So I visited Chinatown this past weekend...

My initial impression upon returning home was that nothing really interesting was open, and most of the galleries were inbetween shows.

I saw a lot of this...

my photo of the Happy Lion Gallery

This left me feeling initially that it was rather fruitless gallery hopping trip. :(

However....
While there were in fact many galleries changing shows at the moment, I realized as I looked through many of the gallery cards I picked up, I saw more than I realized! So all in all, not so disappointing... although... perhaps it is worth noting that much of the work was apparently not very memorable.

First, two shows that were definitely memorable:

Adrian Ghenie @ kontainer gallery

They said this place does not exist, 2007

Adrian Ghenie's paintings show us dimly lit, seemingly private, scenes. And they feel very loosely constructed, as though from a world of memories and dreams inhabited only by ghosts. I found them mesmerizing!


James Hayward: Ecstatic Excess @ Mandarin Gallery

Abstract, 2007

These energetic canvases lavishly revel in the joyful act of painting! Mountains of paint... Purity of color... Very deep, active brush strokes... These paintings live up to the exhibition title - Ecstatic Excess! Not groundbreaking, but a guilty pleasure just the same!


As for the remainder of the neighborhood, here's a super-quick rundown...

. Godfrey, Angel, 2007 Doyle, Comfort Inn, Echo Park, 2007

Richard Godfrey: Amberback @ L2Kontemporary
Beautifully dark abstract canvases of luminous amber and deep black.

Chris Doyle: Still & Still Moving @ Sam Lee Gallery
Large neutral watercolors of tossled bedding. Absent, and yet suggestive of life.

. Beshty, Photogram, 2007 Dorland, Walking the Dog, 2007

Walead Beshty @ China Art Objects and Reding Fine Art

The abstract color photograms (shown above) are mildly interesting. More interesting are the small containers of "Selected Works" a conceptual gathering of prior works as compiled in a recycled mulch.

Kim Dorland: Somewhere in the Neighborhood

@ Bonelli Contemporary

Technically I didn't see this show. The gallery was officially closed, but they did have a couple of works still on the wall... so I got to glimpse Dorland's dark visions of the suburban life.


And last but not least...
Benny Chan @ LMan Gallery
Chan's work is not currently on display, but LMan Gallery represents him, and some of his works can be seen in their upper room. He is an incredibly talented architectural photographer, and has fantastic large format prints of commercial and industrial spaces all around the LA area. See more of his work at Fotoworks.

Benny Chan, untitled