WHAT: Os Gemeos’s “Miss You”
WHEN: February 25-March 24, Tuesday-Saturday, 11:00 a.m-6:00 p.m.
WHERE: Prism Gallery, 8746 West Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, California
WHY THIS SHOW MATTERS: A gargantuan, grinning, yellow face has appeared atop the roof of Prism Gallery on West Sunset Boulevard, as if the giant is watching over the street. The Brazilian twins who are Os Gemeos (Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo) return after four years with a major exhibition at the L.A. street punk-friendly gallery. The space is just coming off a major success with its retrospective of the arty band of Ann Arbor miscreants Destroy All Monsters, featuring the work of the late Mike Kelley. Os Gemeos fills the void with new dream-like paintings, glowing sculptures growing like dewdrop shaped stalagmites from the painted floor, and a fully immersive installation that allows viewers to try on one of their yellow-beings' heads for size.
Their work is part of a larger mission to build alternate worlds – tinged in yellow and populated by equally aurulent people – on the sides of abandoned buildings. The 2005 exhibition at the now defunct but not forgotten Deitch Projects won them praise and caught the attention of the international art community. They were also participants in the recent blockbuster show for L.A.’s MOCA, “The Art in the Street.” The duo works exclusively as a unit – verifying the notion that a special bond exists between twins – and their inspiration comes from shared dreams. Reflecting appropriately the vibrant colors of Brazil’s favelas, their surreal plays on perspective and cultural influences – from indigenous styles to graffiti hues – will travel from Prism to the ICA Boston this summer.
“Miss You” embodies their “interest in life’s natural magic, its dreams, sentiments, surrealism, realizations, relationships, love, hate and ultimately underlines their intrinsic curiosity to question everything around them,” says Prism in the release for the show. That’s a lot to cover – no matter how big the walls, floors, or roof!