I was strolling up little Santa Monica Boulevard Saturday night after the fireworks display in Beverly Hills when I spied a reception underway for a group of artists at the Lurie Gallery.
I waltzed in the door behind a bevy of young beauties, plucked up an inviting glass of champagne, and cruised around the gallery to take a gander at the artworks on display.
The ground floor of the Lurie Gallery is an intimate space where guests tend to bunch up and chat about the art.
The second level, however, is a sort-of open mezzanine level which provides art-lovers an opportunity to take a sweeping view of the gallery to advantage.
A series of landscapes hanging just inside the front door didn't break any new ground and were undistinguished.
Frankly, I didn't sense much potential in the artist, whose cool detached paintings were mediocre, if anything.
In contrast, when I proceeded up the stairs to second floor, I was greatly impacted by the passion inherent in a series of bold dynamic paintings in an abstract-expressionist vein, by handsome young artist Josh Rosenthal.
His colors were vibrant and alive and totally devoid of muddiness.
Images - that would have fallen flat in less-experienced hands - resonated with a certainty that indicated the artist was (and is) fully in control of his artistic prowess.
I was delighted to hear that he often sprang out of bed in the wee hours of dawn, to capture an idea on canvas he woke up to, instead of just turning over and slipping back into the dream state with nary a thought about the curious workings of the creative process.
Mr. Rosenthal was born in Australia and attended the Victorian College of Arts,
Although he's shown in just a couple of exhibition spaces to date - in Washington (DC) for instance - collectors have already begun to snap up his stand-out one-of-a-kind original canvases.
At this stage of his artistic career, it appears that the prices are based on size as opposed to quality, though.
A smaller high-quality piece (which signals a new direction in his painterly style, according to Josh) was on the chopping block for a mere $600.00.
Meanwhile, larger canvases were selling in the price range of $1,000 to $4,000.
In a side room downstairs, a handful of guests were fooled by some clever gimmicky by another less-talented artist.
Although the soft female nudes etched on polished metal showed promise, their potential was not fully realized. This was - in part due - to poor execution and a lack of vision on the part of the inexperienced painter.
Years ago, a photographer snapped some still photos of me dancing in Toronto, and etched the images on metal in the same artistic vein.
However, his dynamic renderings were bold, striking, and memorable.
No wonder - Shin Sugino (the photographer who clicked the portraits) - is a celebrated creative force in the Canadian Art Scene today.
I was quite intrigued by a handful of well-crafted sculptures by Dalit Tayer, a female artist from Israel.
From a distance, her pieces appeared to be small box-like objects, with simple crevices carved out on the front and sides.
However, when the curious drew closer, beautifully-crafted male and female figures tucked away inside came into view.
Tayer's sculptures were probably the most symbolic, fascinating works, exhibited at the gallery.
For those interested in investing in art just now, I would highly recommend a purchase of a canvas or sculpture by Josh Rosenthal or Dalit Tayer.
Art is a smart investment in troubled financial times, after all.
Just ask the Russians who have been snapping up blue chip art in recent days in a frenzy at heart-pounding prices, overseas.
Artist James Tyler represented by Lurie Gallery
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