Downtown LA Art Walk

Last month my friend invited me to walk the Art Walk Downtown LA, which is organized every second Thursday.

http://downtownartwalk.org/galleries/

Jenni from Pasadena organized the walk and gave us the maps. There were 48 galleries and a bunch of outside murals, like Claudio Ethos mural.

1. At first we visited MIA, Machine Inspired Art on 530 Main Str. Christopher Liang, Mia’s photographer, showed us downstairs where they create art. There were quite interesting things like wooden pictures embroided at different depth, metal clocks designed as city landscapes, and more.

2. Our second stop was Los Angeles Center for Digital Art http://www.lacda.com/ or http://digitalart.la/ It was not my favorite, just not my cup of tea.

3. Next one was The Los Angeles Theater Center, full of exhibitors. It reminded me a bazaar.

The Shallow Lady by Sterling Loiacono really stood out for me.

4. And then we went to The last book store! http://lastbookstorela.com/ What a marvel! There we found book sculptures and labyrinths, book vaults, book shelves organized by color. And all books on the second floor were $1 each. There was a girl sitting by the piano (below) writing poetry on any topic you want. It seemed there were dozens of smaller galleries inside, like Fold Gallery, and Andrea Bogdan art http://andreabogdan.com/contact.html. In Furio Shop we realized we were standing on the floor of pennies. The owner told us that it took them 4 hours and $280 worth of pennies to decorate the floor. And now it is the signature of her shop. http://www.yelp.com/biz/fold-gallery-and-curio-shop-los-angeles-2  We definitely felt out of our century and place … And it was cool!

5. We made it to the Robert Reynolds, at that moment the busiest gallery. It featured Alain Bali photography and Olivia Barratier http://www.oliviabarratier.com/

6. Next was Miguel Osuna Gallery.

7. Finally, we reached LAND (Los Angeles Nomadic Division) that  presented Painting in Place, a group of contemporary painting in the historic Farmers and Merchants Bank in Downtown Los Angeles (401 South Main Street Los Angeles, CA 90013).

“The exhibition presents a wide array of work from contemporary artists that tackle painting from various perspectives, using both traditional and unconventional techniques and media in their approach to the discipline. Exploring various ways that the definition of painting is continuously evolving, the project seeks to expand the traditional parameters of painting, sculpture, and installation: blurred, deconstructed, and refigured.

Artists include Rita Ackermann, Kevin Appel, Jennifer Boysen, Sarah Cain, N. Dash, Matias Faldbakken, Kim Fisher, Barnaby Furnas, Alexandra Grant, Matt Greene, Mark Hagen, David Hendren, Julian Hoeber, Rashid Johnson, Jacob Kassay, Olga Koumoundouros, Jim Lee, Nate Lowman, Allison Miller, Sam Moyer, Amanda Ross-Ho, Analia Saban, Kate Shepherd, Gary Simmons, Vincent Szarek, Britton Tolliver, Kon Trubkovich, Monique van Genderen, and Bobbi Woods.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmers_and_Merchants_Bank_of_Los_Angeles. It looked

like a bank and had some interesting works, like “I like myself don’t you?” I also really liked Alexandra Grant‘s newest neon text work”I See Myself In You” installed at 401 S. Main St. in Los Angeles.

There were paintings with unique light in color by Barnaby Furnas. And artsy sandbags on the floor?

By the time we left LAND, our energy has run out, and we felt exhausted. But something out of ordinary caught our eye. And it was a hair salon! The artist was greeting everyone and welcoming us into the salon to see his work displayed on the walls. It was indeed interesting, kind of cartoonish. And there were real models around with extreme make up, clothing and hairdos. I spoke to the artist – PJ Andrews. He was born in Boston and lived there for many years before he moved to the West Coast.

8. Salon on Main Street, 403 S. Main Street, Hairsalon, http://www.pjandrewsart.com/

9. Besides murals on the walls of buildings, there was street art by Rob! He painted mirrors that looked surreal, he was working as we passed by, and I complemented him on his work.

During the evening I took hundreds of photos. After about 9 galleries we couldn’t walk anymore or enjoy art and stopped by for dinner at Pete’s Cafe and Bar on 400 S Main Str.

We talked about creativity and self expression, as it is the meaning of life for many artists. They create and achieve the unknown only inspired by the muse and beauty of the world around us and their imagination. Check this art walk for yourself! You will see how many talented people in LA! And maybe you will realize out that you are an artist too!

Many companies had their PR people on the streets giving away samples of their products and leaflets about their businesses. One of them was  a festival  Lightning in a Bottle (LIB), it is a celebration of Art, Sustainability, Music, Performance, and Life Itself. Check it out on July 11-15 at Temecula, CA

“LIB strives to be a greater expression each year. We take pride in curating local up and coming music talent and international world renowned artists. We paved the way for live painting at our events with Lightning in a Paintcan, which is headed up by our very own non-profit The Do Art Foundation, who’s efforts fund initiatives that are far reaching in the art world. We host speakers and workshops on topics of sustainability, spirituality and child-friendly entertainment. Behind everything we do at LIB is a deep commitment to our environment and our sustainability practices which we continually strive to improve every year. LIB was the winner of the Outstanding Greener Festival Award, 3-years in a row!”

And Paris is for Lovers…