A Cry for Help

Beggar
Joao Ruas

Starting January 8, Thinkspace in Los Angeles is hosting a group exhibition to benefit wildlife conservation efforts:

Though we live in the city, animals exist all around us - they sleep in our beds, creep past our windows at night and visit us in our dreams. Symbolizing all that is free, unspoiled and elemental in the world, they also comfort us with guileless affection, amuse us with their playful abandon, and represent us metaphorically in a million works of art and literature. In every niche of the new contemporary scene, artists have employed animals to envisage concepts ranging from the wonder of childhood to the death of nature, while exploiting an ever-widening array of aesthetics, from surreal naturalism to street fables, apocalyptic visions to modern mythology, uncanny allegories to sylvan dreamscapes.

In celebration of the magnificent creatures with whom we share the planet, Thinkspace will donate 20% of the sale price of each piece of art to Born Free USA and the Animal Protection Institute, which operate jointly as a non-profit organization that advocates worldwide for the ethical treatment and protection of animals, and also maintains a large sanctuary for rescued primates. Throughout the month, the gallery will host pet adoptions, slide shows, lectures and more. The world can indeed be changed through random individual acts of kindness, so please don't miss this opportunity to kick off the New Year with a good deed, as well as a great piece of art.

Untitled
Moki

Study for 'He Still Breathe Through Everything I See'
Edwin Ushiro

The show features a number of new artists I've never heard of, and appears well worth checking out. The opening reception is this Friday, January 8th, 7-11PM. If you won't be in LA, you can view more of the art on flickr or at Thinkspace.