[Eddy Atlantis]

Hey All,

I have had the pleasure of being involved in putting together Angel 'LAII' Ortiz' new UK show with D'Stassi Art in Shoreditch, London. This will be a huge collaborative exhibition with joint works from Angel and STIK, Shepard Fairey, Hambleton, Mr Doodle and Mark Kostabi.

I'd love to see some of you there please RSVP here. If you are able to make it (Feel free to put me as your point of contact as it would be great to try and meet you in person.)

"NEW EXHIBITION: We are thrilled to be able to invite @la2art back to the UK for a truly ground-breaking and incredibly important exhibition; ‘THE GREAT COLLABORATOR”.

Over the years Angel has acted as an influence/inspiration to many and has been a brilliantly successful and sought-after collaborator by his peers. We are proud to have played a part in putting together, for the first time in history, original never seen before collaboration works from other Legends like @obeygiant stik @mrdoodle Richard Hambleton + mark _kostabi

D'Stassi Art

12/18 Hoxton St

N1 6NG

London


7 pm Open.


10th May 2024.




All the best,

Eddy

[Wearology]

It is the 1st time that LA2 x Shepard "OBEY"Fairey have collaborated together and the original works look incredible !
I am so psyched that fans in the UK can see original works of art by LA2 x Richard "Shadowman" Hambleton,
LA2 x STIK, LA2 X Mr Doodle & LA2 x Mark Kostabi all in one setting.
For those forum members that have heard the name Angel "LA2" Ortiz, but don't truly understand his place in Urban Art history - there will be a movie coming out this fall that documents in detail his legendary career from the age of 12 painting with Keith Haring in 1980 to present day collaborations with OBEY.
If you like to visit museums you can always see his art in the Louvre (UAE), The Whitney (NYC), MOCA (LA) & MOMA (NYC).

[drbf]

Thought the UK members would like to see one of my LAll "London" pieces.

[Wearology]

The show at D'stassi will feature unique paintings by LA2 that showcase his iconic imagery from
1980 - 2024. One of my favorite pieces is a portrait of his best friend and collaborator Keith Haring.
The masterpiece has a lot of historical symbolism in it - the main colors of orange and black are the official colors of Keith's & LA2's original Graffiti Crew (TNS) - The Non Stoppers. The wings & halo signify that Keith is in Heaven.

[Wanchope]

Love that piece!! It should be a cracker of a show!

[Wearology]

The OBEY X LA2 collaborations came out amazing !!!!
Here is just a teaser of some of the originals on paper that
Shepard "OBEY" Fairey X Angel "LA2" Ortiz created together.
D'Stassi Gallery will have many more original works available at the Opening on May 10th.














empty smileys

[Wearology]

D'Stassi will respond to all forum members that RSVP'd for the show.
LA2 will be at the opening and so will additional American & British artists
that collaborated with LA2 throughout the years. It is going to be an epic event.
The RSVP's have been overwhelming, so please bear with us as we respond to everyone.
Thanks - Wear

[redefine]

Any prints available on the night?

[Wearology]

Rumors of a print are definitely out there - but I am not at liberty to comment at this time:
I can confirm that there will be over 20 original collabo's and solo paintings by LA2 on display at the show:
Richard "Shadowman" Hambleton X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
Shepard"Obey" Fairey" X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
Mr Doodle X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
STIK X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
Mark Kostabi X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
There will be original solo works by Angel "LA2" Ortiz as well.
It is going to be an epic show - it is the first time ever that Obey X LA2 have publicly displayed their collaborations for everyone to enjoy.

[Peter Bengtsen]

Apr 19, 2024 14:37:56 GMT 1 Wearology said:

Rumors of a print are definitely out there - but I am not at liberty to comment at this time:
I can confirm that there will be over 20 original collabo's and solo paintings by LA2 on display at the show:
Richard "Shadowman" Hambleton X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
Shepard"Obey" Fairey" X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
Mr Doodle X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
STIK X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
Mark Kostabi X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
There will be original solo works by Angel "LA2" Ortiz as well.
It is going to be an epic show - it is the first time ever that Obey X LA2 have publicly displayed their collaborations for everyone to enjoy.

Can some kind soul please remind me what tag/pseudonym Angel Ortiz uses?

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[redefine]

LA2

[met]

Apr 19, 2024 15:24:02 GMT 1 Peter Bengtsen said:

Apr 19, 2024 14:37:56 GMT 1 Wearology said:

Rumors of a print are definitely out there - but I am not at liberty to comment at this time:
I can confirm that there will be over 20 original collabo's and solo paintings by LA2 on display at the show:
Richard "Shadowman" Hambleton X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
Shepard"Obey" Fairey" X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
Mr Doodle X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
STIK X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
Mark Kostabi X Angel "LA2" Ortiz
There will be original solo works by Angel "LA2" Ortiz as well.
It is going to be an epic show - it is the first time ever that Obey X LA2 have publicly displayed their collaborations for everyone to enjoy.

Can some kind soul please remind me what tag/pseudonym Angel Ortiz uses?

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streetartworld.bigcartel.com
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Sorry, can't remember the tag used by Ortiz.

However, one of his aliases seems to be, "Lacks genuine talent and his recent paintings are terrible but, if we emphasise those Haring collaborations he did as a teenager in the eighties, people will still buy the crap, right?"

Or something to that effect.

[Matt]

Mr Doodle X LA2 ??

death by squiggly lines

Toast sandwich comes to mind

[Wearology]

I really like met contribution to the forum the past 15 years and find their comments insightful and well articulated. I will respectfully disagree with their public opinion that LA2 lacks talent and that his recent paintings are not well executed. I hope met and other critics of LA2 can check out the show at D'Stassi in person and see with their own eyes that LA2 definitely has talent and that his recent works are actually just as good and or better that his older ones.
Have a great weekend - Wear

[mik]

Hi there, just to see if there is any interest in previous collabo works of LA II. I have a few LA II + Paul Kostabi prints I would part with. I'd take some pictures over the weekend and put them in a seperate sales thread.

[jjpopup]

It’s gonna be epic, we’re defo there 🔥

[Wanchope]

For what it's worth I have just bought a second canvas to hang up and very excited to receive it! I'm trying everything possible to make it up there for the night and am sure it will be a good one!

[Wearology]

A Very Informative Article About LA2 & His Upcoming Show In The UK on May 10th !
culturalee.art/angel-la-ii-ortiz-the-great-collaborator-at-dstassi/

[pjc]

Apr 19, 2024 15:44:40 GMT 1 redefine said:

LA2

also LAROC 

[John The Badgers]

Can I add, D'Stassi Gallery a great venue/location.

Fortunate to go to the exhibition put on last time LA2 visited. I'm not from that there London, and had a great time to say the least.

As someone more used to leaning on a farm gate with a straw in their mouth, a very cool place to say the least.

Really hospitable, and although not overly familiar with his work, really enjoyed seeing all the pieces on display - great work.

[Eddy Atlantis]

Hi All,

Here is a short promo video for the Angel show coming up.



If you want to RSVP, please do so here: Bit.ly/Dstassi (Feel free to put me as a gallery point of contact)

See some of you soon!

E

[sevrin]

Apr 25, 2024 16:20:30 GMT 1 Eddy Atlantis said:

Hi All,

Here is a short promo video for the Angel show coming up.



If you want to RSVP, please do so here: Bit.ly/Dstassi (Feel free to put me as a gallery point of contact)

See some of you soon!

E

Awesome job Eddy, can't wait for this, see you there!! 

[met]

Apr 20, 2024 16:18:07 GMT 1 Wearology said:

I really like met contribution to the forum the past 15 years and find their comments insightful and well articulated. I will respectfully disagree with their public opinion that LA2 lacks talent and that his recent paintings are not well executed. I hope met and other critics of LA2 can check out the show at D'Stassi in person and see with their own eyes that LA2 definitely has talent and that his recent works are actually just as good and or better that his older ones.
Have a great weekend - Wear

Along with the well‑crafted piss-taking and witty one‑liners, it is the calm and considered exchanges of opposing viewpoints that I find most engaging on this forum.

Disagreements are good. They challenge us. Provided we avoid becoming defensive or hysterical, and are willing to listen to alternative perspectives, disagreements can push us to rethink our own positions — sometimes helping to nuance them, or change them altogether.



Pride is often a stumbling block to this kind of open‑mindedness, especially when we conflate our opinions with our own identities. Or if we see changing our minds as being a sign of weakness.

Related cognitive biases and fallacies also enter the equation, like consistency bias and escalation of commitment (similar to the sunk‑cost fallacy). They derive from our tenacious need to remain consistent with our previous actions, decisions and expressed viewpoints. This, sometimes despite new, contradicting information we might be presented with.

I am conscious and wary of the above risks. When taking any stance, my approach is to embrace what Julia Galef* refers to as the scout mindset, as opposed to the soldier mindset. And being a fallible human, I try to remain open to the possibility of more persuasive, competing evidence later coming my way.


__________


Regarding Angel Ortiz / LA II, I am familiar enough with his work and background to consider myself reasonably informed. Otherwise, I'd hesitate about commenting without qualifying my thoughts accordingly.

The view I've taken on the calibre of Ortiz as an artist is mostly based on paintings he has exhibited over the past decade.



Excluded from this assessment are a number of side issues that are distinct from the art. For example:


(i)  Ortiz perhaps being a very nice chap, one for whom most of us would wish the best;

(ii)  the wistful or nostalgic narrative appeal of the artist's history, given his part in what is often deemed a golden age in graffiti;

(iii)  market considerations, like whatever demand might exist for the artist's work, or the prices at which his paintings are currently selling;

(iv)  Ortiz's status as an artist, especially due to his ties with Keith Haring, i.e. often more of a reflected fame by association, than a standalone fame from individual achievement; or

(v)  the fact that, 40 years ago, Ortiz hung out and worked with a handful of now‑dead, art superstars — art superstars whose own original pieces will forever be out of reach to most collectors.



My focus has thus been on the actual paintings created by Ortiz. The artwork itself.

And what I see is that, despite his decades of experience, LA II lacks a good eye for composition, and is wanting in technical skill.

More damningly, his ideas are banal. It feels to me like a case of arrested development: A middle‑aged man stuck in his teens, having (from what I can tell) not really moved forward as an artist or done anything truly innovative since the 1980s.

Some of his recent paintings even have pastiche elements of Haring iconography, like the serpents and the Three Eyed Monster, suggesting this is an artist who still needs a crutch. And who is looking backwards instead of forwards.



CONCLUSION


LA II is okay when playing second fiddle.

But as a solo artist, his work just isn't strong enough, either technically or conceptually, to merit more than a passing glance.

The dearth of serious institutional interest in LA II therefore doesn't come as a surprise to me. It seems not so much that his post-Haring-collaboration paintings have been overlooked, but more a case of the work having been considered, and then largely dismissed.



____________________


Although our views differ on the talent level of LA II, that isn't a big deal.

Either way, there will still be common ground between us. I suspect where we are in agreement is that, more broadly and as a rule of thumb, collectors are best advised to "Buy with your eyes, not with your ears."



Keeping in mind this maxim lowers our likelihood of:


(a)  being unduly swayed by people with vested interests;

(b)  attributing excessive weight to articles that read like gallery press releases (cut-and-pasted or paraphrased by hack journalists);

(c)  caving in to the fear of missing out, or to a false sense of urgency often cultivated by unscrupulous sellers; or

(d)  being sheep‑like in our buying behaviour ("I want what they want!").


__________


In a couple of past posts**, I've mentioned some of the basic questions collectors should ask themselves when considering art, and especially when weighing up a possible purchase:


(i)  Why exactly do I like this piece?

Or, if the reasons are different, Why do I want to own this piece?

(ii)  What are the artwork's strengths, and what are its weaknesses?

(iii)  Is the art / artist actually any good?

(iv)  Am I perhaps buying with my ears rather than my eyes, and therefore behaving like a lemming? To what extent is my desire to acquire this piece being influenced by what other people are buying, or appearing to buy?



The art world rarely inflicts harm upon us when we pause for a moment. When we take a bit of time out. To use our eyes. To actually think.

Is [x] painting, print or poster really so compelling — inspired and inspiring (as opposed to, say, clichéd or inane), or at least interesting enough to retain our attention for a few years to come?

If not, then query the instinct to automatically click the BUY button, like some puppet or a dog conditioned by Pavlov.

In such cases, life might be more productive, even more fulfilling, if we resist temptation and instead just carry on with our Swedish Death Cleaning.

[atomone]

Looking forward to this show! 🙌

[met]

Apr 27, 2024 23:46:09 GMT 1 atomone said:

Looking forward to this show! 🙌

To whet your appetite, below are some recent snapshots of paintings by LA II.



The show organisers and curator did a good job, given what they had to work with. Together, they made a real effort.

Didn't take any context photos, sadly, but I do remember the overall display was well executed:

Paintings were hung onto different surface types (including plasterboard and wood veneer panels) for contrasting background tones/textures. No hanging rails, which is always a pleasure to experience. And not a hanging wire in sight.

[alberti]

Man, these curator insights are overboring, what a joke!
-------"This is one of my favourite curator insights"

[Reader]

haha, brilliant insights. Although I wish Angel all the best, and respect that he's still producing work in a manner of sorts, these attempts to establish a significant art narrative for his work between the 80's and 2020's is sadly irrelevant outside of the USA. Maybe attaching his name to further "collab" partners can lift his profile further, but it does nothing to "lift" his art.

[Wanchope]

I for one love these colourful pieces and glad he isn’t over run by prints upon prints. I have my 2nd canvas being delivered tomorrow and cannot wait. Each to their own, but never know why some comments have to be so derogatory. I like met’s posts because there is an honest and articulate thought process behind his criticisms.

[timmyup]

This is cool but those prices 🤒

[Wearology]

Please find attached large works by Angel "LA2" Ortiz created between between 2020 - 2024 that demonstrate the evolution of the artist technically. Many of the works shown on this thread are small paintings created many years ago and admittedly not his best compositions.