MONTEREY PARK — Gardena-based artist Yoshie Sakai’s first solo museum exhibition, “Grandma Entertainment Franchise,” closes Saturday, Feb. 3, after a three-month run at the Vincent Price Art Museum, located at East Los Angeles College, 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park.
Hours: 12 to 4 p.m. Closing program includes: 2-3 p.m. — In-gallery curatorial walk-through with guest curators Dav Bell and Ana Iwataki. 3-4 p.m. — Closing reception with light refreshments.
Sakai brings together three immersive installations produced over the last three years: “Grandma Day Spa,” “Grandma Nightclub,” and “Grandma Amusement Park.” These interconnected installations, composed of video and sculptural work, satirically reproduce public sites of leisure, reimagined with grandmothers as their target demographic.
In listing “Grandma Entertainment Franchise” as one of the Top 50 Exhibitions of 2023, Dakota Noot of Hyperallergic says, “Yoshie Sakai transforms the space into a day spa, nightclub, and an amusement park for the elderly. The exhibit is loud, bold, and colorful, addressing often overlooked issues of ageism, access, and the body through a cartoon-like aesthetic. Sakai’s installations were pure eye candy as she drew inspiration from consumer products and her experiences with her own Japanese grandma (or obaachan).”
Artist’s website: www.yoshiesakai.com. Venue info: (323) 265-8841, info@vpam.org, http://vincentpriceartmuseum.org/