GALLERIES
Reviews by Christopher Knight (C.K.), David Pagel (D.P.) and Leah Ollman (L.O.). Compiled
by Grace Krilanovich.
Critics’ Choices
John Currin Neither ironic nor straightforward, Currin’s oils on canvas are curdled and perverse, both timely and twisted. That brings them into the present, where they are catnip for critics (D.P.). Gagosian Gallery, 456 N. Camden Drive, Beverly Hills. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; ends Sat. (310) 2719400. Glenn Ligon: Well, It’s Bye-Bye/If
You Call That Gone A small reliquary holds a paint-smudged text of James Baldwin’s classic essay “Stranger in the Village.” The hard anger of Baldwin’s text has been stabbed with black paint. The powerful words are obliterated, while simultaneously registering a coiled frustration that matches the writer’s vexation. Ligon’s show is infused with an awful, persistent relevance (C.K.). Regen Projects, 6750 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A. Tue.Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends April 18. (310) 276-5424. Mariah Robertson Photography Lovers’ Peninsula Robertson pares down photography to a few of its most basic ingredients: light, chemicals, and a light-sensitive surface. Hers is an untamed art, stomach-flipping in its wild energy and jolts of rapturous beauty (L.O.). MB Gallery, 612 N. Almont Drive, Los Angeles. Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends Wed. (310) 5500050.
Continuing
Theodora Allen The artist paints in thin layers of oil, wiping away each addition before applying the next. The images that result are more visions than views. They have the consistency of meditations or memories, at once persuasive, elusive, and enchanting (L.O.). Blum & Poe, 2727 S. La Cienega Blvd., L.A.. Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends April 18. (310) 8362062.
Marten Elder In Elder’s color-field photographs, Alfred Stieglitz’s famous series of cloud pictures from the 1920s and early 1930s has found a new, thoroughly unexpected equivalent (C.K.). Tif Sigfrids Gallery, 1507 Wilcox Ave., Hollywood. Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends April 25. (323) 9079200. Amir H. Fallah: From the Primitive to the Present As a painter, Fallah’s strength is to create fictions that draw visitors into worlds wilder and woollier than any we might imagine. His installation, by contrast, cleaves too closely to its real-world sources to break free of his own documentary impulses (D.P.). Charlie James Gallery, 969 Chung King Road, Los Angeles. Wed.-Sat. noon-5 p.m.; ends Sat. (213) 687-0844.