I made my way down to Melrose on a Friday morning to see what an artwork valued at over $250,000 and created by a 25 year old looked like. It was Werner Bronkhorst’s first art exhibition in Los Angeles. As an artist myself, I felt like I should make the effort to see this spectacle with my own eyes.

As I walked in I was overcome with green hues, red accents and white branding with the words “Big Balls” greeting me at the entrance. There were screens on one wall showing the World Cup. On other walls were Bronkhorst’s works – large and small canvases laid with thick strokes of paint and miniature depictions of soccer players playing on fields of color. Of the 100 or so tiny figures throughout the exhibition, there were no women. Well, there may have been one depicted as a fan, but it was honestly hard to tell. The only artwork that legitimately hinted at a woman’s presence was called, Soccer Mom. Although no female figure was visible in it. Simply a maroon SUV with soccer balls tied to the roof of the car. It was a Porsche ad disguised as a painting and packaged as a tribute to mothers.

This mother walked away from the exhibit realizing that this is what art for rich men looks like. It’s about sports and women are not present.

I drove home and returned to my art studio. Inside were canvases laid with purples, magentas and pastel blues – the colors of a mother’s embrace, each one whispering a hidden truth. 

The art I make is for the invisible woman. You deserve to be seen.