GALLERIES

Reviews by Christopher Knight (C.K.), Sharon Mizota (S.M.) and Leah Ollman (L.O.). Compiled by Grace Krilanovich.

Critics’ Choices

Michelle Stuart: Topographies This show spans nearly 50 years of drawings, rubbings and photographic installations. For all of its breadth, the selection is tight and consistently absorbing, vital and relevant. Since the ’60s, Stuart has made art as a citizen of the world, traveling widely and connecting deeply with whatever earth is beneath her feet (L.O.). Marc Selwyn Fine Art, 9953 S. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. Tue.-Sat. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends Sat. (310) 277-9953.

Continuing

John Chiara: Mississippi The light leaks, sun flares, blurs and skewed chromatics in Chiara’s photographs go to show that several technical wrongs can make an expressive right. The Bay Area photographer redefines conventional picture-making means to serve evocative, personal ends. His scrappy process is perhaps the work’s most appealing aspect of all (L.O.). Rose Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica. Tue.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends Sat. David Hockney: Painting and Photography Hockney has been wrestling with photography for decades, vigorously refuting its claim of veracity to experience. In his new work, he keeps up the argument, but it’s not a fun rant to witness. His composite “photographic drawings” destabilize perspective but feel weirdly dead. The paintings in the show — executed with more grace and less didactic struggle -- come as a welcome reprieve (L.O.). L.A. Louver, 45 N. Venice Blvd., Venice. Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Thu. 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; ends Sept. 19. (310) 822-4955.

Matt Hope: Sun Dragon Hardware Born in London and living in Beijing, Hope is a resourceful, skilled maker in multiple media. He draws, sculpts and scavenges, packing his extensive, daunting show with all sorts of power — of the hand, mind and machine. Inventing forms to match function and flirting with their misalignment is where Hope’s ingenuity and dark, dry humor find their truest home (L.O.). Ace Gallery Beverly Hills, 9430 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. Tue.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends Oct. 31. (310) 8589090. Jeffrey Vallance: The Medium Is the

Message On a fundamental level, art is a conversation among artists. Vallance put several artist-forerunners on speed-dial in 2010, engaging a group of professional spiritualists and mediums to conduct a séance and make contact. What his forebears had to say is commemorated in eight large, black-and-white digital photographs and eight “spirit objects.” They exude the same wry and revealing Pop eccentricity that has been vital in Vallance’s droll work for more than 30 years (C.K.). CB1 Gallery, 1923 S. Santa Fe Ave., L.A. Tue.-Sat. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; ends Sat. (213) 8067889. Group Show: After Victor Papanek: The Future Is Not What It Used to Be The exhibition features artists who engage with the principles of the industrial designer, writer and educator. The result is an engaging and thought-provoking exhibition that celebrates not only creativity but the notion that art might make the world a better place (S.M.). Armory Center for the Arts, 145 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. Tue.-Sun. noon-5 p.m.; ends next Sun. (626) 792-5101. Group Show: a lie about a lie; a truth about The truth By default, photography registers a simultaneous nearness to and distance from truth. More of the 22 artists represented here (from the U.S., U.K., Japan, Germany, Thailand and elsewhere) assume that condition than address it overtly. Improvisation and informality drive nearly all the work. Much feels obscure and inconsequential, but the whole hums with an appealing raw energy (L.O.). Little Big Man Gallery, 1427 E. 4th St., Unit 2. L.A. Ends Mon. (917) 361-5039.