Courtesy CB1 Gallery

Artist Daniel Aksten in his studio finalizing work for his solo show "Material" now on exhibition at CB1 Gallery.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — This month’s Art Walk has two of the newer Gallery Row venues featuring artists who began careers in European countries during strict political regimes.

It is official. Art Walk is a Bloc Party.

That, the usual street theater and participation by the Downtown Film Festival will be components of what is either the final Art Walk of the summer or the first of the fall.

Here are some shows that caught our eye:

Memories From My Youth in Communist Romania: Claudia Cotrutza French’s gallery, next to The Regent, is perfect for works that talk about her previous world. Sometimes painting in reds, blues, and yellows (colors that happen to be the same as the Romanian flag) her personal experience is the subject as she looks back at living and working under the rule of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. She has extended her show to Oct 7. Cotrutza Fine Art/ 446 S. Main

Eastern Block Party: Gloria Delson Contemporary Art will often have the incomparable Gloria Delson herself holding court. This month, she features abstract artists Luka Krstch and Sergei Tivetsky. Gloria Delson Contemporary Art / 215 W. 6th #115 / Entrance on Spring

Urban Impressionism: A Miguel Paredes Retrospective: Miami-based multi-media artist and sculptor Miguel Paredes is the subject of “Urban Impressionism: A Miguel Paredes Retrospective.” Born in New York and of Latin American descent, Paredes’ graffiti has “the skill and perceptiveness of a true exceptional artist.” Paredes is also influenced by pop artists like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. The retrospective at Crewest Gallery exhibits select pieces and sculptures from Paredes. Crewest / 110 Winston

Material: This solo show featuring the work of Los Angeles artist Daniel Aksten is part of an “ongoing series of highly finished grid paintings while adding an additional body of work focusing on vertical stripes.” With mathematical structure, chance, and craft, CB1 suggests the paintings will “challenge the viewer to re-examine how much one thinks they can actually see” and work as a reminder that “everything we see is surrounded by the expanding and shrinking flesh visage of our own countenance.” CB1 Gallery / 207 W. 5th

2010 Digital Art L.A.: Los Angeles Digital Art has a juried exhibition during this month’s Art Walk. The works are gathered from an international pool of artists working in digital media, and were selected by critic and curator Peter Frank of the Riverside Art Museum. Los Angeles Center for Digital Art / 107 W. 5th

Guillermo Kahlo Photography Exhibition: Not in Gallery Row, and not on the map, but worth noting is the City Hall Bridge Gallery's new exhibition. In 1910, Guillermo Kahlo was invited by then President Porfirio Díaz to be the official photographer during Mexico’s centennial celebrations. That made Kahlo, the father of the beloved Frida Kahlo, the first official photographer of Mexico’s cultural heritage. Kahlo’s photos first appeared in a series of publications produced by Díaz and since then the detailed collection of Mexican architecture has become a national treasure. The exhibition of Guillermo Kahlo’s legacy, presented by Mexico D.F. Sister Cities Committee, UNAM, and The City of Los Angeles, coincides with Mexico’s 2010 Bicentennial Celebrations. The gallery is located inside the pedestrian bridge connecting City Hall and City Hall East. Free. City Hall Bridge Gallery / Mon-Fri 10am to 5pm / Runs until Oct 08 / 201 N. Main, Third Floor

ALIVE: Angel Acordagoitia has quietly showcased other Latino artists in his small gallery off Spring. He takes over the room for a solo show he calls ALIVE that has him working with light and darkness. The work, he says, is inspired by the 19th century Mexican artist Jose Guadalupe Posada and by French electronic musical group Daft Punk. _ Immortal Gallery / 215 W. 6th #116 / Entrance on Spring_

river, rock, bones This is a solo show for Paul Chatem, an artist who grew up in nearby La Crescenta. It is a city that, as he states, pushed aside nature, its own history and the impoverished for “golf courses and mini-malls.” Chatem dug into those memories to create “surreal, often nightmarish, narrative paintings.” Dialect / 215 W. 6th, Suite 111

The Vault at Art Walk Lounge: LATC’s Theater 4 offers “The Vault” in Theater 4 at 8pm. Later in the evening, the official Art Walk after party is held one block south at Exchange L.A. (618 S. Spring) at 9:30pm. _ Art Walk Lounge at Los Angeles Theatre Center / 514 S. Spring_