HOLY RELIC ART SHOW Opens at La Matadora Gallery in November
By Katie Nartonis
“The butterfly series was born from a desire to create something uplifting, and hopeful. When the threat of climate change and mass extinction are beating down the door, it feels crucial to honor the delicacy of Nature’s grace.”
– BoneWerx
La Matadora Gallery, honoree at The Joshuas for Outstanding Gallery, delivers a rich slate of art shows throughout the calendar year in its jewel-like space in Joshua Tree. Owner, aka Head “Gallerista,” Colleena Hake, opened the gallery in 2017. Wendy Gazuk, La Matadora’s co-curator, and Hake were friends in Arizona and reconnected in Joshua Tree several years later, joining forces.
November’s show at the gallery, Holy Relic, features the work of Portland assemblage artist, Bonewerx (Alea Bone), and internationally-known, local installation artist/muralist, Shrine (Brent Spears). Shrine is known for painting the outside of the iconic La Luz de Jesus/ Soapplant / Wacko gallery/shop in Los Angeles, as well as the exterior of Morongo Valley’s Black Luck Vintage.
Under the name BoneWerx, Alea Bone creates mixed-media assemblage ‘werx’ from found objects and upcycled materials. Dedicated to repurposing materials from the ever-mounting waste stream in an effort to reduce our impact on the environment, she sees discarded objects as surviving memorials of the past and values the stories they have to tell.
The artist has shown in both Francisco and Los Angeles and spent a number of years curating art shows and community events in Portland. In recent years, she has shifted her focus toward her own work full-time.
Shrine is a self-taught painter, installation, and performance artist working professionally for over 35 years. He has created dozens of large-scale installations out of found objects and reusable materials as well as hundreds of murals, numerous public art projects, and gallery exhibitions, including the whimsical exterior of the Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles.
His recent projects include a Highway Sanctuary Artist Residency in Yucca Valley California, where artists are paid to teach free workshops to the local community. He uses self-expression as part of a healing process and, in turn, applies this wisdom to his work with displaced people, people in conflict zones, refugee camps, and people on the spectrum. He has created murals for inner-city schools and art workshops for autistic students in Africa.
This show opens Saturday, November 12 with an Art Party from 6-9pm. Gallery hours are Saturdays and Sundays, 12-5pm, and by appointment. The show will run November 12 – December 4, 2022.
La Matadora Gallery
61857 29 Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, CA
www.lamatadoragallery.org
