HAPPENING

Reform Gallery to display work by J.B. Blunk

The new location on La Brea Avenue will showcase rare pieces by the late sculptor, who specialized in monumental redwood forms.

Reform Gallery owner Gerard O'Brien will celebrate the legacy of the late Marin County sculptor J.B. Blunk (Courtesy of Reform)

March 14, 2009

In his new location on La Brea Avenue, Reform Gallery owner Gerard O'Brien will celebrate the legacy of the late Marin County sculptor J.B. Blunk. "He took the philosophy of Japanese pottery -- working with materials that are around you -- and applied it to woodworking, creating art from the nature that surrounded him," says O'Brien, a longtime champion of 1960s and '70s studio crafts. "He was green before it was a slogan." O'Brien's store will showcase rare pieces by Blunk, known for monumental chain saw-cut redwood forms like the one shown here. The display will be part of a show running through April 18 featuring California artists who recently lived and worked in Blunk's 1959 home and studio in Inverness, Calif. The show opens with a reception at 6 p.m. Thursday, and sales will benefit the J.B. Blunk Residency program, jbblunkresidency.org. 601 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 938-1515; www.reform-modern.com.

-- David A. Keeps