Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Derrick.
Lisa, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I am known as a curator, which is a form of art, but not one as complex as the arts which I present. I opened my own gallery in January of 2019 after independently curating for five years. I came into curating through a not “normal” way. Most curators have like degrees and stuff. Most of them have studied art history. I just really like art. I like understanding the reasons the Dutch painted still lifes and vanitas, why a certain color is used, the socio-political and cultural forces at play in works of art, the encoding of information. The first book about I ever read was when I was nine, a biography of a Spanish painter Juan de Pareja, the enslaved artist assistant to Velasquez at the court of King Philip Iv of Spain. From there, I branched out to browsing huge coffee table art books and reading the didactics. Luckily, I had been given mythology and fairy tale books as a young child and read them to myself, so between the text and my previous readings, I was able to parse my way through the National Gallery and Louvre. We had family friends who were artists and collectors, and my aunt and uncle collected antiques. As I got older, having dropped out of two very good universities and community college, I had numerous friends in LA who were artists. I wrote and worked in the music and film industries, then was able to write full time only, co-creating two national magazines, freelancing and then covering pop culture and art for several websites, including Cartwheel Art, which led me to taking Curators College from Mat Gleason. I co-curated a show with artist Wini Brewer, then pitched Mat on “Two John & a Whore” featuring John Fleck, John Roecker, Rafael Reyes, and thirteen other artists. Through that show and an article I wrote about the Muzeo, the city museum in Anaheim losing a show over perceived Chicano gang reference, I ended up as a producer on the award-winning documentary “Dark Progressivism,” which developed into exhibitions at the LA Art Show, Ink & Iron, and MOAH Lancaster. I produced a night at Cloak & Dagger which included a screening of the film “Sculpt” which had shown at LACMA, plus performance based on the film. In mid-December of 2018, had just finished putting on a dream show, a runway fashion show with artists walking the runway as their work hung on the walls. (There is a very complicated explanation for why and how of that show that has a whole bunch of academic, occult, and pop culture references, and if you want to delve into it, pop into the gallery for a bottle of sparkling water). Mat Gleason and I were chatting about a show I wanted to do at Coagula, and he mentioned that one of the galleries on Chung King Road was available. So um… I went for it. How could I not? There was art I desired to see hanging, artists I would like more people to know about, artists whose careers I would like to see expand, and just as importantly, people who are willing to fall in love, if not lust, with a piece of art.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
As a curator and gallerist, I create art shows. It’s awesome. I show art I like by people I like and sell it to people I like. Some exhibitions are solo shows; some are group shows. As my interests fall in the realm of Western mysticism, the occult, folklore, and personal liberation/illumination, there is always that undercurrent, though it may not be super obvious because “occult” means hidden. Some shows, it’s pretty clear, like , “Goddesses & Gods” which ran through July 20 at both Lisa Derrick Fine Arts and Coagula Curatorial, and my October show “Ex voto: Santisima,” which is is a devotional tribute to the often misunderstood and much-beloved Mexican goddess/saint, Santa Muerte.
Other shows have a more pointed cultural message. “Thank You Enjoy,” created by Katie Salisbury is a study of the Chinese restaurant industry. Salisbury is a fourth-generation Chinese American from Los Angeles whose great-grandfather owned a Chinese restaurant across from Union Station. “Thank You Enjoy” which opens July 27, looks at the immigrants behind America’s love affair with Chinese food, the restrictive immigration laws which gave rise to the Chinese restaurant industry, and the people working in it today, from chefs and delivery people to community organizers. This programming makes sense to me: I am a native Angeleno who was eating Chinese food and visiting Chinatown as soon as I was old enough walk; I believe art can provide insight into social and political conditions as well as the human condition. Immigration and immigrants rights are an ongoing issue we face as a nation and as a city.
“Bryanfest” which has an opening reception September 14 is a benefit for Bryan Chagolla, who handles the art for several galleries on Chung King Road and was diagnosed with Stage 4 stomach cancer a week before his second daughter was born. We have a range of artists who know Bryan and artists whose work he has handled, so expect some surprises and big names
While it is not conscious, I show what media and academia terms “under-represented artists,” which means LGBTQ, African-American, Asian, Latina/o, Native, “other” and women in a much higher percentage than I show straight cis white dudes. I also mix it up in terms of artists, from the known “whoa” to the unknown “wow.”
Galleries provide a neutral space with natural conversation openers, so openings are an opportunity meet artist/s of course, but also for people to run into old friends, see familiar faces, and encounter new people in an environment that allows for natural conversation. Also, and this may sound blasphemous or shallow in an art publication, but I love throwing parties, and openings are just that, with the art as the guest of honor–a guest who gets to go home with a lucky someone!
In your view, what is the biggest issue artists have to deal with?
The external challenge which I hear spoken of most frequently by artists is wanting to have their work seen and then ideally to sell it. I try to assist with that.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Lisa Derrick Fine Arts has regular gallery hours Thursday through Saturday, 1 pm to 6 pm. My gallery Facebook and Instagram pages are a great place to sign up/like and see what I have coming up. Along with exhibitions and openings, I do additional programming as well. This month for Goddesses & Gods, two different live performances; Marty Goldstandard & the Gold Standard on July 13, very glam glitter cabaret rock. Gillian Cameron is here July 20 at 7 pm doing “Mythcongeniality,” an evening of ballads and tales about the gods and goddesses, witty, clever and kids welcome.
Visiting galleries is the best way to support artists and galleries –aside from buying art, which I heartily endorse! Come visit Chinatown where along with delicious restaurants and historic sights, eight galleries await your eyes, the majority located on Chung King Road.
Contact Info:
- Website: lisaderrick.com
- Phone: 424-835-2793
- Email: lisaderrickfinearts@gmail.com
- Instagram: @lisaderrickfinearts
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisaderrickfinearts/
Image Credit:
Photos of art: “Rootwork,” Gary Wong; “Demeter,” Regina Argentin; “Santa Muerte,” Sandra Equihua
All other images: Nick S. Bianco, Good Grief Media
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition, please let us know here.
