July Art Walk Report

Eric Richardson

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — As I mentioned the other day, last night was this month's edition of the Downtown Art Walk. I made it to seven galleries, but for the first time didn't make it over to the Nickel. I stepped into Bert Green Fine Art and LACDA on Wednesday, though, so maybe that sort of counts. I heard that eecue was out taking pictures last night, so I expect to see shots that look a lot better than mine showing up at some point.

eecue's (far more detailed than mine) write-up and photos are over at LAist. Just remember to have your brain substitute "I" for every instance of "we". My dislike of the editorial "we" knows little bounds.

I started off, as I'm wont to do, in my basement. It helps that there's a gallery there, of course. The show at Modern Art Downtown featured works from a variety of artists, many around a political theme. This painting of Paris is one of a series of three by Milla. The father (Donald Trump), the son (Michael Jackson), and the holy spirit (Paris). I think it must be really new -- the City Council ethics headline can't be over a week or so old.

I actually went to 626 Gallery twice. The first time was to walk through and see the works of their group of next generation artists. Some fun work with irregular canvases (or not canvases, I guess), and one paired piece of amazing needlework. The crowd was impressive, and I always love the 626 touch of having the red carpet and a doorman.

The second time I was there it was for the chocolate fountain. Cheyanne and I were across the street when she spotted it and instantly made a dash over to their door. The fountain is very cool, and it'll be fun to have 626 operating this second storefront space on a more regular basis once they finish up the ugly process of applying for licenses.

Yesterday was Niche.LA's official grand opening. You might remember that I talked about their show last month, but that was just a soft opening. This time they had wine, so it was for real.

Also new to Gallery Row this month was Art Murmur, who start things off with a show of self portraits by various artists. I'm pretty sure the pictured piece isn't a self-portrait, but it's definitely the most striking imagery from the show. It's amazing to see what they've done with this space since last month, when they came in the day of the walk, hung some paintings, and took them down that night. The official grand opening is tomorrow evening.

I didn't get a chance to look at much of what was on the expansive walls at Infusion Gallery since we walked in just in time to watch their fashion show. Unless I'm forgetting something, I think that would be a first of those for me (watching, not participating, though I haven't done that either). They had a good turnout for the show, and people seemed into it.

I didn't take any pictures at The Hive Gallery, but I continue to really like the concept of the artist workspace/exhibition areas. You end up with just a bunch of fun little spaces to poke your head into, and each has a very different style from the next.

Final gallery stop of the night for me (well, actually the chocolate fountain was last, but I already talked about that) was at Gallery 727, which featured an interesting project called the Temporary Travel Office. They were offering tours of parking lots, which may be an idea that takes some explaining. I don't think I'm the one to explain it, though. Just check the website.

Next Art Walk will be August 11th.