Coming Attractions. . . : Art: One longtime gallery will close, but others continue to flourish. This winter they present exhibits about everything from the colonization of America, to religion and neighborhoods.

The new year is traditionally a time for beginnings, and various art galleries in the San Fernando Valley will begin 1992 with new exhibitions that encompass everything from political outrage to religious interpretation, or simply visions of everyday life.

But 1992 also means an ending for one of the Valley’s longstanding spaces. After 10 years, Contemporary Images will close its doors Saturday.

“We’ve been here a long time,” said Belle Osipow, a co-owner, “but the recession really hit us hard.”

Osipow is one of five women artists who, in 1982, decided to pool their efforts and money to open a small space at Ventura and Coldwater Canyon boulevards.

“We originally wanted a showcase for ourselves,” Osipow said. “Then, we thought, ‘Why shouldn’t we include all sorts of work?’ ”

Six years ago, the partners moved to their current location, a Sherman Oaks storefront on Ventura Boulevard, and continued showing a blend of works that ranged from fine arts to crafts and included paintings, prints, jewelry and ceramics.

“It was a labor of love. The five of us women loved showing these things,” said Ruth Banarer, another of the owners. “We weren’t making any money, but we kept going as long as we were paying the overhead.”

Fans of the gallery, at 14027 Ventura Blvd., can pay their respects at the final sale today and Saturday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Call (818) 783-2007.

As for the art spaces that are still alive and kicking, what follows is a sampling of the winter’s offerings:

* In the wake of last October’s PBS series on Christopher Columbus and the Tournament of Roses’ controversial decision to honor the explorer in its 1992 parade, the CSUN Main Gallery has mounted a display of “New World” political posters titled “500 Years Since Columbus: The Legacy Continues.” The exhibit, which runs through Feb. 12, presents the European colonization of America from the viewpoint of this continent’s native peoples.

The artists are American Indians and black American Indians and Latinos. There are graphic works from South and Central America and from the Caribbean.

Although only about a dozen of the posters deal specifically with Columbus, virtually all of them take a dire view of European settlement. They range from the very colorful and visual, to black-and-white works utilizing a larger section of text.

“The posters are angry. They’re painful. They’re hopeful,” said Louis Lewis, gallery director. “They contradict the standard media stories. There’s a lot of grass-roots feeling. You start to wonder, ‘Who do I believe?’ ”

These pieces were collected by the Los Angeles-based Center for the Study of Political Graphics, which has previously brought to the Valley exhibits on the Persian Gulf War and breast cancer.

The Cal State Northridge focus on Latin America continues in a more subdued mode with “The Modern Maya,” an exhibition of photographs that will open Feb. 24. The pictures document the increasingly rare pockets of modern Mayan culture, depicting the people and their environment.

The exhibit of photographs by McDuff Everton was organized by the UC Santa Barbara museum. It continues at CSUN through March 28.

“It’s almost anthropological, in the the sense that these are truly Mayan people,” Lewis said. “In certain high mountains of Guatemala and Mexico there are remnants of some of the Mayan tribes. They are studies of the people, set in a variety of settings. It’s touching.”

CSUN Main Gallery, 18111 Nordhoff St., is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, noon-4 p.m. Saturday and Monday. Admission free. Call (818) 885-2156.

* The Orlando Gallery in Sherman Oaks, a true veteran of Valley fine arts, presents the works of two sculptors in a show called “Opposites Attract” through January.

Lisa Lombardi has contributed sculptures of various woods, painted with enamel. The artist re-creates, in hyper-real fashion, common objects in dramatically altered sizes.

Along with Lombardi’s works are painted wall reliefs and standing sculptures by Michael Moon, pieces of an altogether different nature.

“These are two artists who express themselves using the same medium, wood, and express themselves totally differently,” said Robert Gino, the gallery’s co-director. “Lisa is the one who is very classic and elegant and regal. Michael Moon is very abstract and very spiritual.”

The exhibit continues through Jan. 31 at the Orlando Gallery, 14553 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Admission free. Call (818) 789-6012.

* The University of Judaism’s Platt Gallery similarly presents the work of two artists, Ahuva Szlimowicz and Bernice Kussoy, in “Contrasts in Art” through Feb. 24.

Szlimowicz offers paintings that blend representational and abstract styles. Her portion of the exhibit, “The Skin of a Dream,” includes canvases populated by winged females, figures that the artist says represent the self’s search for direction. The work also contains references to Argentina’s recent history of repression and violence.

“I believe that I, also, immersed in this world as it is, live in my own prisons. . . . “ a written statement says. “That is why, I suppose, that I continue to draw and paint barricaded lives and very small windows, sometimes barred, like those of a prison.”

Accompanying these pieces are Kussoy’s sculptures of crushed, bent and twisted metal, contraptions welded together with an acetylene torch. These pieces, exhibited as “Commentaries on the Torah,” strive to evoke historical religious scenes. Her work has been shown at the Cleveland Art Museum and San Francisco’s Museum of Art.

“Contrasts in Art,” at 15600 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles, is open 10 a.m-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday. Admission free. Call (213) 476-9777, Ext. 276.

* At the Artspace Gallery in Woodland Hills, “Animal, Vegetable, Mineral” again uses the gallery to showcase emerging artists in a themed group show. The space is designed to be what Canty calls a “support system,” exposing the public to the efforts of newer painters, sculptors, photographers and other artists.

The exhibit, which continues through Feb. 1, lives up to its title with a variety of realistic and abstract paintings of animals, vegetables and minerals, an installation featuring a melting salt rock, artist Jim Lawrence’s wooden dog sculptures and other works.

“Every show is a themed show,” said Anne Nathan, a gallery assistant. “It’s real obvious when you’re here. And this is a real interesting concept.”

The Artspace Gallery is at 21800 Oxnard St., Woodland Hills. Open noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Admission free. Call (818) 716-2786.

* Beginning Feb. 3 and running through Feb. 29, the McGroarty Arts Center will exhibit the “Inner City Series” by Michael Lindenmeyer. These watercolor paintings are the result of a decade-long study of cityscapes. The artist sketched on location to have his work influenced by not only the sights but also the sounds and character of the neighborhoods.

The series is being presented in conjunction with an upcoming group exhibit, “Working with People,” beginning Feb. 11 at the city Cultural Affairs Department’s Municipal Art Gallery.

Following the cityscapes, on March 17, the students of Verdugo Hills High School will show their work in a site-specific installation at the gallery. That exhibit runs through March 27.

The McGroarty Arts Center is at 7570 McGroarty Terrace, Tujunga. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Admission free. Call (818) 352-5285.