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Laeh Glenn: The Nothing Thing  ................................................... September 3rd-October 30th, 2022

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Camille Clair: Ribeye  ................................................... June 24th-August 28th, 2022

Ribeye

That summer a growl from the bushes interrupted my gaze and aborted my confession. That summer I abandoned the car at Angeles Crest and ran all the way down the mountain.

That summer the dog died. It was my first time cradling a dead thing, experiencing the stiffness, and not finding it grotesque at all. In the backyard we dug a trench in the shade of the persimmon tree, close to where she lay. She had often been under the persimmon tree: eating the rotten fruit and later vomiting it up. The yard was fertilized this way.

It took an entire day to dig a hole big enough to fit a 12kg dog. And in the sullen May heat, it was exhausting, but digging a grave is the kind of task that cant be staggered, broken into shifts, or interrupted. That evening we ate Fesenjan that you had begun to prepare during the last hours of her life. “She died with this smell in her nose,” you said.

“With this smell in her nose, she died,” I replied.

The next day we drove to the desert to visit Michael Heizer’s land work “Double Negative”. In the skyscraper size cavern, I found a dried out, coiled snake skeleton. I wanted to take it home but you told me not to touch it (tiny insects lingered in the vertebrae) so I just took a picture and later made a drawing that looked like a ribbon, and not like a snake. Now I am often drawing ribbons in the margins of things. I mean, I am often drawing ribbons but really they are snakes.

That night we stayed in Las Vegas, which was empty aside from bored locals who were taking advantage of the reduced room fees and vacant pool decks. The slot machines and roulette tables were tied off with caution tape as if people had died all over them. It may as well have been the case, for the feeling of being involved in a crime stayed with me long after I left the casino.

That summer we tried to donate blood as a family, but were all turned away due to various deficiencies and ailments. Leaving the blood drive, we felt like delinquents. Everyone was giving blood that summer. It was the thing to do.

That summer I watched Nasturtium overgrow the grave, and added the flowers to my salads. That summer I was hallucinating slightly. And even now, if ever I suspect I am seeing something beyond whats actually there, I experience a bitter taste.

The taste seems to permit further incoherence.

That summer I was often tying ribbons around the things I wanted to forget. But by now I accept that the ribbons are no longer snakes.

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Naoki Sutter-Shudo: Vanity of Vanities  ................................................... Feb 13th-April 10th, 2022

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Sean Kennedy: TNT ............................................. December 28th, 2021-January 30th, 2022

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Malak El Zanaty Varichon & Mona Varichon: Matrices & multiples, Time is not only a killer ............................................. November 21st, 2021-December 15th, 2021

Malak: I take 3, 4 photos of the same scene, instead of making a film. It’s very silly, it’s just like time passing. Asha mentioned this to Mona, he said, “that’s what your mother does.” I do have a click with birds, even crows. And I’m still reading The birds’ conference, an immense fable, a “birds’ chat” of the 12th century written by a Persian poet, Farid al-Din Attar. I have another series I really like, a more interior one with plants that grow and die. It’s part of what I call in French my “natures mutantes.”(1) Irises are very beautiful, how they die, the envelopes of the buds remain, like parchment paper. What’s left is like a skin, a sculpture of the after, a special imprint. I didn’t think anyone else could be interested in all this apart from me in my house. He [Asha] also liked my little assemblages. That’s all I do. I chose three, around birds too. At the same time they have to do with walking here and there. I walk a lot. Sometimes things come to me in English, I try to think of Asha: “Wandering,” “about life,” and… I was hesitating between “life” and “time.” It’s just about my daily life after all. On another hand, I had read a text by John Giorno, or rather, I had heard “life is a killer,” written it down and forgotten. A few months later I wrote “time is a killer” which I thought was by John Giorno. A mutating still-life which will tell you a story… Three stones I’m going to show —I still have a lot of work to do with them— came from the Northern and Southern Atlantic, from Dakar and from the English channel, actually. But where does the sea end? I’ve got an egg, a baby chick and a bird, on shell bases. I want to make paper molds of them. More or less when I started working at the Pompidou, there was a big show around Brancusi called “The bird hidden in the stone.” In his country, Romania, there was an old tale about a bird called the maïastra, a bird with magical powers, that speaks several languages and can help humans communicate. Me, I have my Brancusis at home. These are my stone birds, picked on the beaches of Normandie and Dakar. That’s it. It’s very small. And now they’re migrating to Los Angeles to discover the Pacific Ocean, because I persuaded them to. Thanks to Naoki, the “big bird” who brought them to the Vanity. Is everything a question of timing and time? I really wonder what Asha thinks of all this now. _________________________ (1) French for “mutating still-life.”As told to Rosanna Puyol and Mona Varichon Mona: The Photop’s was invented by my father in 1991, in the hopes of reviving his framing business. It is a postcard-size paper frame, has a transparent front and one side left open to allow a picture to be slid in, and it closes with an adhesive flap. It works as an ornamental frame, a protective cover, and a mailable envelope, with a postcard template on the back. The concept never took off as my father had hoped, so my family and I were left with a lifelong supply of little paper frames. All of the photographs and scanned book pages shown in these Photop’s were produced in my Los Angeles backhouse studio in the spring and summer of 2019. Before moving back to France, I decided to scan the covers, dedications and inscriptions of my entire book collection. I made a selection of the scans and photographs in Paris this fall 2021, in response to my mother’s works for this exhibition. _________________________ Malak El Zanaty Varichon (born 1952 in Giza, Egypt) lives and works in Paris. Since 1990, she has been leading art workshops with the non-profit Art-Éveil in kindergarten and elementary schools in Paris and its surrounding areas, for adults, disabled or socially marginalized audiences, and at the Atelier des Enfants of the Centre Georges Pompidou. Over time and its detours, she has been developing her own artistic practice within the folds of her professional and family life. She recently had her first solo exhibition at Cocotte in Treignac, France. Mona Varichon (born 1989 in Paris, France) is an artist and translator based in Paris and New York. She runs the independent press Varichon & Cie, which will soon publish a French translation of Licorice Candies by Argentinian author Cecilia Pavón, and a French-English reissue of Reflections from a cinematic cesspool, the memoirs of American experimental filmmakers George and Mike Kuchar. Recent showings of her work include Les Chichas de la pensée in Pantin, France, Les Urbaines in Lausanne, Switzerland and the Capc musée d’art contemporain in Bordeaux, France.

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Larry Johnson & Asha Schechter at Jenny’s ................................................. November 9th, 2019 – January 4, 2020

In 2011 Asha Schechter started The Vanity, a gallery in the vanity closet of his Miracle Mile apartment. Early exhibitions included Ian Cheng, Olga Balema and Patricia Boyd. In 2013 he was invited to open a branch of the gallery inside of a 27 square foot closet inside of 356 Mission; exhibitions included Eric Palgon, Yuki Kimura, and Trevor Shimizu. In February of 2016, Larry Johnson and Asha Schechter began discussing an exhibition of Johnson’s work at The Vanity East. 356 Mission closed in March of 2018, and in December of that year Johnson proposed recreating The Vanity East inside of Jenny’s in Silverlake, nesting one small gallery inside of another. Jenny’s presents a two-person exhibition of Larry Johnson and Asha Schechter, including Johnson’s original show inside a replica of The Vanity East, and additional new works by both artists.

Larry Johnson (b. 1959, Long Beach, California) has worked for over four decades investigating the inherent contradictions between the glossy surfaces and underlying cynicism of American culture, specifically in relation to Los Angeles. His works reference the languages of animation, graphic and commercial design, and advertising. Johnson’s humorous and incisive commentaries on his own culture’s exported ideologies have made him one of the most influential artists of his generation. His work has been exhibited and is held in the permanent collections of several institutions, including the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and MAMCO, Geneva among others.

Asha Schechter (b. 1978, Portland, OR) lives and works in Los Angeles. Schechter's works are hyperreal digital 3D models of everyday objects, output as 2D prints on adhesive vinyl and installed directly on the wall. Recent solo exhibitions include Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago; and group exhibitions include the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles; Sweetwater, Berlin; Galerie Christine Mayer, Munich; and Octagon, Milan.

The Coded Languages of Artists Larry Johnson and Asha Schechter in Frieze

Larry Johnson & Asha Schechter in Flash Art

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Eric VVysokan: REBREATHER at The Vanity East ............................................................. November 13th, 2016-January 8th, 2017

Worldwide pasts follow the circulation of the energy cycle, released from shale reserves, exhaled into the global trade winds and return to ground by way of photosynthesis. Climate is a great atmospheric oil spill of chronic thermogenesis – episodic geology erupts into a super volcano of history’s ashes swirling through. Presently – vapes, iphones, facebook, space-x, mars, clintons, mesozoic, opec, pangaea, dapl, siri, kratom, amazon, darwin, solar-city, y-combinator, paleo, singularity university…, … – all ages are overhead. A contingency plan to sequester atmospheric histories: Creamright ultra-purewhip nitrous oxide and sparxx plasma converts to nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen dioxide with cowboy cap water vapor to nitric acid, nitric acid with silver tea service to silver nitrate, water with wood ash fertilizer to sodium hydroxide, silver nitrate with sodium hydroxide to silver oxide, silver-oxide with atmospheric carbon dioxide to silver-carbonate.

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Chris Domenick & Em Rooney: After The Sun at The Vanity East ............................................................. September 17th, 2016-October 30th, 2016

The days of carry-on. When people still flew, and traveled long distances on foot. When the atmosphere was prophylactic. Carted around were burial urns with their ritualistic herbs, the patterns of decorative Kaboodles, specialized art-crates with interlocking interiors and ergonomic handles, disposable USPS parcels, the size and scale of which were best suited for stacking and transportability.  Now, mutually reliant objects (goods, their containers) have become sisters in the landfill.  This closet is a morgue for a bygone, unruly dilemma: how to designate space, keep the moths out, and preserve these relics from detrimental oils. Like a baby’s bronzed bootie it will only seem old to those in the future, but never to the baby. After the river, the sun. After the sun, the seeds. Each object connected to the living memory of an ancestor; Louise Bourgeois, Dick Cheney, David Hammons, Margaret Thatcher, Genesis P-Orrdige, Terr, and Jorge Mario Bergoglio. The custom containers for these hats, once imbued with the status of disparate and marginalized labor, here compose a dysfunctional yet interdependent family, singing in an eternal choir. 

These hats will be displayed, one by one, on a daily rotation from Sept 17th-October 23rd, removed from their shelf and unveiled in unison with the appearance and disappearance of the sun, each day, in honor of our old familiar rituals.

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A Tribute to Bill Cunningham at The Vanity East ............................................................. July 24th, 2016-July 31st, 2016

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The Vanity Heights ............................................. January 31st, 2016

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Becket Flannery Seven-oh-six at The Vanity Bakersfield ………………………………………………………… October 10th, 2015-December 1st, 2015

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The Vanity East @ BA & D Anna Helm & Lisa Lapinski: DOG ETIKIT .............................................September 24, 2015 -November 14, 2015

http://ba-d.org/tve.html

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Masculini, Issue 0 What a Shape! at The Vanity East ………………………………………………………… July 19th, 2015-November 15th, 2015

Did you ever feel like your magazine should be looser? Masculini is a magazine so loose, it’s barely contained by the giant cannelloni noodle poking through its center (Pasta Pin™). The looseness of Masculini is evident in many senses: visually, thematically, chronologically and spiritually. Initiated in early 2013 by Nancy Lupo and Molly McFadden, Masculini Issue 0 is a set of content and random imagery collaged into the pages of twelve half-Vogue magazines from 1999. The logo, typesetting and covers are by Cassandra Cisneros. While leafing through Masculini, you may recognize such familiar faces as Stella Tennant, a young fresh Gisele Bündchen, those great girls from the late-90’s Prada ads, one of whom I’m pretty sure sat in the row behind me on a plane once (in coach!). She looked great. Masculini offers something special for nearly every reader, from an interview with Memphis designer Natalie du Pasquier to a provocative script by Nik Gelormino, a silver gelatin print by Em Rooney, as well as nearly invisible images from Christopher Page. There’s a plaid poster print by Cheryl Donegan, three tissue collages from Christian Holstad and two takes on defining Art’s Minimum/The Minimum Degree by Stacie Vos and Jeffrey Stuker. You’ll learn about the latest in office trends and how many circles there are in LA. If you hunt them all down, you could win a Masculini T-shirt! Leila Hekmat reports on the romantic chasm dividing New York and Berlin and Phyllis La Farge talks turkey about beauty. Some things that got cut out were a quiz (!) and a column called “Untenable.” Also, we forgot to ask Tony Conrad to write something, which was a mistake. Over the course of a month, one issue of Masculini will be viewable under a vitrine designed and built by Nik Gelormino. The magazine will be moved through slowly, at the rate of about 10 pages per day. For more rapid viewing, Masculini can also be found at masculini.us or by appointment in the collections of the Whitney Museum of Art and The Museum of Modern Art in New York. http://masculini.us/ thevanitygallery.tumblr.com

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BA & D @ at The Vanity East Sam Anderson: Grandfather Clock ………………………………………………………… January 30th, 2015-March 8th, 2015

The time of the Grandfather Clock is consistent and circular. Its chimes ring reliably every fifteen minutes, every hour. The ticking of the clock makes the passing of time graspable; its indestructible mechanic rhythm is comforting. You can finally sleep. Time flows vague and tangible, washing around the memory.

“And when the wolf was inside they saw it was the wolf, and they were terrified and tried to hide themselves. One ran under the table, the second got into the bed, the third into the oven, the fourth in the kitchen, the fifth in the cupboard, the sixth under the sink, the seventh in the clock-case. But the wolf found them all, and gave them short shrift; one after the other he swallowed down, all but the youngest, who was hid in the clock-case. And so the wolf, having got what he wanted, strolled forth into the green meadows, and laying himself down under a tree, he fell asleep.” (Brothers Grimm (1812-15): The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids)

12 The elevator is broken, you'll need to use the steps.

1 What memories cling around the instruments of our pleasure!

2 How excellent you must once have been to have left behind such fine remains.

3 Jesus: meet me behind the chapel at 3 o'clock. I will be burning, burning, burning, yeah! Burning, burning, burning money there.

4 If you want to teach kids to lie, read them Pinocchio.

5 Where people are promising a lot to you, remember: bring a small basket.

6 She who digs a trap for others ends up in the trap herself.

7 The early bird catches the worm, but the early worm is devoured by birds. You decide.

8 Big dog, big shit. Big dog, big shit. Big dog, big shit. Big dog, big shit.

9 There's no fire without smoke. There's no fire without smoke. There's no fire without smoke. There's no fire without smoke!

10 The dream has gone, but the baby is real.

11 I bothered to open up the book and it was the very definition of death.

Sound by Sam Anderson and Pete Cafarella

The Vanity presents "Grandfather Clock" by Sam Anderson, first shown at Between Arrival & Departure. 

http://www.ba-d.org/anderson.html

Jan 30th-March 8th, 2015 Reception Jan 30th 7pm-9pm

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STAPLES (and Doodles) at The Vanity Bakersfield ………………………………………………………… January 29th, 2015-March 7th, 2015

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Anna Helm & Lisa Lapinski: Uncle Xylophone at The Vanity East ………………………………………………………… November 23rd, 2014-January 18th, 2015

Uncle Xylophone at The Vanity East from Asha Schechter on Vimeo.

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Larry Sultan at The Vanity East .................................................................... October 25th, 2014-November 16th, 2014