JASON RHOADES INSTALLATION. Very bizarre but very cool.
Jason Rhoades Installation
Hauser & Wirth
901 East Third Street
Los Angeles, CA
OVERALL ★★★★
The Jason Rhoades Installation, located at Hauser & Wirth in DTLA, is a very strange, but very cool art exhibition. The exhibition is separated into multiple rooms, with three main rooms featuring a plethora of neon signs (and a lot of other random sh**). The exhibition will remain open until May 21, 2017 and is free! Perfect for cheapskates like ourselves. In addition, the surrounding neighborhood is a great area to further explore and spend some time. It's laid back and trendy, featuring a variety of food spots like The Pie Hole and Cafe Gratitude and is a short walk to the Little Tokyo Marketplace.
We had been dying to see this Jason Rhoades Exhibition and it definitely lived up to our expectations. I mean we always love a good trendy, neon sign... what LA girl doesn't? And on top of it, it was a perfect spot for two hungover girls to visit after a wild night - it's free, allowing you to recover from a night of heavy spending at the bar, requires no social interaction and is silent. LOL. Only dilemma is you have to weave between the artwork, so of course, Rachel was a little uneasy on her feet and managed to crash into one of the signs ... right in front of the security guard. Smooth move, Rach.
Room 1 (The Black Pussy… and the Pagan Idol Workshop (2005))
Yes that’s the actual name of the exhibition in room 1. It’s actually bizarre and amazing at the same time. I mean our reaction was "how bizarre is this?" and "why is there a bunch of crap on fur rugs under the neon signs?" Literally, you don’t know what half of the stuff is under the rugs….we did however recognize the rubber men’s testicles hanging off the one neon light (sorry – had to let you know what we meant by bizarre). I mean most of the signs have random words written on them - like Mickey Mouse, Wonder Bread, House Under the Hill, Birdy, Dingle, and Bread. I think you get the point, it's random. But hey, that's abstract art for ya and it definitely keeps you engaged!
Room 2 (The Black Pussy… and the Pagan Idol Workshop (2005))
This room actually is a little less bizarre if you can believe it. It’s pretty much meant to look like the artist is currently working on various projects. The neon signs are much more muted in this room and thrown in to the overall aesthetic as you navigate through the maze of extension cords and pottery.
Room 3 ( My Madinah. In pursuit of my ermitage… (2004)) This was our favorite room and also a well-known favorite for LA girls to post to their Instagram. The concept is well, let’s just say bizarre again as a variety of neon signs with slang terms for women’s genitalia cover the entire ceiling. Yes, that’s right. So if your easily offended we're going to be honest do not go here. Another thing, we're sorry but we don't find it appropriate to take pictures with your children under signs that are slang terms for women’s genitalia. I mean come on. We don’t even have kids and still know this is freaking weird.
Overall, the Jason Rhoades Exhibition was very, very strange but very cool and definitely worth checking out. We have never seen anything like this and really enjoyed the overall aesthetic of each room. This exhibition is non-engaging and takes only about 20 minutes to view. But, if you're in the mood to mosey around, look at some cool art and then maybe grab a bite to eat in the area, this is definitely a place to check out. Also, we love that this exhibition is free and always a great Instagram photo.
