27 Aug Kopeikin Gallery presents Storms by Mitch Dobrowner & Suo Sarumawashi (“Monkey Dancing”) by Hiroshi Watanabe
Opening Saturday, September 7th 6 – 8 PM during art weekend LA.
Show Runs Through: September 7th – October 26th, 2013
Storms by Mitch Dobrowner
Kopeikin Gallery presents Mitch Dobrowner’s second exhibition with the gallery, called “Storms,” in recognition of the subject matter of course, and also Aperture Books publication of the same name. This series won Dobrowner the Sony World Photographer of the Year 2012 award. The exhibition opens with a reception for the artist on Saturday, September 7th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm and continues through October 26th. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
There will be a separate book-signing, artist talk and cocktail reception on Tuesday evening, October 15th from 7:00 – 9:00
“He brings a sense of its history and enormous skill in his craft while pushing his imagination and, even, physical strength. The work offers a visceral rush while being wonderfully well made.” – W M Hunt
Working with professional storm chaser Roger Hill, Dobrowner has been chasing storms throughout Western and Midwestern America since 2009. Dobrowner’s extraordinary images of monsoons, tornados, and massive thunderstorms are created with the highest standard of craftsmanship and in the tradition of Ansel Adams and capture nature in its full fury.. This series has attracted considerable media interest, having been published in National Geographic, Time, The New York Times Magazine, NPR, CNN, Los Angeles Times and The Economist, as well as many photography oriented publications.
Mitch Dobrowner was born in Bethpage, New York in 1956. He derives his inspiration from the natural world, and from the masters of landscape photography who have captured it before him, in particular Ansel Adams and Minor White.
Suo Sarumawashi (“Monkey Dancing”) by Hiroshi Watanabe
Kopeikin Gallery presents our third exhibition with Los Angeles photographer Hiroshi Watanabe. The exhibition title is an ancient art form; Suo Sarumawashi, which means monkey dancing. Alongside Noh and Kabuki, Sarumawashi is among the oldest and most traditional of Japan’s performing arts, although in this case performed by highly trained macaque monkeys. A few years ago Watanabe was thinking about his childhood in Japan and remembered that performing monkeys would come through his village. Subsequent research confirmed that they still perform as they have for centuries so Watanabe traveled to Japan and photographed the performers. The exhibition opens with a reception for the artist on Saturday, September 7th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm and continues through October 26th. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
Suo Sarumawashi evolved over a 1000-year history in Japan. Ancient Japanese chronicles refer to it as a form of religious ritual that later developed into a popular form of festival entertainment, performed all over Japan from temples to imperial courts. It almost disappeared in the 1970’s as urbanization threatened its as a popular form of street performance. But in 1977 a group of people founded the Suo Sarumawashi , which today runs two theaters as well as touring frequently throughout Japan.
The reason for Sarumawashi’s ongoing popularity lies in the charm and agility of the Japanese macaque monkey. Sarumawashi showcases the natural physical prowess of the Japanese monkey by combining acrobatic stunts with comical skits and dances. The monkey and trainer perform as one unit to create a bond between man and primate.
Kopeikin Gallery
2766 S. La Cienega Blvd. Culver City, CA 90034
(310) 559-0800
Tuesday – Saturday: 11am to 5pm
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