August 5, 2007

Galleries

Reviews by Holly Myers (H.M.), David Pagel (D.P.) and Leah Ollman (L.O.). Compiled by Grace Krilanovich.

Openings
Bruce Linn: New York Painting installation. Cal State Fullerton Grand Central Art Center, 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. Opens Today. Sun.-Thu. 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; ends Aug. 26. (714) 567-7233.

Bates Poland Bates: Out of the Box Recent paintings. Schomburg Gallery, Bergamot Station 2525 Michigan Ave., E-3A, Santa Monica. Opens Sat. Wed.-Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends Sept. 1. (310) 453-5757.

Daena Title: Broken Dreams and Rhea Carmi: Les Voix Du Silence LA Contemporary, 2634 S. La Cienega Blvd., L.A. Opens Sat. Tue.-Sat. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; ends Sept. 1. (310) 713-0507.

Group Show: Literartistry Corey Helford Gallery, 8522 Washington Blvd., Culver City. Opens Sat. Tue.-Sat., noon-6 p.m.; ends Sept. 5. (310) 287-2340.

Critics' Choices
Helen Lundeberg: Infinite Distance Architectural Compositions The derring-do that viewers often associate with avant-garde art is nowhere to be found in Helen Lundeberg's handsomely composed pictures, which flirt with abstraction but never give themselves over to its uncertainties, sticking instead to the tried-and-true duties of depicting the visible world. Such have-it-both-ways balance is usually a recipe for blandness. But Lundeberg (1908-99) makes it engaging -- not quite exciting but filled with quirky kicks so that her tasteful, often serene paintings still deliver the lasting satisfactions they set out to (D.P.). Louis Stern Fine Arts, 9002 Melrose Ave., L.A. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; ends Aug. 25. Free. (310) 276-0147.

Group Show: Rogue Wave '07 The influx of emerging artists in L.A. has become wonderfully daunting, and every few years, LA Louver showcases it. This year's version features a dozen painters, sculptors and artists working in mixed media. The show abounds in freshness and vigor, its contents insistently visual, materially inventive and thoughtfully subversive (L.O.). LA Louver, 45 N. Venice Blvd., Venice. Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends Aug. 18. (310) 822-4955.

Group Show: Pavement Paradise: American Parking Space This matter-of-fact exhibition transforms a simple subject -- and one most folks ignore -- into a thought-provoking meditation on what it means to live in an increasingly crowded world. Although there is not a single work of art on display, "Pavement Paradise" does art's job efficiently and with significantly less to-do than usual (D.P.). The Center for Land Use Interpretation, 9331 Venice Blvd., Culver City. Today-next Sun.; indefinitely. (310) 839-5722.

Continuing
iona rozeal brown Brown has been circling the same relatively narrow territory since completing her graduate degree at Yale five years ago: the unlikely intersection of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints and contemporary American hip-hop culture. With an increasingly complex pictorial structure and a more confident approach to line and pattern, the seven paintings assembled here suggest that her engagement with her subject is deepening rather than stabilizing, as she supplements the hip factor of pop culture associations with dedicated art historical study (H.M.). Sandroni Rey, 2762 S. La Cienega Blvd., L.A. Wed.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; ends Sat. (310) 280-0111.

Robin Kandel The Bay Area artist's family history is powerful raw material, an interweaving of American drama and Eastern European tragedy. Through her strengths as both storyteller and image maker, Kandel gives the material further dimension and relevance, extending its power to the present (L.O.). Sherry Frumkin Gallery/Studio 21, Santa Monica Airport, 3026 Airport Ave., Santa Monica. Wed.-Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends Sat. (310) 397-7493.

Renata Lucas: Falha This exhibition might have been a welcome opportunity to bridge the distance between two important Western cities -- Los Angeles and the artist's home base of São Paulo, Brazil -- and explore some of the many interesting questions raised by urban redevelopment. Unfortunately, Lucas opts to play it safe, reprising a piece she created in 2003 for a gallery in São Paulo -- a piece that fits rather too comfortably within the walls of the institution, trading actual civic engagement for a lusterless reiteration of basic Minimalist tenets and relying, for much of its substance, on a citation-studded essay by curator Clara Kim (H.M.). The Gallery at REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., L.A. Tue.-Sun., noon-6 p.m.; ends Aug. 26. (213) 237-2800.

Renée Petropoulos: Social Arrangements Petropoulos's new work is uneven visually and not very gratifying as a coherent whole, but it does have some merit as a diffuse collection of prompts about place and perception (L.O.). Rosamund Felsen Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica. Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; ends Aug. 18. (310) 828-8488.

Arnulf Rainer: Hyper-Graphics The announcement for this show is one of the most striking in recent memory: a masterfully nuanced study in contrasts achieved through the seemingly spontaneous arrangement of a few basic elements. It is a fitting introduction to a show devoted to Rainer's poster designs. The posters reflect themes and imagery at play throughout the artist's career and brim with the same barely contained frenetic energy (H.M.). Schindler House/MAK Center for Art and Architecture, 835 N. Kings Road, West Hollywood. Wed.-Sun., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends Aug. 26. (323) 651-1510.

Group Show: Aporia:Aporia What would artists make if they were free to give in to ambition without constraint? That's the question posed by this exhibition of "impossible artworks" -- works conceived without regard for material, technical or cultural limitations -- at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. A more pertinent question for viewers may be: Just how much frustration does it require to make a curatorial point? Because as compelling as the premise may be, it's buried in a web of theoretical (or, at times, pseudo-theoretical) chatter that takes quite a bit of patience to penetrate (H.M.). Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, 6522 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. Wed., Thu., Sun., noon-6 p.m.; Fri., noon-9 p.m.; ends Aug. 19. (323) 957-1777.

Group Show: ZOOM +/- This enjoyable excursion through the theme of mapping is threaded with good humor and clever subversion of the map's physical integrity and its implicit authority. Nineteen artists from the U.S. and beyond, painters, sculptors, photographers and makers of video and collages, are included (L.O.). Arena 1 Gallery, 3026 Airport Ave., Santa Monica. Wed.-Sat., noon-6 p.m.; ends Sept. 8. (310) 397-7456.