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James Franco and Gus Van Sant Partner On Art Exhibit

Filed under: Events, Art

If you didn't get enough James Franco during Oscar weekend you can head over to the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills to take a look at some of his art output. Franco and director Gus Van Sant are the double bill on a shared exhibit titled "Unfinished."

The exhibit includes screenings of the film, "My Own Private River," which is a collaboration between Van Sant and Franco. After casting Franco in the award-winning film "Milk," Van Sant showed him the dailies and other footage that he had shot for "My Own Private Idaho" an early 1990s movie featuring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves as street hustlers. Franco took the footage and created a new film which is a haunting video portrait of the late River Phoenix in his role as Mike. The film features a soundtrack by REM frontman Michael Stipe.

The exhibit also features artworks in watercolor by Van Sant. His poignant portraits of young men are well-done but have a certain mug-shot sadness as the subject stares at the viewer with an impassive and not-entirely-at-ease gaze. The exhibit runs February 26 through April 9 at the Gagosian Gallery at 56 North Camden Drive, Beverly Hills, California 90210. Daily screenings of the Franco film run Tuesday through Saturday at 10:00am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm and 4:00pm.

Tags: Gagosian Gallery, gus van sant, james franco, river phoenix