Art Walk Preview for July, 2009

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Has it been a month already? Downtown Art Walk continues to roll forward, with the July event taking place on Thursday the 9th. Some say that the Art Walk took a few steps backward when the party took over, but those looking for the art instead of the party will still find it.

Perhaps the proper commentary on the night would involve parking a catering truck on a prominent corner and selling curated pieces that mock bad art.

Until the funding comes through for that, here is some of what you can find around the streets of Downtown Thursday night.

THE SOUTH WILL RISE: South Korea's post-war artists of the 1970's dared to experiment with alternative material and form under an oppressive regime. An example of the rise of European and North American influenced artists from Korean is Lee, Kang-So. His "Untitled 75031," which exhibited at the 1975 Paris Biennale, gives a voice of Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism and Conceptualism in one broad stroke. It leads one to think that the identity of Korean Contemporary Art has just begun a long journey. PYO Gallery / The River is Moving / 1100 S. Hope, Suite 105

STREET GLASS: Adam Mostow' glass work becomes street art once installed on light poles, exploring a traditional form in urban space. He works with graf artist Midzt for a exhibition that pushes "media boundaries." Phyllis Stein Art Gallery / GLASS N GRAFF FO THAT ASSBIATCH NAH MEAN THO / 207 W. 5th

AROUND MOCA: A CHANGING RATIO: PAINTING AND SCULPTURE FROM THE COLLECTION: A 1967 essay by Lucy Lippard inspires the title, and the exhibition's goal is to link "non-representational painting of the early 1950s to the sculptural innovations of the late 1960s." It was a time when sculpture gained ground on painting. (Runs until September 28)

FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION: ROBERT FRANK'S "THE AMERICANS": Swiss-born photographer Robert Frank traveled by car and photographed America with a hand-held Leica in the late 50s, ending a two year trip with 20,000 negatives. The American published an edition of 83 photographs that included an introduction by beat writer Jack Kerouac: "After seeing these pictures you end up finally not knowing whether a jukebox is sadder than a coffin." (Runs until October 19) MoCA / 250 S. Grand Ave

QUICK PEEKS Infusion Gallery (719 S. Spring) has an opening reception for its July group show from 6-9pm / Shifting Mass: The work of Shon Kim, David Jang, & David Phillips" opens at Downtown Art Center Gallery (828 S. Main) / Crewest(110 Winston) offers original works by graffiti artists from Texas. East Coast and West Coast is joined by the Gulf Coast.

DARK HUMOR This speaks for itself, in a morbid way. "Caged canaries are offing themselves at an alarming rate by straight razor, fire, drowning, and cat." Arty invites you to witness the "little demises" simulated in assemblage pieces by artist and gallery co-owner Catherine Coan. The canaries exhibit will be joined by a multimedia / photography show by Kathryne Layne Paxton. From 7pm to 10pm. Arty / Canary Suicides / 634 S. Main

THREE AT BGFA LaBella writes "My personal iconography is continuing to reveal itself through my fascination with AbEx (Abstract Expressionism) paintings of the 1950’s, sneaker treads, tire tracks, Old Masters Drawings, doodling, textile patterns, architectural renderings and cartoons." Ideas are formed while riding on the NYC subways, accounting "for the scraffiti-like tracings, layering of marks, and the heavy use of erasing or subtraction."

Barron Storey is as much a writer as he is an artist: "I knew where those people lived. In the trash strewn lots behind my art schools. Places where the homes had no mortgages because they were made of cardboard. A song had tuned me in to cardboard towns." The collection of drawings of such temporary housing "Cardboard Town."

Robin Gaynes Bachman work is also on exhibition. She writes "As I look back over my work, I notice that for decades, I’ve been interested in drawing the sculpture of different cultures." Bachman is drawn to awkward color and pattern combinations,"and they definitely have provided a backbone for my work."

Bert Green Fine Art (Noon to 7pm on Art Walk Night) / 102 W. 5th