Artist’s Tribute to Alexander Graham Bell Is No Wrong Number

PHONES, CLOCKS, AND VIDEOTAPE: Santa Monica’s Dorothy Goldeen Gallery continues an exhibit that opened Jan. 6 of several works by video artist and sculptor Nam June Paik.

One of the most elaborate pieces, “Alexander Graham Bell,” is a fanciful tribute to the inventor of the telephone, constructed of found television and radio cabinets with modern video screens implanted. Vintage telephones hang from its sides, and the screens offer an ever-changing montage of state-of-the-art video graphics intercut with images relating to the communications industry.

Also at the Goldeen Gallery is “Moonlight Sonata,” a new piece that was on display at last month’s L.A. Contemporary Art Exposition, as well as one of Nam June Paik’s earliest pieces from the 1960s, a “video clock” constructed of 24 television sets mounted on separate pedestals that arc through a room.

The first set broadcasts only a vertical line, and the line on each successive screen, which playfully changes color, dips another 15 degrees, suggesting a clock. Framed selections from Nam June Paik’s sketchbooks complete the exhibit, which continues through Feb. 10.

Nam June Paik at the Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, 1547 9th St., Santa Monica. (213) 395-0222. Through Feb. 10. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. THE FALL OF THE WALL: “The Berlin Wall Cycle,” a collection of paintings, gouaches and photo-collages from the mid-1980s, will go on display Jan. 31 at the Mayer-Schwarz Gallery in Beverly Hills.

Peter Klasen, a native of Lubeck, Germany, created the works in “The Berlin Wall Cycle” between 1985 and 1988, culminating in a final painting created on stage at France’s Nouveau Theatre. Klasen’s last solo exhibition in the United States was at New York’s Maximilian Gallery. His works have been widely exhibited in Europe.

About 30 works in canvas and mixed media will be on exhibit at Mayer-Schwarz. Ten are very recent paintings, chronicling Klasen’s response to the destruction of the Berlin Wall.

An opening reception will be held from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Jan. 31. The show will continue through the end of February and possibly into March.

Peter Klasen’s “The Berlin Wall Cycle” at the Mayer-Schwarz Gallery, 411 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills. (213) 278-4666. Open Sundays noon to 6 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. YOUNG LOS ANGELES: Fandra Chang, Kerr + Malley, and Laura Stein are among the artists in “New Edge: Young Los Angeles,” running at the Karl Bornstein Gallery in Santa Monica. Also taking part in the mixed-media exhibit are local artists Habib Kheradyar, Lauren Lesko and Michael Miller.

Stein’s sculptures, incorporating slabs and cubes of wax with electricity, are among the more unusual works in “New Edge.” Kerr + Malley, meanwhile, have contributed canvases and installations that explore abortion from sociological and historical perspectives. Information about infamous 19th-Century abortionists, for example, is juxtaposed with photographs from today’s pro-choice and anti-abortion rallies. Another work, consisting of Polaroid photographs and specimen cards arranged into shapes of crosses, describes folk remedies and old wives’ tales regarding ways to force miscarriage.

“New Edge: Young Los Angeles” at the Karl Bornstein Gallery, 1658 1/2 10th St., Santa Monica. (213) 452-4210. Open Tuesdays through Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. CENTER UPDATE: The Westside Arts Center, which lost its permanent home last August in an arson fire, will be holding winter sessions in its new temporary home at Olympic Alternative High School, 1302 11th St. at Arizona Avenue in Santa Monica.

The private, nonprofit arts center offers low-cost arts programs for children and families, as well as outreach programs and creative dance classes. Scholarships are available for all classes and programs.

According to program director Susan Childs, the center is still seeking a permanent home. Directors hope to announce its location soon.

For information, contact the staff at (213) 395-1443.