Galleries Bolster Art Scene Fraught With Closures

Following a spate of recent gallery closures and announcements of pending closures, the rocky local art scene is again showing signs of life with several new sites opening or planned to open in coming months.

Julie Rico, who has been director of Robert Berman’s B-1 Gallery in Santa Monica for the past year and a half, has left Berman to start her own gallery, which she plans to open in about two months. While Rico said plans were “still in the infant stages,” she has backers already in place and is working to negotiate a lease for a Main Street location within two blocks of B-1. And Rico, who had a downtown gallery for two years prior to working with Berman, has already scored a major coup--she will be handling a number of works by the late artist Carlos Almaraz.

Also opening a new gallery is photography dealer Stephen Cohen, who organized last month’s photography exposition held at Butterfield and Butterfield Auctioneers. Cohen plans to hold five or six exhibitions per year at his Beverly Boulevard gallery, which opens Feb. 29 with “Something Tells Me We’re Not in Kansas Anymore--Weegee & Mickey Pallas.”

Another new site, Westwood’s Andersen Gallery, has used its inaugural exhibition to showcase the first fruits of Mayor Tom Bradley’s Los Angeles-St. Petersburg Sister Cities committee. “St. Petersburg/Moscow,” which will be on view through March 28, features works done by contemporary Russian artists during the events that led to the Soviet Union’s breakup. Curating for the new gallery is Jeff Phillips, who also runs the gallery program at the Directors Guild in Hollywood.

And the city’s new “Percent for Art” fee is responsible for yet another new venue: a lobby gallery in the 52-story 777 Tower building at 777 S. Figueroa. Sponsored by Citicorp Plaza, the gallery is currently showing Ansel Adams photographs from the Mitsubishi Estate Corp. Collection. Future exhibitions will feature works loaned from local museums.

PUBLIC ART: “Obelisks,” two new site-specific sculptures by Michele Oka Doner, have been installed at Ocean Park Boulevard and Barnard Way in Santa Monica. The twin organic sculptures, each measuring 13 1/2 feet tall, were created by covering PVC pipe with copper coil and copper mesh. The pieces were then lowered into a freshwater lagoon in Florida, where they accumulated a covering of sea urchins and barnacles, thus creating a solid limestone covering similar to coral.

MURAL: The East Los Streetscapers muralist group has completed its latest work at the Francisco Bravo MD Medical Magnet High School in Boyle Heights. The mural--designed by artists David Botello, Wayne Healy and Rich Raya--depicts scenes including two Bravo graduates looking over the shoulder of a surgeon at work, students in the 21st Century working on a “humanoid” reminiscent of the Terminator, and a group of multicultural youth protecting the planet. The mural was funded through a $10,000 1990-91 Cultural Affairs grant awarded to Healy.

CONVENTION: From Feb. 28-March 1, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions will host “Spew 2,” a national “fanzine” convention featureing a roster of editors from nearly 50 self-produced gay magazines from cities including Montreal, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Toronto and Los Angeles. A special opening party, as well as a number of exhibitions and performances--ranging from low-budget videos produced for cable TV to an appearance by the L.A. band Hole--will be held throughout the convention. Information: (213) 624-5650.

EVENTS: The Santa Barbara Museum of Art hopes to develop a photography acquisition fund through the Feb. 28 benefit “Camera Ready: An Evening in Black and White,” featuring the grand opening of the exhibition “Watkins to Weston: 101 Years of California Photography.” Tickets are $75. Information: (805) 963-4364.

ENTRIES: Pasadena’s Armory Center for the Arts will accept submissions through Feb. 29 for its “International Mail Art Exhibition” scheduled for March 21-May 10. The theme will be “Freedom.” Works must be sent through the mail for inclusion, and all elements of packaging must be part of the artwork. Information: (818) 792-5101.

Feb. 27 is the deadline for slide entries for “From Real to Surreal,” an April 4-May 22 juried competition sponsored by the Brea Civic Cultural Center. Purchase awards and cash prizes will be given. The entry fee is $7 per work; all California artists are eligible. Information: (714) 990-7730.