MONTEREY PARK — An opening reception for Yoshie Sakai’s new show, “Grandma Entertainment Franchise,” will be held on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Vincent Price Art Museum, located at East Los Angeles College, 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park.
Admission is free and parking is available at Floral Drive and Collegian Avenue.
In her first solo museum exhibition, Sakai brings together three immersive installations produced over the last three years: “Grandma Day Spa,” “Grandma Nightclub,” and “Grandma Amusement Park.” These three distinct but interconnected installations, composed of Sakai’s video and sculptural work, satirically reproduce public sites of leisure, reimagined with grandmothers as their target demographic.
“Grandma Entertainment Franchise” stems from Sakai’s reflections on her own grandmother, or obaa-chan, who came to live with her family when the artist was nine years old. Sakai’s memories of her obaa-chan open a searing, tragicomic inquiry into society’s obsession with youth and innovation, as evident in the outsourcing of elderly care, urban redevelopment and disinvestment, marketing demographics, and our notions of desirability, success, and the good life.
“Grandma Entertainment Franchise” builds on Sakai’s probing, affect-laden excavations of capitalism, family dynamics and social structures, and the psychology that writes them in space. This exhibition critiques capitalism’s production of space and ways of being, while also drawing on popular forms of entertainment and media to engage diverse audiences, especially those historically devalued, ignored, and seen as burdens.
The exhibition, which runs through Feb. 3, 2024, is guest-curated by Dav Bell and Ana Iwataki.
Generous support for this project is provided through a grant from the Mellon Foundation. Additional support provided by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant.
A multidisciplinary artist (video, sculpture, installation and performance), Sakai lives and works in Gardena. She received her BFA from CSU Long Beach and MFA from Claremont Graduate University, and studied at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Artist’s website: www.yoshiesakai.com
Museum hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 12 to 4 p.m., with extended evening hours on Thursday until 7 p.m.
Venue info: (323) 265-8841, [email protected], http://vincentpriceartmuseum.org/