art gallery
Junior High hosts open gallery hours daily from 11am—5pm. No appointment/ticket needed. Exhibitions are always free to attend, but donations are strongly encouraged!
Current Exhibition
APRIL 5 — APRIL 28, 2024 | Join us for Nina Forman’s solo exhibition, Keepshapes. As well as being a familiar face in local band Morning Forever, Nina is a local oil, acrylic, and found object abstract painter based in the San Fernando Valley.
Within the build up of surface and texture, Forman’s paintings capture an exploration of shapes through processes of upheaval and reinstatement. Enriched by Forman’s collection of memorabilia, the gallery space serves as a keepsake of items that have prevailed throughout her time making paintings. Her paintings and supplemental objects are embedded within cycles of keeping and throwing away, which are reminders of the constant flux of existence. The act of preserving vital memories and discarding the obsolete intertwine in a dance of continuity and renewal.
On opening night we got lost in abstract paintings while being serenaded with special music performances by Mik Sullivan, Leo Sun, and Morning Forever.
Last day to view Keepshapes will be April 28, 2024.
Guided Exhibition Visit
Junior High offers Guided Exhibition Visits with our current Curator and Exhibiting Artists. Come see our latest exhibition and shop to your hearts content either as a solo-visitor or with a group!
Visits are 30 minutes, and suggested donations of $20 per group are encouraged. Upon check-out you’ll be prompted to make donation towards the space.
Please note: Exhibition Visits are NOT confirmed until you receive a confirmation email from your tour guide.
Thank you! <3
+ Past Exhibitions
MAR 15 — MAR 31, 2024 | Join us for the opening reception of Math Erao and A Klass photo exhibition, No Object.
Coming from two different photographic modalities, No Object is an attempt to merge respective styles while utilizing the same subjects and settings/objects, offering both an intimate subjective view and an observational objective view (that’s actually another subjective view). Both the process and final presentation seek to touch on the meaning of subjective versus objective, the blurring of what constitutes a “fixed” reality, and connect these ideas to our shared (but unique) trans perspectives as photographers.
MAR 1 — MAR 10, 2024 | Haunted Media Archeology is the debut art show of Dakota Hill, cell animation and installation artist. For hundreds of years, before the invention of the moving image, the word “animation” was used to describe the bestowing of life. To give breath to, and, in some cases, bring back from the dead. What started as personal technocultural interest has evolved into an animation project in the broadest sense of the term - an effort to materialize spirits that are both no longer and not yet.
Part research library, part twilight zone, Dakota’s work evades easy description. Her tiktok videos have been watched by millions, garnering attention from Rupaul Drag Race all stars to regrettable pop musicians. For the first time in public exhibition, Dakota shares their expansive technocultural findings: trans muppets, cartoon celluloids, designer barbie dolls, and more. Immerse yourself in interactive mixed media dioramas and virtual experiences that offer the comfort of childhood nostalgia with just a twinge of uncanny.
FEB 2 — FEB 4, 2024 | My Best Ally is a photo series exploring the importance of supporters outside of the lgbtqia*+ community. It is an international project, showcasing the photography work of Sophia Emmerich and Lisa-Sophie Kempke visiting from Berlin, Germany. By featuring eight stories of queers and their favorite allies, the photographers aim to empower people to support marginalized groups in the best way they can. Opening night included a photo booth, free snacks and beverages, flash tattoos by our resident artists, and a chance to connect with the exhibiting artists.
FEB 2 — FEB 4, 2024 | Hand Follows Eye Studios presents a showcase of unclaimed, anonymous figure drawings produced in our workshops from 2021-2023. Each drawing was left behind in one of our communal sketchbooks. Although we don't know who made these pieces, the drawings display a rainbow of visions and styles, and each figure is perfectly unique and alive in itself. Proceeds from the sale of these artworks went towards the acquisition of new communal art materials as well as provided scholarships for the community.
Exhibition is curated by Hand Follows Eye founders, Rachel Deane and Mads Gobbo.
JAN 12 — JAN 27, 2024 | In the first show of the year, commUNITY, 25+ local artists from the QTBIPOC community answered the prompt: Community & Unity - what do these words mean to you? What does it look like to nurture a community, or to be nurtured by a community? What art work of yours best represents your community? Artworks include sculpture, illustrations, film photography, ceramics, oil and acrylic painting, fiber arts, and much more. Opening night held two live performances: one led by ceramic artist Ariella Kirschbaum preforming with ceramic instruments, and a poetry reading by Ammy Ontiveros.
Exhibiting Artists: Ariella Kirschbaum, Shiori Takemori, Ammy Ontiveros, Tina Tona, Arianna Perez, Mateo Croom, Ashton Phillips, Seanna Latiff, Steph Maldonado, Marantz Moon, Lorena Endara, Shhleon Ceramics, K Willert, Shannon Hanson, Peter Villafañe, Donyé Green, Taylor Caliz, Jane O'Neill, Gabrielw Guzman, Sabrina Mari, Sabrina Arriaga, Tzasná Pérez Espinosa, Loren Armstrong, Trenyce Tong, Emily Dean, and Genean Jue.
commUNITY was curated by Chelsie Rivera, Art Curator at Junior High.
DEC 8 — DEC 10, 2023 | Welcome to SUPERNOVA II: Electric Boogaloo! Risograph Printing is a unique method of printmaking that is rapidly gaining popularity in the art world. Invented in Japan in the 1980’s, the Risograph Duplicator was originally meant as an efficient alternative to office copy machines. In recent years, it has been embraced by the printmaking community for its rapid printing abilities, vibrant colors, and environmentally friendly soy-based inks.
This exhibition showcases Riso prints created by the students of the Nova Community Arts Risograph classes in 2023. These pieces were all printed at NOVA, either during a class session, or afterwards using the techniques learned in class.
NOV 10 — DEC 3, 2023
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“The Colors of Horses”
showcases a collection of photographs taken over the course of three years in attempt to connect to the people and the mysteries of roads less traveled. Her first solo exhibition, “The Colors of Horses” is both grounded and verging on paranormal. Authentic, eerie, and contemplative, each photograph explores a spectacular world with a unique perspective all her own.
SEPT 15 — OCT 22, 2023
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“at home with: jon del real”
celebrates a photography series years in the making. Since 2019, Jon Del Real has been lovingly invited into homes of young artists to take their portraits. Juxtaposing traditional poses in cold and lifeless studios, Jon’s work celebrates the comfort of home. His work honors his subject’s authentic self, style, and space.
AUG 4 — SEPT 10, 2023
| “Depth of Flesh” showcases Alexandra Kacha’s acclaimed style — both carnal and ethereal — in their first ever solo exhibition. Peering through a glass lens, Kacha documents a myriads of skin. This collection explores a softness within queer subculture, Catholicism, bodies, and flesh.
JUNE 16 — JULY 30, 2023 | Zorine Truly and Junior High present Hoochie Con — a group exhibit that features mixed media art, vendors, and music highlighting and honoring Black feminism. Hoochie Con celebrates the sexual liberation of black women through their undeniable influence in music, beauty, art, fashion and culture. Hoochie Con highlights artwork that explores the nuanced foundational cultural impact of the Hoochie archetype.
Press: At HoochieCon, Black women’s creativity and sexual agency take center stage | LA Times
MAY 5 — JUNE 11, 2023
Press: ‘Milf is a state of being’: the show taking you inside the Milf universe | Dazed
Molly Wurwand say “Long Live the MILF” with First Solo Exhibition | Hypebae
MAR 17 — APRIL 30, 2023
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Precious Negatives
is the first solo exhibition by photographer and documentary filmmaker Carly Palmour. The show features a selection of simple scenes — both the peculiar and the mundane — that Carly has collected with her camera over the last decade. Vibrant hues and detailed focus illuminate these quiet observations and personal artifacts, creating a captivating photographic journal.
FEB 3 — MAR 12, 2023
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Body of Art
is the first ever exhibition of Los Angeles collective Magnify Creations. Body of Art is a retrospective of Magnify’s first two years, featuring photographs from three projects — Madonna/Whore, COVID-19: Life Will Never Be The Same, and The Black Naturist Project.
NOV 18, 2022 — JAN 29, 2023
| An ode to traditional art,
“For Art’s Sake”
alludes to the early French philosophy that defines art as a force “divorced from didactic, political, and utilitarian function.” Painters Hannah Kline and Michelle Miralles create works that metabolize external environments to bear fruits of beauty and expression. Using art as an escape from identity politics, objectivity, and utilitarian function, Hannah and Michelle‘s “For Art’s Sake” delivers a fantastical, utopic, and dream-like universe existing both ahead of and before its time.
OCT 7 — NOV 7, 2022
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PRETTY WEIRD
— the second solo exhibition from photographer Hadley Rosenbaum. Featuring work created during time spent on the island of Hydra, Greece, PRETTY WEIRD showcases Hadley’s distinctive eye for the eerily beautiful. An ode to the surreal, Hadley confronts the ever-pervasive dichotomy of conventional beauty standards and eccentricities that live inside her.
SEP 2 — OCT 2, 2022
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DECAYdance
showcases Salima Allen’s signature spell-binding color palettes and refined styling. Salima’s still lives document her own messes and daily anxieties, teleporting the viewer both away from and further into their own paranoia. DECAYdence will envelope you into strangeness entirely.
AUG 5 — AUG 28, 2022
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Ceremony
is a four part video installation by Olivia Margarita Gastaldo. Ceremony invites its audience to confront and challenge the toxic impacts of catholicism and colonization - specifically on women and queer people. Each piece references a ceremony or common anecdote in the Catholic church, and speaks directly to the church’s violent legacies ever present in our modern society.
JULY 1 — JULY 31, 2022
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Reflexiónes
features Danny Hermosillo’s portrait work spanning the last three years. Each photo showcases unique culture, beauty, strength, and vulnerability while providing a safe space for their subject’s to feel seen and heard. A love letter to Los Angeles, Reflexiónes proudly showcases the real L.A. — one that is queer, colorful, and impossible to ignore.
MAY 13 — JUNE 12, 2022
| Mellow Yue Li (she/her) is an illustrator from Shanghai, currently based in New York. Her work explores female identities in combination with nature and mystical beings. Mellow’s first solo exhibition —
“Water Stitches”
explores ancient wall paintings with her own mural-like, surrealist watercolor and colored pencil works.
APRIL 8 — MAY 8, 2022 | “Autograph Hound” from actress Sarah Ramos and The THNK1994 Museum is a multimedia exhibition exploring the intersection of fandom and fame. On display during the month-long exhibition will be photographs, artifacts, and installations from several series by Sarah Ramos including Autograph Hound, Quaranscenes, Successica, illustrated portraits of her fellow Parenthood castmembers, and more.
Press: The Actor Exhibiting Her Y2K Collection of Celebrity Photos | i-D
MARCH 11 — APRIL 3, 2022 | “Loose Tooth” is a collection of work by visual artist Liv Garber exploring the discomforts and the joys of growing up. Through tongue-in-cheek illustrations and graphic oil paintings, these works bring to life the lost and discarded pieces of childhood. Representing both gruesome and whimsical interpretations of what it means to stop being a kid, these works are meant to provoke memories of a buried collective past.
FEB 11 — MAR 6, 2022 | Arantza Pena Popo has a habit of walking alone at night. In the daytime, Arantza feels hypervisible, but at night, it takes a careful eye to distinguish her from the shadows. “The World Is Looking for You” explores Arantza’s relationship with the nighttime — one that tiptoes the line between safety and harm. The exhibition explores three different comic narratives that mirror three different themes — the chaotic, the erotic, and the hypnotic.
JAN 7 — FEB 6, 2022 | What does it mean to be on time for the big milestones or moments in your life? “Late Bloomer” by illustrator and painter Kelly Malka is a visual confrontation of perceived shortcomings and the social norms that built them.
NOV 5 — NOV 28, 2021 | “greetings from somewhere” from multi-disciplinary artist, Kara Vorabutr, celebrates Kara's photographic archive, recalling timeless moments in thoughtful remembrance. The exhibition immerses you in Kara’s own visual memoir, and calls you into its stillness.
OCT 1 — OCTOBER 31, 2021 | “Spells for Healing” from visual artist Loveis Wise explores the mystical relationship between spirit and body. Tapping into ancestral connections, Loveis’s work showcases the healing that comes from reflection, gratitude, and tenderness.
AUG 13 — SEP 12, 2021 | Cory Feder has always found herself in between cultures, identities and language. "Walking Home on Wind” explores how one’s relationship to another mirrors one’s relationship to the self. Whether it’s between cities, homes, or identities — Cory operates from a space of perpetual transit.
Press: Cory Feder Walks Home on Wind at Junior High | Nylon
JULY 9 — AUGUST 1, 2021
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“Works in Clay”
is ceramic artist Ali White’s first ever solo exhibition. On display are ceramic vases, lamps, and sculptures, all with her signature sense of movement and playfulness.
JUNE 4 — JUNE 23, 2021 |
“Yours Truly”
by Linda Chen — of Creepy Gals fame — has garnered recognition creating fantasy worlds full of alter-egos, smutty cartoons, and cheeky romance.
JANUARY 17 — FEBRUARY 16, 2020 |
“Enter through the Rear!” from embroidery artist Jesse McCloud, a light-hearted solo-exhibition on bootleg merchandise, gay imagery, and the classic iconography of nostalgia.
NOV 15 — DEC 15, 2019 | I Dreamt in Tar and Sugar features collaged works by artist Madeline McLaughlin, exploring the relationship between dreams and nightmares — like two sisters of a made-up mythology.
OCT 11 — NOV 10, 2019 | Work in Progress is a solo show featuring work by artist and activist Ashley Lukashevsky on the trials and tribulations of growth.
JULY 27 — AUGUST 25, 2019 | Dogs and Dykes featuring work by Ali Liebegott and Nicole J. Georges showcases self-portraits and pet-portraits through an irreverent and cynical lens.
Press: Dogs + Dykes opens this weekend at Junior High Gallery in Hollywood | The Los Angeles Beat
JUNE 21—JULY 21, 2019 | “I Wonder What Will Come After This” by Sara M. Lyons explores a fantasy reinterpretation of the Major Arcana and looks at temporality, symbolism, and divination through Sara's signature colorful lens.
MARCH 22 — MAY 12, 2019 | “Sense Memory,” from illustrator Adria Mercuri brings us an intimate portrait of the artist herself seen through portraits of celebrities and fleeting moments in time.
FEB 23 — MARCH 17, 2019 | Stick & Poke is a group art show featuring embroidery artists from a slew of different backgrounds negating the idea that embroidery is woman’s work and not art for all.
DEC 7 — JAN 6, 2018 | Desert Ephemeral, a photography show by Margaret Leyva acts as commentary on Margaret’s experience as a young-mixed Native American girl growing up in the resort town of Palm Springs.
NOV 9 — DEC 2, 2018 | BOYS WILL BE BOYS is a group show and act of defiance open November 9th. The group show tells stories about masculinity, ones that expand and challenge our cultural expectations of masculine identity. It aims to question the ways men are socialized and celebrate diverse expressions of gender. The old adage ‘boys will be boys’ is used to dismiss toxic behavior from men, perpetuating toxic ideas about what masculinity inherently is. But this work is here to question those conventions and illustrate the myriad ways that boys will be boys. Curated by Iris Ray.
Press: These Sweet Photos Prove Masculinity Doesn't Have to Be Toxic | Vice
These 9 Photographers Are Turning the Phrase Boys Will Be Boys On Its Head | them.
OCT 12 — NOV 4, 2018 | sorry if that was too much by India K is an installation and photo exhibit focused on personal reflection and feelings of inadequacy. Her work features bold reflections, strong composition, and an undeniably resolute identity.
AUG 24 — SEP 23, 2018 | BOYS by Rosie Matheson is explores boyhood and masculinity through personal, honest and revealing portraits.
JUNE 15 — JULY 15, 2018 | Our Stories: Returning Home, presented by Black Girl Magik, is a month-long experience showcasing an exploration back to lands, rituals, and traditions that we have always known.
MAY 11 — JUNE 10, 2018 | Asking for a Lot by Nicole Linh Anderson explores the intersection of humor and mourning through contextual practice art.
APRIL 6 — MAY 6, 2018 | ROYAL BLOOD, from queer skate-photographer Zorah Olivia, documents the female skateboarding scene in the UK through photographs of over 15 young skaters.
MARCH 2 — APRIL 1, 2018 | SIS. by photographer Rikkí Wright is an exploration of black sisterhood through photographs of real life sisters.
JAN 12 — 28, 2018 | I WON'T TAKE DOWN THE LIGHTS is a month long group show curated by @dolescent, featuring 18 young artists and their work to stave off the darkness of 2017.
DEC 15 — 17, 2017 | HARD BUT SOFT is a weekend installation by Avery Wheless, Mo Johnson, Qigemu, and Heather Reese exploring art-making as a tool for collapsing dualities.
DEC 8 — 10, 2017 | Fire Coral is a 3-day solo show featuring new work by Lithuanian-based Akville Magicdust. Different from the reserved nordic mood, Akvile uses bright tropical colors to create dream-like poetic stories.
NOV 17 — DEC 3, 2017 | WE REAL COOL, curated by Aja Wiley, is a multimedia group show featuring work by young, black creatives.
OCT 20 — NOV 12, 2017 | CONSTRUCT OF VIEWPOINT, by Hannah Altman, is a body of work made up of photographic self portraits printed on various textiles in exploration of female presence, identity, and assertion.
SEP 8 — OCT 15, 2017 | COSMIC NOT EXOTIC is a group show featuring work by collective "Nobody's Betis." Curated by Samar Saif, Cosmic not Exotic confronts racial fetishism.
JULY 21 — AUG 20, 2017 | Fatter IRL: LA is the Los Angeles branch of an art show celebrating the visual work of fat artists/bodies. Curated by Annie Rose.
JUNE 30 — JULY 16, 2017 | Faith Silva presents: QUARTER OF A CENTURY, a solo photography show featuring polaroid portraits of Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, Chance the Rapper & more.
JUNE 2 — 25, 2017 | WHAT WOULD OLIVIA BENSON DO is a silent-auction art show raising money for END THE BACKLOG, an initiative by the Joyful Heart Foundation focused on ending the rape kit backlog in the United States. The art show and proceeding events seek to empower survivors of sexual assault and educate the community about the often-silenced issues surrounding rape culture.
MAY 19 — 28, 2017 | SLIDE TO EXPOSE, originally created for BABYCASTLES in New York, is an augmented reality project by Nicole Ruggiero, Molly Soda, and Refrakt that explores digital intimacy, privacy, the concepts of life and death online. “Slide to Expose” asks —ultimately — how devices, particularly our phones, aid, form, and reshape our perceptions of these experiences.
APRIL 28 — 30, 2017 | "We Don't Care Anymore" is a group show curated by Madrid Art Collective, Espacio Anas, featuring 21 artists from around the globe united by the color pink.
APRIL 7—8, 2017 | Cyborg Goddess, by Gingy Q, is a physical virtuality solo exhibition that asks viewers to move beyond the limitations of body, tech, & soul.
FEB 10 — MARCH 27, 2017 | By Any Memes Necessary is a meme-centric art show serving as a commentary on internet culture's ability to help us cope and empathize. Featuring work from Instagram's most legendary meme creators.
Press: This art exhibit takes feminist internet culture from URL to IRL / Bust Magazine
Is 2017 the year that memes are recognised as art? / Dazed
This LA gallery Is showing an exhibit full of self-aware memes / the Creators Project
A meme-centric art show / Affinity
JAN 13 — FEB 5, 2017 | Whiskey Hour is Grace Pickering's first solo photography show featuring a diverse array of portraits taken in southern California while the sun casts a golden hue.
Press: Exploring foreign identities with photographer Grace Pickering / i-D
DEC 10, 2016 — JAN 8, 2017 | Miss Representation focuses on subverting classically and societally white-centric imagery by redesigning it through a WOC lens. This show aims to magnify the arbitrary nature of cultural standards and the necessity of diversity and representation within culture and the art world. Curated by Erika Paget and Maritza Lugo.
Press: MissRepresentation: a show for praising women of color / Nastygal
'Miss Representation' exhibit tackles the lack of diversity in art / Attn:
Miss Representation: gives a voice to artistic women of color / Art and Cake
This art show features work from women of color, because they are a "force to be reckoned with" / Hello Giggles
OCT 27 — 28, 2016 | COZY + LONELY is the first solo show by Zoie Harmon wherein she explores the ideas of self-care and solitude through sculpture.
OCT 7 — 23, 2016 | BEST FRIENDS FOREVER is an ode to platonic friendships, sharing bedsheets, watching shitty TV, telling secrets, and pinky swears. Curated by Faye )rlove, BFF is a group show featuring artists whose works embody the ideas of togetherness and friendship.
AUG 26 — SEP 18, 2016 | Her Room will break the boundaries between a standard gallery show, an interactive installation and an immersive mise-en-scene. Her Room is created with the participation of a diverse group of multimedia artists, through which the gallery space will be transformed into a fantasy bedroom, an escape from reality, suspended in time.
Press: The femme gaze art show you need to check out / Milk
AUG 20 — 21, 2016 | EAT ME: a pop up show championing all things relating to female pleasure, especially of the cunnilingus variety. EAT ME hopes to not only de-stigmatize the demand for female oral pleasure but also celebrate it and start a much more open dialogue on human sexuality.
Press: A cunnilingus-themed art show aims to make oral a more popular pastime / LA Weekly
There is an art show dedicated to cunnilingus in Hollywood this weekend / LAsist
A feminist art show wants you to eat it or beat it / Huffington Post
There's a cunnilingus-themed art show happening in LA this weekend only / Timeout LA
JULY 21 — AUG 14, 2016 | Thinkin' Bout You: a group art show focusing on dreams and nostalgia. Curated by Briana Gonzalez.
JUNE 24 — JULY 17, 2016 | FIRST KISS, presented by Girl on Girl Collective, a multimedia showcase featuring art of all mediums from girls of all kinds.
Press: Olivia Accardo / The Local Dive
JUNE 3 — 16, 2016 | SMASH THAT LIKE by Caroline Goldfarb. A solo art show concerning the ideas of pop culture and fame. Made possible by @bbdakota.
Press: The Artist Behind @officialseanpenn Gets Her First Gallery Show / LA Weekly