If there were a gun to my head pointed by an assailant who demanded that I describe the feeling of living in the USA using only pictures (hey, this is my unreal conditional—worry about your own), I’d simply point them in the direction of Michael St. John’s “Portraits of Democracy,” which are currently on view as “These Days” at Pio Pico gallery in LA (now extended thru Jan. 1). St. John is probably your favorite artist’s favorite artist: a lifelong student of the aesthetic form who cares more about the Big Issues than making big paintings just because that’s what someone said collectors want. He’s also a preternaturally gifted painter (by practice, no less!) whose every choice involves the deliberate reproduction of the very tension that makes life in 2020 one nonstop “Party in the U.S.A.” if you know what I mean. If you’re gonna look at art, why bother with anything you couldn’t spend your whole afternoon uncovering the intricacies of, anyway? Viewings are by appointment only, but don’t let that intimidate you—it’s literally a phone call, prolly even a DM away.
