Mutant Mountain / Quantum Ocean
Jim Holyoak and Mike Saijo
13 . jan . 2021      -      9 . feb . 2021
( s c r o l l    d o w n    f o r   m o r e   i n f o r m a t i o n    +   a r t w o r k s    f r o m   t h e    s h o w )
an  in-gallery reception and exhibition
also a virtual reception and exhibition
bG Gallery is thrilled to present Mutant Mountain / Quantum Ocean, a dialogue between new bodies of artwork by artists Mike Saijo and Jim Holyoak. Their work explores the dynamics of change, its constancy and its inevitability, within our physical and psychological environments. 

The work explores the dynamics of change, its constancy and its inevitability, to our physical and material environments. Mountains, steady and stationary to the human eye are, in reality, in a state of constant flux–seasons change, organisms are born and die, elements shift, much like the waves in a quantum ocean. Such is the focus of Saijo and Holyoak’s newest series of works: Holyoak via his oft-revisited motifs of mythological and morphing animals inspired by his adventures in mountain trekking, and Saijo through thoughtful examinations of science coupled with spirituality influenced by Hawaiian ocean cosmology. 
When viewed within a longer field of time, a mountain, steady and sturdy to the human eye, is actually in a state of constant flux, transforming like a cloud in the sky or a wave on the ocean. Such is the focus of Saijo and Holyoak’s newest series of works: Holyoak with his drawings of morphing landforms and animals, inspired by, and often created during treks in the mountains, and Saijo with photo-based images from time spent in California’s waves, as well as examinations of quantum science, coupled with the influence of Hawaiian ocean cosmology. 
Reception: Saturday, January 16, 2021
In-Person Reception, by Appointment


3:00 - 5:00 PM PST


groups of no more than seven individuals at a time



book your time here
Virtual Opening Reception


5:00 - 7:00 PM (PST) | 8:00 - 10:00 PM (EST)  



RSVP for code
( The exhibition will be open by appointment in bG Gallery, Santa Monica until February 9th, 2021 )
 This exhibit will occur both in person as an installation, and with a further extension online.
Online events will take place through the duration of the show that expand the exhibition.
Local guests can visit at a safe social distance while guests from other areas are able to view the exhibit virtually and get in person virtual tours from gallery staff as well as attend extended events by the artists. 
Mike Saijo

A native of Los Angeles, CA Mike Saijo guides his viewers through the complexities of “memory construction”: how memories are built, what goes into the creation of a memory, and how it is preserved. Saijo touches on themes of loss, entropy, transformation, and the unconscious. Influenced, in part, by ancient manuscripts he reclaims history by redefining it based on human experience.

Saijo transforms objects like books, office supplies, and building materials to construct art with a wide range of subject matter from mid-century modern architecture, WWII photos, cinema stills, imaginary landscapes, and the history of fashion. Saijo cites graffiti and Oshuji-Japanese calligraphy as some of his chief influences, dating back to his first “book piece” made using the pages of a New Testament Bible.

His artwork has been exhibited internationally including shows at the Tompkins Square Library in New York, NY and at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, CA. Saijo has also been featured in a number of publications such as the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and New York Magazine.

Jim Holyoak

A drawer and writer based in British Columbia, Canada, Jim Holyoak’s discipline consists of room-sized drawing installations, book arts and ink-painting. In parallel to his solo practice, Holyoak has orchestrated numerous collaborative drawing projects, sometimes involving hundreds of people drawing together.

His drawings blur plein-air observation with the imagined to create otherworldly beings and places. Though the content of his work ranges from the biological to the phantasmagorical, his persistent interests include metamorphosis, human empathy for other species and the challenge of fathoming deep time. Holyoak has attended artist-residencies in Mumbai, New York, Québec, Finland, Sweden, Iceland and throughout Norway.

His work has been circulated widely in Europe and North America, including at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Montréal, the GEM Museum of Contemporary Art in The Hague, the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art in Rīga, the Carnegie Mellon International Drawing Symposium in Pittsburgh and the Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham, UK.
visit
bG Gallery specializes in accomplished artists who have crossed traditionally contentious art ideologies. Our aim is to bring authenticity and human spirit back to the forefront of the contemporary art scene.
2525 Michigan Avenue 2A, Santa Monica CA 90404 / 310.906.4211 / bGArtGalleries.com
A couple more artworks from the exhibition... but you'll have to join us to see them all!