -- is one of three 30-ft wide canvases in his show at Regen Projects. The fourth element in the main gallery is one of the best pieces of the show -- so don't let the big boys stop you from examining the twelve-pack Set Arrangements of Ballet Mécanique for a Fossilized Nation (After Léger), a virtuosically designed set of desaturated Post-Futurist postcards (or calendar pages!).

IMAGES: Jim Shaw Mississippi River Mural 2013 Acrylic on muslin with aqua resin, foam, acrylic and metal rod Mural: approximately 230 x 480 inches Sculpture: 49 1/2 x 27 1/2 x 65 inches (Stigmata donnés detail photo by DH); Lari Pittman Flying Carpet with a Waning Moon Over a Violent Nation 2013 Cel-vinyl, spray enamel on canvas over wood panel 108 x 360 3/8 inches (274.3 x 915.4 cm), Set Arrangements of Ballet Mécanique for a Fossilized Nation (After Léger) 2013 Cel-vinyl and spray enamel on gessoed paper 18 1/8 x 22 1/8 x 1 3/4 inches (46 x 56.2 x 4.4 cm) 12 Drawings

Blum & Poe
2727 S. La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034

Regen Projects
6750 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90038