Rebels Without a Gallery: L.A.’s New Artist-Hosted Shows

The Saturday night crowd is having a religious experience in a former liturgical center adjacent to St. Vibiana’s Cathedral, but not in the traditional sense. Tonight’s downtown congregants are contemplating paintings and sculptures, dancing to electronica and drinking a potent punch dubbed “Jungle Juice.” “Whoa!” says a pink-haired guest emerging from a sound installation that’s playing in a onetime confessional.

The occasion is the one-year anniversary show of Cannibal Flower, a monthly event aimed at garnering exposure and sales for artists not associated with established galleries. “I show every artist who approaches me,” says 36-year-old curator Leonard Croskey, a collage artist who named the show for work that’s “beautiful with bite.” The late-August bash may not have sold many pieces for the nearly 70 artists on view, but it drew several hundred paying guests--marking a trend in which enterprising rebels bypass galleries (and gallery-size middleman fees) to sell at single-night parties. Other events include Burning Brush (which specializes in work by illustrators and animators), One Night Stand (at a Fairfax District motel) and Zone 9 (held in the loft of a downtown artist).

As with other do-it-yourself shows, Cannibal Flower celebrates the renegade spirit. Works shown have ranged from pieces by lowbrow icons Mark Mothersbaugh and Anthony Ausgang to political statements from Joey Krebs, whose graffiti has appeared on a Rage Against the Machine CD cover. Most pieces mine the sex-drugs-rock-’n’-roll territory celebrated in the underground art magazine Juxtapoz; when items sell (at prices often below gallery levels), Cannibal Flower takes a spartan 15% commission for promotion costs.

Though outlaw Picassos may gain a moment in the spotlight at upstart shows, they risk denting their careers in the process. “It can get them branded,” says Billy Shire, owner of La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Feliz. “A gallery might be gunshy about taking on an artist whose following is used to such low prices.” Tell that to Spencer Davis, 28, Cannibal Flower’s featured artist for August, who showed his “Life Size Booty” sculpture and “Miami Mama” painting in the chapel. “Cannibal Flower may not get me a bigger show, but it gets me shown to these people here. And this is a pretty cool crowd.”