ADAMS SQUARE MINI PARK GAS STATION EXHIBITS
Wings of Earth
Artists: Vivien Adamian and Natalia Sookias
On exhibit from March 25 - May 31, 2024
Wings of Earth transforms the Adams Square Mini Park Gas Station into a cultural "community sacred space" for reflection on land and loss. Adamian and Sookias created a series of hanging objects inspired by decorative ceramics from ancient Armenian churches, and vessels whose naturalistic contours and folds recall peaks and valleys from lands lost, both literal and metaphorical. Drawing from ancestral and contemporary stories of hope and grief, the artists wish to offer viewers a space of reflection and awe.
The reflection space, occupied by ceramic eggs, wings, aghamans (Armenian salt jars), and other evocative clay objects, creates a dialogue about how we process loss and conceive of hope in diaspora communities. Though Armenian culture is represented in the design of this installation, the artists’ aim is for the art to transcend cultural boundaries and remind the many communities in Glendale what it means to extend a hand during difficult times.
https://sooki.studio/pages/work
https://www.are.na/vivien-adamian/portfolio-oup8tu3z5p4
@ehdelaveli, @sooki_studio, @la_rosebud, @edensarkisian
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Us vs. The Climate Change
Artist: The Campbell Center
On exhibit from January 16 - March 22, 2024
The Campbell Center associates’ installation reflects their challenges with global warming. The associates have decorated umbrellas that reflect the stress & anxiety that climate discourse causes them. The umbrellas are turned upside to symbolize shelter & protection, and recycled cactus pillows at the base of the installation reflect the environments unknown.
The Campbell Center aims to showcase the work of their associates through Us vs. The Climate Change, and demonstrate opportunities for growth in expressing themselves through art. Since 2018 The Campbell Center has held open-house events and galleries that contain the art of various artists with disabilities. Their associates have showcased their work through watercolors, acrylic paint, and community murals during these events.
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Mímipachico
Artist: Vanessa Marie Gomez
On exhibit from October 2 - November 9, 2023
Mímipachico is a mystical experience displaying a paper mâché sculpture of an alebrije, a brightly colored fantastical creature originating from Mexican folk art. Mímipachico is a mix of raccoon, deer, and butterfly, with sycamore tree inspirations. It thrives in forests, and like most alebrijes, Mímipachico is an elusive creature. Its unique mane weaves into a human-like face used to deter predators. Although many might find this alebrije haunting with its human mimicry, locals know it is gentle-natured. It is said that Mímipachico helps those who are lost in the forest at night find their way back to safety with its glowing patterns. Inversely, Mímipachico is said to drive away those with ill intent from the forest. Because of these behaviors, Mímipachico is often called a guardian of the forest.
Gomez, also known as VMG, is a multi-disciplinary artist from the desert community of Victorville. Her work features vivid colors creating symbolic work that is usually represented through animals and shapes. VMG works in different mediums including mural painting, animation, digital, acrylic, and wood. She enjoys learning new skills and growing her art practice by exploring different styles and aims to create empathic experiences that invoke inspiration and encourage curiosity.
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Letters to Parents
Artist: Kevin Ly
On exhibit from August 21 - September 29, 2023
Kevin Ly’s intention for Letters to Parents is to create an accessible and safe environment for others to share their thoughts and experiences growing up. Ly’s installation consists of a physical mock-up of a child’s bedroom to emphasize the idea of a space individuals would have wanted as a child but may have never received. It also acts as a relic of the past that may be nostalgic to some people and bring back memories they had of their childhood. In order to physically emulate the space to look like a child’s bedroom, the gas station is furnished with a child’s bed, desk decorated with childhood memorabilia, a bookshelf with a collection of children’s books, a hat stand, and a rug. Along with recreating a space reminiscent of a child’s bedroom, Ly also includes the letters of peoples’ responses he has collected from Letters to Parents being a 4-year long project, including responses submitted at Glendale Central Library this summer. By having this extra supplement, the public will have the opportunity to view the work over the course of its 4-year journey and receive perspective on what others have written. Ly’s aim is for this to act as a catalyst for public discourse on childhood trauma and its effects on adulthood and mental health.
@letterstoparents
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House of Cards
Artist: Raphaele Cohen-Bacry
On exhibit from July 10 - August 18, 2023
House of Cards consists of vividly colored collages on playing cards of various sizes hanging from the ceiling at different heights. By using art magazines and wallpaper in her collages, Cohen-Bacry transforms a familiar object and elevates it to a unique piece of art. Yet, the familiarity of playing cards in her installation allows viewers to easily relate to and feel a connection with the artwork.
House of Cards stems from the idea that playing cards are deeply embedded in our psyche. They influence the way we think about things, resulting in the endless number of idioms related to cards, such as “playing one’s cards right” and “having an ace up one’s sleeve”. Here, Cohen-Bacry is playing with cards, but in a very different fashion.
@raphaelecohenbacrystudio
![DSC09526[1].JPG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/abe3ff_026c964a76564dd2927c7e28b97a1626~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_98,h_65,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/DSC09526%5B1%5D_JPG.jpg)
Disassemblage
Artist: Maria Björkdahl
On exhibit from April 14 - June 9, 2023
Björkdahl is a Swedish-Moroccan visual artist based in Los Angeles, California. Her art practice centers on ideas of unearthing multiple layers and buried memories. She uses materiality and process to excavate ideas of hidden meanings, allowing for a wide range of interpretations. In this body of work, she makes paintings out of manipulated cotton duck, by cutting and unraveling the threads that hold the canvas together and then re-assembling the material into biomorphic shapes that are painted with oil and/or acrylic.
@mariabjorkdahl
ReCollect
Artist: Cat Chiu Phillips
On exhibit from January 23 - March 31, 2023
The project ReCollect creates a unique experience combining post-consumer product innovation and sustainability while paying homage to traditional craft methods and the handmade. Made of 35mm slides, this project creates awe and wonder on the transformative aspects of electronic waste while offering a dialogue on sustainability, recycling, and conservation.
Growing up in Manila, one of Philips' fondest childhood memories is when the city is lit with traditional parols to mark the holiday season. A parol is an ornamental lantern traditionally made out of bamboo and Japanese paper. ReCollect is inspired by this childhood wonderment and fascination of light and color especially both revealing and concealing its immediate environment. Glendale is an ideal location for this project because the materials used to create the parols are from obsolete audio-visual materials. Since the entertainment industry is prominent in the city of Glendale, the project holds relevancy, nostalgia, and connection to the thriving economy of the city. Additionally, the project recognizes the support of environmental and ecological efforts while honoring a distinctive cultural icon from the Philippines. Representative of the small community of Filipinos for the City of Glendale and surrounding areas.
@catchiuphillips
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GLASS EYE (NAZAR)
Artist: Keywan Tafteh
On exhibit from October 10 - November 11, 2022
Keywan Tafteh is a Russian/Iranian multidisciplinary artist who grew up in Glendale, California. Tafteh blurs the confines of genre to create sensory and emotional work. His creative process is informed by multiple painful and joyous themes: geographic and cultural displacement, the addiction of a loved one, otherness, and the sheer joy of observation.
Using the symbol of a nazar, an amulet used to ward off a spiteful curse, these Evil Eye paintings explore social connections. On a daily passing, we come across various faces, stares, and communications in person and online. The nature of these interactions stem from an individual’s intention. If one gazes upon you in spite, they may cast an Evil Eye curse. Many cultures use this amulet as an apotropaic, an object possessing the power to repel threats.
By exploring portraiture/figuration in a loose gesture, figures are layered onto the canvas. Moving through the painting is linked to navigating a social space. The nazar comes forward, offering protection as we make our way through. With the recent riots in Iran, Tafteh returns to this series to meditate on the nature of revolution, how a home is made, and the systemic violence imposed by authoritative governments. The nazar on site not only aims to protect those who view upon it, but to extend further, following families and the many homes they may have throughout this world.
A TRANSLUCENT NATURE
Artist: Patricia Branstead
On exhibit from August 1 - September 16, 2022
"A Translucent Nature" by Patricia Branstead is a site specific installation of a series of new pieces that work together for the space. Incorporating any current pieces that fit. This would include Branstead's cylinder light sculpture lamps on translucent Asian papers. The light sculptures are made from Asian papers which adhere to a lampshade plastic material and are shaped to different sizes.
The force of Branstead's art work is about nature and abstraction. She gets her inspiration from observing and photographing patterns and light and her medium is monotype. Branstead has developed a technique of making monoprints on Asian paper for their immediacy and impact that connects with the viewer. The patterns are endless, like a fingerprint, each one different bringing a unique identity to the pieces. She has worked in several mediums: printmaking, painting, photography and light. Branstead developed a method of working that give me spontaneity and still a thoughtful approach.
A TRANSLUCENT NATURE
Artist: Patricia Branstead
On exhibit from August 1 - September 16, 2022
"A Translucent Nature" by Patricia Branstead is a site specific installation of a series of new pieces that work together for the space. Incorporating any current pieces that fit. This would include Branstead's cylinder light sculpture lamps on translucent Asian papers. The light sculptures are made from Asian papers which adhere to a lampshade plastic material and are shaped to different sizes.
The force of Branstead's art work is about nature and abstraction. She gets her inspiration from observing and photographing patterns and light and her medium is monotype. Branstead has developed a technique of making monoprints on Asian paper for their immediacy and impact that connects with the viewer. The patterns are endless, like a fingerprint, each one different bringing a unique identity to the pieces. She has worked in several mediums: printmaking, painting, photography and light. Branstead developed a method of working that give me spontaneity and still a thoughtful approach.
IMPRESSIONS
Artist: Claire June Apana
On exhibit from May 23 - July 9, 2022
"IMPRESSIONS" is an installation artwork that consists of three massive origami tessellation forms. These shapes are suspended from curved metal beams with each element supported by wire; allowing the pieces to float around themselves. These sculptures are an expression of time as our memories transform into a state of flux within our minds and our bodies. This process of transformation is immense; beginning with a small seed, growing into a tree, milled into paper, and then folded into undulating forms. As the origami sculptures drift, they are bathed in vivid light. The translucent qualities of the paper allow for a dramatic color effect.
The traditional technique combines with contemporary art practice to express the ways in which small gestures contain the potential to create immense change. Art, community, and creation don’t require immense means, one must simply begin and commit to a development in order to implement metamorphoses.
Mer Tun, Dzer Tun
Artist: Nelli Astvatsatrian
On exhibit from April 13 - May 21, 2022
"Mer Tun, Dzer Tun" translates to “our home, your home” in Armenian. This installation seeks to reclaim and honor history, while laying testament to the resilience of indigenous peoples robbed of homeland everywhere. The Armenian diaspora community quilt features artwork from Glendale residents, as well as Armenians from 20 American cities and 4 cities internationally, reflecting on what "home" means to them.
Diversity Tree
Artist: Dillan Garcia
On exhibit from October 4 - November 12, 2021
"Diversity Tree" is a mixed media installation, inspired by the materials and art process developed in Galeria Codigo Tonal (Codigo Tonal Gallery) in Oaxaca, Mexico. The tree is a symbol for L.A. County’s diverse population, and the drooping tree branches with leaves represent the ethnic communities within, capturing a feeling of cultural unity.
The Happiness You Deserve
Artist: Renae Barnard
On exhibit from August 23 - October 1, 2021
"The Happiness You Deserve" is a temporary, fiber-based installation considering the unique location of this historic structure: a 1936 Streamline Moderne Gas Station that exists in a small and unexpectedly green, nature-abundant park within the city. Renae is known for her fiber-based work using upcycled and found materials to explore the network of interactions between environment, perception, and well-being. For this project, she is considering the ways in which the sculpture might engage with the space, contemplating illumination in the evening hours to draw continuous attention to the nature rich site. Through the process of creating the work, Renae will be working through ideas surrounding the connection of well-being and nature.
Black Souls
Artist: Martial Yapo
On exhibit from January 18 - February 26, 2022
"Black Souls" is a tribute to the Africans who lost their lives on American soil alone and far from their land. The African masks serve an important role in rituals or ceremonies, and represent the spirits of deceased ancestors. The masks are made of recycled gas cans which are lined up with wood bars
Wandering the City
Artists: Sarajo Frieden & Debra Weiss
On exhibit from May 24 - July 9, 2021
"Wandering the City" is a collaborative installation that draws from their shared interest in improvisational looking, engaging with the city around us as they wander through their neighborhoods. Activating the interior of the Adams Square Mini Park Gas Station, the artists seek to engage viewers in the act of seeing. Fiber art, woven textiles, painted papers, muslin and canvas, with layers of pattern and textures throughout, act as visual representations for what we see, feel and hear as we walk through our neighborhoods.
https://www.specksandkeepings.com/gallery
Lumpen Station
Artist: Beck+Col
On exhibit from July 12 - August 20, 2021
“Lumpen Station” is a based off of the series “The Revolting Lumpen” by artists, Beck + Col, which features bright, colorful, multidisciplinary experiences combining wearable sculpture, performance, dance, music and live operatic vocalizations. The versatility of textiles allows the artists to build elaborate worlds and the themes running through them. The entire installation was created using three textiles: velvet, cotton and mesh, as well as wood, foam and pex for structure.
Colors
Artist: Kevin Hallagan
On exhibit from April 11 - May 21, 2021
"Colors" is an installation about perspective and the lenses we see/are seen through, by engaging the viewer with a series of colorful, semi-transparent planes suspended throughout the space.
No Movement
Artist: Erin Fussell
On exhibit from January 23 - February 26, 2021
"No Movement" celebrates and critiques the Streamline Moderne architecture of the Adams Square Mini Park Gas Station that emphasizes speed at the early stages of car culture. Today as we in greater Los Angeles deal with extreme commutes and traffic issues and also continue to enjoy our mobile independence, how much has changed since the 1930's when it was constructed? How might we shift in our thinking as we deal with changes in climate, relationships, and resources? What do these things reveal about our culture? The sculpture within Adams Square Mini Gas Station will be made of repurposed used car parts with a one-channel sound installation using a low power radio transmission that can be picked up on your car radio only on-site.
Visit the QR code to find out more information regarding "No Movement."
Spindles 100: Hers
Artist: Valerie Daval
On exhibit from August 24 - October 2, 2020
"Spindles 100: Hers" is an installation involving 100 suspended textile sculptures. The treepod sculptures symbolize life and time as well as exclusively feminine work made by hand. The handprints (contributed by 50 unique women) are both universal and individual and demonstrate memories of touch and our collective unconscious. The installation is essentially about nature, women, community of women, empathy, life, blood, work, courage, pain and compassion.
Die Kunstkammer
Artist: Karim Shuquem
On exhibit from October 5 - November 13, 2020
"Die Kunstkammer” is an on-going and evolving sculptural installation made up of individually painted, carved and stacked wine crates interspersed with found objects and often accompanied by prints pulled directly from the carved surfaces of the boxes themselves. Never fixed or finished, the overall project is inspired by the process-based metaphysics and thinkers such as Deleuze, Alfred North Whitehead, and Heraclitus, and serves as a commentary on the negative effects of Western substance-based ontologies.
Bioluminescence Wonderment
Artist: Jen Swain
On exhibit from July 13 - August 21, 2020
Live painter and designer Jen Swain created this magical installation, Bio-luminescence Wonderment, in Adams Square Mini Park Gas Station to bring the elements of under the sea, jellyfish to the City of Glendale. Her creative practice involves use of a variety of found art and lights to bring the luminescent colors and the journey of the jelly's into the local environment. The sea brings us such unique lifeforms and with them harmony and peace and a story which each person can imagine and resonate. Crochet by Chelse, HandspunDreams.
www.swaindesigns.com | @artbyswain
Road Trip
Artist: Womens Athletic Club of Glendale, Quilters Department
On exhibit from June 1 - July 10, 2020
“Road Trip” is an installation of 15 art quilts which depict vacation destinations in California and beyond. Viewers will identify the journeys and destinations created by ten individuals through the art of quilting using both traditional and modern quilting techniques.
In conjunction with March as California’s Arts Education Month, "We Can" is a collaborative project with artist, Diane Williams, and the Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts (LFCSA) students. The work in "We Can" was the result of a 3-month social practice project with 5-12 year old students at LFCSA that emphasized the importance of shared art making and active contribution.
Puppets & Portraits
Artist: Lucas Novak
On exhibit from January 14 - February 14, 2020
Inspired by human connections and the natural world, Lucas Novak creates art that touches on the universal qualities of humankind. Every painting Novak creates is a metaphor for life. Through texture, brushwork, and all the subtleties of color and shade, the application of paint in its infinite ways represents life’s experiences. Novak’s artwork focused on stop-motion, Claymation videos, puppets and paintings.
Hollywood Hustle
Artist: Francisco Cohen
On exhibit from October 21 - November 16, 2019
"Hollywood Hustle" is the portrait of community. It is a portrait of the grind and what it’s like to hustle for work in the entertainment business. Subjects are all actors, comedians or musicians; the only requirement being that they have to have auditioned in the last 30 days. Each was asked to answer the following question: 'When things are going bad- there are no call backs, no auditions- what do you tell yourself to be able to get up and go again? What words do you tell yourself to keep going?’ Their answers became an integral part of the work.Cohen’s installation consists of 25 oil-on-canvas portraits, each 16” x 20” painted within a 30 day span. Each is framed in black, weighing 3 pounds each, suspended one above the other, and aligned in the Gas Station windows, similar to an Instagram grid. Together they make a singular cohesive statement about what it is like in 2019 to be hustling for work in Hollywood.
Migrant
Artist: Luke Elton Smith
Migrant consists of approximately 3700 scale human figures, suspended in a cloud-like grid. This piece was originally conceived in early 2016, as a response to the European Migrant Crisis, and is a visual representation of those who died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean during 2015. The media's portrayal of these people is typically a series of quantities or numbers, to understand the amount of lives lost. This installation seeks to create a volumetric representation of how many lives are approximated to have been lost in the pursuit of a better life.
The installation becomes more relevant in 2017 as more and more countries around the world engage in their own Migrant related issues. Be sure to visit Migrant in the evening when the piece is lit, and see the scale figures glow.
Luke Elton Smith is an installation artist and architect residing in Los Angeles. His work focuses on the creation of spacial effects to create multiple readings on a variety of scales. He studied Architecture at Princeton University and is a registered Architect in the state of California.
Venus of Adams Square
Artist: Jana Charl
A reception to celebrate artist Jana Charl’s “Venus of Adams Square” will be held in the Adams Square Mini Park on Saturday June 24 from 5 pm to 7 pm. The event is free and open to the public. Residents of the surrounding neighborhood are encouraged to walk to the park and bring their children for family friendly activities. Light refreshments will be available. This reception is sponsored by the Adams Hill Neighborhood Association.
Mixed media artist Jan a Charl's site-specific installation in the historic Richfield Oil Company gas station is the seventh exhibit in the Adams Square Mini-Park supported by the City of Glendale. Charl’s creative practice involves use of a variety of media and techniques to challenge the boundaries between craft, commercial art, and fine art. The history of the found objects she uses in her work add layers of meaning and humor to her work.
Dream Portal: Once Upon A Time
Artist: Colleen Kelly
Artist's Statement:
I make found-object assemblages, including my "Human Impact," that deals with environmental issues and cast bronze sculptures, and "Portals" that deals with dimensional change or life transitions.
Dream Portal merges my two series for a room-sized found-object installation. Diverting an object from a landfill, then using it as an ingredient for art infuses it with transcendent art-power. Once an object has been incorporated into a work of art, it is changed, and has the power to change the viewer.
I intend to involve the community by inviting them to write their dreams and wishes onto tiny pieces of paper and tucking them into the little bottles that will hang from thin wires from the ceiling. The bottles will hang amongst a number of antique crystals also hanging from thin wires enveloping the suspended crib and ladder. A fan will cause aslight swaying motion of the suspended elements, the message bottles, crystal "stars", and create a subtle ripple on the draped, handmade linens. Mood lighting will tint the atmosphere and enhance the nighttime experience.
The objects chosen to inhabit this space invite questioning, remembrances and curiosity. We can talk about metaphors, symbols and the story it may hold for each person, as well as having a conversation about the why's and wherefore's and other mysteries of contemporary art.
Haunted Gas Station
Artist: Bob Kathman
The Gas Station will be haunted for the Halloween season with skeleton characters, trucks and related vintage gas station ephemera. Using the window panes as natural frames, some of the frames will be vignettes; stand-alone subjects like a pumpkin-filled pick-up truck, and Dia de los Muertos icons.
Bob Kathman is a professional graphic designer, animation and comic book artist, and teacher. He earned his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Lux – Helio Forma
Artists: Katherine Kokoska & Stephanie Newcomb
Enjoy food trucks and meet LUX, an integrated design and fabrication practice composed of Katherine Kokoska and Stephanie Newcomb. Both earned degrees in architecture from Carnegie Mellon University.
Becoming A Mountain Cloud
Artist: Jane O'Neill
Jane O’Neill earned her Masters of Fine Arts from Yale University. She has exhibited extensively on the east coast and in California. She has taught, lectured and had residencies at various academic institutions.
The Foundlings Guild
Artist: Marsha Perloff
Marsha Perloff has had a long and successful career in costuming for television and motion pictures. She traces her interest in found object assemblage to an art class at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the early 1960s.
Beluga's Journey
Artist: Yaya Chou
Beluga’s Journey, artist YaYa Chou’s installation at the Adams Square Mini Park Gas Station, begins Monday, February 1, 2016. The Adams Hill Neighborhood Association sponsored a Reception for the installation on February 6.
The Adams Square MiniPark Gas Station provides a whimsical environment which alludes to an “dry tank” aquarium for the whale. Beluga's Journey: Glendale Adams Square is a continuation of a traveling temporary public art project designed to raise the awareness of dislocated wild animals. The project consists of an artist designed inflatable in the shape of a beluga whale installed in natural and urban environments and interacting with the local landscape and public. The installation of the suspended beluga whale and blue/white LEO net lights underneath it creates a surprising and playful atmosphere for visitors to the Adams Square MiniPark.
Beluga's Journey was initiated in 2008 after deaths of multiple Beluga whales started to occur in aquariums and zoos around the world. Utilizing the imagery of a lone Beluga whale, a social animal, in a public setting and surreal way, the artist invites the public to appreciate life sciences and wildlife, question the boundary between conservation and entertainment, as well as encourage them to approach the familiar site with fresh perspectives.