Monte Vista Projects is proud to present “Circle Jerks,” an exhibition of a collaborative painting project initiated by Max Lesser and Brett Cody Rogers.  Participating artists are Kathryn Andrews, Tomory Dodge, Bart Exposito, Hadley Holliday, Max Lesser, Katie Lewis, Jay Lizo, Allison Miller and Brett Cody Rogers.

Lesser and Rogers came up with the idea for an experimental, “exquisite-corpse”-like painting project as an outlet for making paintings outside the realm of their personal practices and the highly competitive nature driven by “personal style.”  Several LA-based artists were asked to participate and “Circle Jerks” was born. 

Over the last eight months, the participants each started at least one painting. These paintings were then passed from artist to artist, with each person reacting and contributing to the move made by the previous one.  Each painting was circulated until someone declared it “finished,” with the end-result being a collaborative exhibition free of stylistic pretext. This exhibition features an edited selection of these paintings.

“Circle Jerks” focuses on turning the solitary and masturbatory nature of artistic style into group activity, and is inspired by the Los Angeles-based punk band of the same name, whose ‘80’s hit song “Group Sex” invites group sexual exploration in a low-key setting, free from embarrassment.