The artist studio is sacred. Just ask Calvin Clausell Jr. | @ the Stu

Walking into Calvin Clausell Jr.’s airy studio in West Adams, it’s clear that this space is sacred. And his paintings — a blend of realism and surrealism — feel like totems of worship to the people around him, to the city that raised him. Clausell Jr. is a painter and actor who, along with appearing in films such as “King Richard,” has shown his work around the world, including with L.A. gallery Band of Vices, which hosted his solo exhibition “Bloom” in 2022 and most recently took his paintings to the AKAA art fair in Paris. Clausell Jr. calls his studio a “place of only prosperity.” He casts his subjects, everyone from his mother to the artist Gunna, on large wooden canvases, incorporating elements of nature and reflection. “Nature is one of the highest frequencies of love,” says Clausell Jr. “It’s non-resistant.” Before he starts any painting, Clausell Jr. says a prayer over it, inviting the same sense of intention that permeates through his studio.