L.A.'s Chinatown a Magnet for New Galleries - Los Angeles - Brief Article

Art in America, June, 2001 by Michael Duncan

Los Angeles's Chinatown, located just north of the city center, has become a surprising new hotspot for emerging galleries. Five quirky storefront spaces are sprinkled among the antique and souvenir shops on Chung King Road--a funky, plastic-lantern-bedecked walkway running behind and to the west of Hill Street. With three other new galleries in the vicinity and several more in the works, this grassroots activity marks an unexpected rekindling of the downtown arts scene.

Attracted by Chung King Road's low rents and picturesque setting, a group of artists including Roger Herman and Hubert Schmalix opened Black Dragon Society in 1998 as a low-rent, free-form venue for showing art. Open erratically (usually only on Saturday afternoons), the space--whose name and signage were inherited from the previous occupants--showcases work by the collective and their friends and students. In April, for example, the gallery featured "White Snake," an oddball group show by recent Cal Arts graduates.

The other Chinatown venues have more commercial intentions. China Art Objects, a space designed by artist Pae White, is in its second season of fulltime operation. Receiving much attention from out-of-towners eager for fresh L.A. product, the ambitious gallery has focused on fledging local art school grads such as Jon Pylypchuk, Jennifer Moon and Ruby Neri. Under the intrepid direction of sculptor Inmo Yuon, INMO Gallery has featured group shows including more experienced, underrated artists such as Nancy Evans, Merion Estes, Gordon Haines and Steve DeGroodt, as well as a show of drawings and models for projects by architect Eric Owen Moss. This spring INMO presented a fascinating exhibition of miniatures and drawings by architect Greg Lynn, including sensuous, futuristic models made of resin, composite board, urethane and aluminum, designed as studies for projects that include a collaborative installation with the painter Fabian Marcaccio.

Open since May 2000, Goldman Tevis has featured exhibitions devoted to more established figures from L.A. and abroad, such as the inaugural show of drawings and video by Andrea Bowers and a recent group show of works by Beat Streuli, Jean-Marc Bustamante and Tom Baldwin. Diannepruess Gallery has started off with quirkier programming, exemplified by a spring show commenting on the area's gentrification that featured the entire remaining inventory of The Happy Lion, a Chung King Road souvenir store that was displaced to make room for a forthcoming commercial space. Only a block away, just east of Hill Street. Acuna-Hansen Gallery earlier this year featured the exquisite drawings of Kelly McLane and inventive hard-edged paintings by newcomers Bart Esposito and Jamey Garza.

The Chinatown buzz has encouraged gallery activity in neighboring downtown areas. Recently opened on Broadway about a mile north of Chinatown, Gallery 2211 occupies a handsome space designed by architect Joseph Giovannini. Two opening group shows curated by gallery director Michael Solway featured works by Alan Rath, Patrick Nickell, Jim Campbell and Alex Grey. On the other side of downtown, just east of MOCA, Armstrong Schoenheit Gallery has opened in a converted loft space with an inaugural show of sand paintings by L.A. artist Laura Howe, which was followed by an exhibition of paintings and drawings by newcomers Kavin Buck and Melanie Manos.

Meanwhile, stalwarts Post Gallery and Cirrus Gallery provide a welcome sense of stability to a revived downtown scene that is still very much in flux. While the strong market for emerging L.A. talent continues, the new Chinatown galleries will thrive--despite the inevitable social and economic problems arising from the area's gentrification. But how long can Chung King Road be kept Starbucks-free?