The Arts District and Art Share L.A. community has lost two beloved souls this past month, Emmeric Konrad and Tara Thomas.
Emmeric Konrad was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1964. His work has been compared to the edgy Pop artists of the late seventies and early eighties with an added degree of perversity. After four years in the Marines, he spent four years of formal experimentation with paint and technique at Otis/Parsons where he graduated with a BFA. The results are as contrary as his experiences; replete with twisted images of strange creatures, dogs, mice and people. Konrad’s paintings are humorously manic expressions of innocently troubled characters interacting and willfully acting out. Emmeric Konrad was one of the original ”bad boys” of the Downtown Los Angeles art scene. He mashed his personal fantasies with street art, Disney imagery, and a raw sexual energy. Konrad moved to DTLA in 1989, finding it a perfect place to indulge in creativity. With little or no compressions coupled with miles of historic scenery, he embraced the undeveloped area upon which to create and sparked an artists renaissance largely responsible for the areas success.
(Words from Ren Gallery and DTLA Weekly)
Tara Thomas was a star of the LA culinary scene. In 1992, she opened her first restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles’ nascent Arts District, 410 Boyd. During her tenure at 410 Boyd, she was named each year as “Best Caterer” by the Los Angeles Downtown News. In 1996, Tara opened Traxx, a 120-seat white tablecloth fine dining restaurant and a key participant in the redevelopment of Union Station. While helming Traxx, she garnered many awards and recognition as one of America’s premiere restaurateurs, including a feature article in Gourmet Magazine. She was sought out by and had the privilege of cooking for many political luminaries on national, state and civic levels. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Vice-President Al Gore and Senator Barbara Boxer chose her to cater their private receptions downtown. She hosted every living governor of California, as well as many other state and civic leaders, counting them as personal friends. In 2015, the City Council of Los Angeles honored Tara with an official resolution commending her for her courage and commitment “to the vital rebirth of downtown institutions both new and old,” calling her “truly an Angel in the City of Angels!” In addition to being a world-class chef/restaurateur, Tara also had a lifelong passion for the arts and was a well-known figure in the L.A. Art world, serving on the boards of the LA Municipal Art Gallery and Art Share L.A.
(Words from Los Angeles Times)
Art Share L.A. remembers and celebrates these beautiful lives and extends gratitude for their contribution to the organization and neighborhood. They will be greatly missed by all and their legacies will be forever reflected within the walls of Art Share L.A.
