Art to Dye For

At a hair salon in Woodland Hills, artistic expression is reflected not only in the cuts, perms and dye jobs that adorn customers’ tresses, it’s also hanging on the walls.

Barbara Jones and Carlos de la Vega, co-owners of Bigoudi International Salon on Ventura Boulevard, have been hanging original works by painters and photographers inside their chic, spacious shop since they opened it five years ago.

“Sometimes the responses we’ve had to the art gallery have been really strong,” said De la Vega, 43, of Echo Park. “They involved tears and losing customers in the salon, especially when we first opened. But now we are more established. Whether you like it or don’t like it, we’ve been here five years, and this is our way.”

Jones, 35, who lives in Simi Valley, said the salon exposes people to art who might not normally visit a gallery. “We did some pretty challenging pieces at first,” Jones said. “Some people loved it, some people hated it.”

Currently on display is a 10-piece exhibition titled “Imposter” by Silver Lake pop artist Fiora. The graduate of Otis College of Art and Design in L.A. recently had a one-woman show at the hip, prestigious Kantor Gallery in West Hollywood. But she likes the idea of a more accessible setting.

“Hundreds of people walk in and out of here not expecting or even wanting to see art necessarily,” Fiora said recently. “I think it’s important to bring art to them. Some people are definitely intimidated walking into a gallery, and I’m interested in doing fine art that can appeal to different people in different places.”

Her works are explosions of intense, candy-colored imagery that seduce the eye with their investigations of celebrity and Americana. Fiora’s large, digital, laminated prints are reminiscent of Warhol. She alters her photos of media icons with punched-up computer graphics. The results are original and mesmerizing.

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Among the celebrities Fiora appropriates for her work is David Bowie, shown grasping a microphone, his silhouette mirrored on backgrounds of pink, blue and green. There’s also Flea, the bassist from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose mug is replicated 36 times in a multicolored mock contact sheet. And the head of ‘60s counterculture guru Timothy Leary floats in the neon colors of a giant lava lamp.

“The celebrity becomes almost secondary in these pieces,” said Fiora, 28, formerly of Woodland Hills. “When you look at a billboard and you see something really seamless and glamorous, you don’t see the trickiness behind it. I take the image and push it to the limit so the viewers know they’re being tricked.”

Bigoudi profits from the attention the artists draw and from the cosmopolitan atmosphere their art helps create. The salon employs a curator, but De la Vega and Jones do not take a percentage of proceeds from sales. The standard gallery fee is 50% to 60%.

Christopher Ruttman, 28, a stylist from North Hollywood who works at the salon, gave Fiora’s creations a thumbs up. “I love it,” he said. “It really brightens up the salon and brings it an artistic feeling that I enjoy.” An added bonus, he said: The art helps him be creative when working on a client’s hair.

“I’m kind of into French Impressionism, so maybe it’s not fair for me to comment,” said Barbara Kramer, 64, a Bigoudi patron from Sherman Oaks. “I like the ‘Timothy Leary Lava Lamp,’ though.”

BE THERE

“Fiora: Imposter,” continues indefinitely at Bigoudi International Salon, 21720 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills. Call (818) 887-3627.