“HOOKERS” Curated by Natalia Fabia

“HOOKERS”
A Group Exhibition Curated by Natalia Fabia

Opening Reception Saturday, March 31, 2012 from 7‑10pm
On View March 31 – April 10, 2012

Corey Helford Gallery                 
8522 Washington Boulevard            
Culver City, CA  90232                
T: 310-287-2340            
www.coreyhelfordgallery.com
 
On Saturday, March 31, Corey Helford Gallery is pleased to present “Hookers,” a group exhibition curated by Los Angeles artist Natalia Fabia.
 
Celebrating strong, talented, tough, colorful, independent, and stylish women (and men), the term “Hooker” serves as Fabia’s signature concept and lifelong fascination. “Hooker is a very positive moniker to me,” Fabia notes. “Although I have strayed away from the specific word during the last few years, I think it is perfect to return to for my first time curating a show. I have always loved the denomination —it is straightforward yet surprising.”
 
Fabia’s curatorial debut will feature 22 artists’ interpretation of the term “Hooker.” Focusing on figurative painting, the exhibition highlights a wide range of accomplished artists whom Fabia admires, many of which she went to college with or studied under at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
 
The exhibition features new works by:
John Paul Altamira
Frank Carter
Sean Cheetham
Natalia Fabia
Albert Fabia
Korin Faught
Phil Hale
F. Scott Hess
Michael Hussar
Benjamin Bryce Kelley
Maria Kreyn
Jeremy Lipking
Ann Marshall
Jeff McMillan
Tara McPherson
Jeff Nentrup
Chris Pugliese
Revok
Erik Mark Sandberg
Alex Schafer
Frank Stockton
Marc Trujillo
Kent Williams
Stephen Wright
 
With a talent for infusing her projects with the unexpected, Fabia also chose a touch of abstract and graffiti art to feature alongside the more traditional figurative works. “Though you may think graffiti and abstract don’t comply with figurative painting, I feel they do. There are many parallels in the line work, color and thought in both the graffiti and figurative paintings. They will be a great compliment to each other,” Fabia adds.
 
The opening reception for the “Hookers” takes place Saturday, March 31 at Corey Helford Gallery. The reception is open to the public, and the exhibition will be on view through April 10, 2012. The event will be preceded by Natalia Fabia’s “Miss Hooker Beauty Pageant 2012” presented by Corey Helford Gallery, opening Friday, March 30 at Dragonfly Bar in Hollywood.

Natalia Fabia
Natalia Fabia’s paintings are the signature of LA’s “new progressive” women of the 21st century.  Like the independent working class of women who emerged from the Industrial Revolution or the liberated “Flappers” of the 1920’s, Natalia’s women are unabashed, aggressive and confident as she documents their influence on the lifestyle of an enrapt world. Irreverently calling them “hookers” – she uses the term like men use “dude” -  she is fueled and fascinated by their color, their sparkles, their sultriness and their strength.
 
Natalia Fabia is of Polish descent and was raised in Southern California where she graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. A traditional, classically-trained oil painter, Fabia is inspired by artists Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and John Singer Sargent, ornate interiors, wild animals, voyeurism, and punk rock. In 2008, Fabia produced the first known Miss Hooker Beauty Pageant and her jewelry line Hookerfeathers adorns celebrities and fans alike. Her work has also been featured in numerous galleries and museums worldwide. She has been featured in LA Weekly’s 2010 People Issue, Art Ltd., Angeleno, Juxtapoz, Inked and New York Arts magazine as well as appeared on Miami Ink, KNBC News, Fox 11 News, and was interviewed by Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols on Los Angeles’ Indie 103.1. For more information about the artist, please visit www.nataliafabia.com.
 
Corey Helford Gallery
Located in the Culver City Art District, Corey Helford Gallery was established in 2006 by Jan Corey Helford and her husband, television producer and creator, Bruce Helford (Anger Management, The Drew Carey Show, George Lopez, The Oblongs). Corey Helford Gallery represents a diverse collection of Contemporary artists influenced by today’s pop culture, encompassing the genres of New Figurative, Pop Surreal, Graffiti and Street Art. Artists include Josh Agle (Shag), Ray Caesar, D*Face, Chloe Early, EINE, Ron English, Natalia Fabia, HUSH, Kukula, Lola, The London Police, Sylvia Ji, Eric Joyner, Michael Mararian, Brandi Milne, Buff Monster, Risk, Amy Sol, TrustoCorp, Martin Wittfooth, and Nick Walker. Renowned for its notable exhibitions, the gallery has presented “Charity By Numbers,” which was co-curated by Gary Baseman and featured an unprecedented lineup of artists including Mark Ryden, Marion Peck, Shepard Fairey, Todd and Kathy Schorr, Camille Rose Garcia, and Michael Hussar, as well as “La Noche de la Fusion,” an epic Carnivalesque festival and solo exhibition for Pervasive artist Gary Baseman. In 2010, Corey Helford Gallery partnered with Bristol’s City Museum & Art Gallery for the transatlantic collaboration “Art From The New World,” a world-class United Kingdom museum exhibition showcasing work by a formidable group of 49 of the finest emerging and noted American artists. Corey Helford Gallery presents new exhibitions approximately every four weeks. For more information and an upcoming exhibition schedule, please visit coreyhelfordgallery.com.