CITY ARTS : ‘Take 2,’ Add 13 for a Great Exhibit

“Take 2” at USC’s Fisher Gallery and the California Afro-American Museum showcases the multimedia artwork of 13 Los Angeles women.

Depictions of homelessness, riots, fires, floods and earthquakes are juxtaposed with those showing human triumph and peaceful rhythms of life.

There are more than 100 works, from Toni Love’s in-your-face paintings depicting the riots to Phoebe Beasley’s cynical collages of Los Angeles consumerism to Alysse Stepanian’s magical realism in her mixed media reflections of ordinary life.

“Take 2”--the title reflects the museums’ first-ever collaboration--is part of the citywide biennial celebration of visual and performing arts, “LAX: The Los Angeles Exhibition,” which takes place simultaneously at 10 institutions.

The other participants are the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena; Cal State Los Angeles; Japanese-American Cultural and Community Center in Little Tokyo; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions in Hollywood; Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery; Otis Gallery in MacArthur Park; Otis College of Art and Design and the Santa Monica Museum of Art.

The public may participate in a series of joint and individual workshops, and artists’ talks and guided tours are scheduled throughout the run of the show at the California Afro-American Museum in Exposition Park and the Fisher Gallery on Exposition Boulevard.

“Take 2” closes Jan. 2. Admission is free. For program and gallery schedules call Fisher Gallery at (213) 740-4561 and the California Afro-American Museum at (213) 744-7432.