GALLERIES

Reviews by Christopher Knight (C.K.) and David Pagel (D.P.). Compiled by Grace Krilanovich.

Critics’ Choices

Nathaniel de Large: at large De Large is a lighthanded junk-picker whose search for quirky stuff is only the beginning of an out-of-step quest to refashion the world into a playground for the imagination. Wonder, spiked with a shot of gentle absurdity, is the Holy Grail he coaxes into existence with his DIY inventions. The L.A. artist gets viewers to experience the world as a loopy adventure, a meandering journey filled with serendipitous twists and wonderful turns that keep us on our toes, almost dancing (D.P.). Cirrus Gallery, 542 S. Alameda St., L.A. Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; ends Sat. (213) 680-3473.

Continuing

Drew Heitzler: for Sailors, Mermaids, Mystics. for Kustomizers, Grinders, Fender-men. for Fools, Addicts, Woodworkers and Hustlers. Heitzler’s new triptych of three appropriated Hollywood films re-edited and transferred to video is an elaborate, highly stylized bit of historical theater. Think of it as mass-media kabuki. The multiple screens, choice of black-and-white pictures and youthful movie stars together seem meant to recall Andy Warhol’s films, which he began to make in 1963. In the jumbled, fragmented, radically condensed narrative, love on the rocks bleeds into insanity, interspersed with postwar American car culture. The three parts layer the subtle shifts between the Beat Generation and the Pop era as the early 1960s unfolded (C.K.). Blum & Poe, 2754 S. La Cienega Blvd., L.A. Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends Sat. (310) 836-2062.

Michele O’Marah: A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do Over the last half-decade, a new genre of art has emerged: videos that would look better on Youtube than in galleries. Before then, this category was occupied by art that would be better as a book than as an exhibition. O’Marah’s raucous yet unsatisfying exhibition has one foot firmly planted in each of these genres. Her three video vignettes are tongue-in-cheek send-ups that would be just as engaging on small monitors. The main source she draws on, a 1996 film starring Pamela Anderson, would be better explored in an essay. O’Marah’s installation lacks purpose and direction (D.P.). Kathryn Brennan Gallery @ Cottage Home, 410 Cottage Home St., L.A.; ends Feb. 6. (213) 628-7000.

Allison Schulnik: Home for Hobo The cast of characters in Schulnik’s messy paintings comes from society’s underbelly: hobos, clowns, losers and vermin. Such out-of-luck figures have been favored subjects by artists for several centuries, forming the core of much gritty Realism, dreamy Romanticism and angst-addled Expressionism. Schulnik is at her best when her gooey paintings tap into that history without coming off as mannered rehashes. It’s a tough task, and the young L.A. artist manages it admirably in her second solo show in Los Angeles, where the hits outnumber the misses (D.P.). Mark Moore Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; ends Feb. 6. (310) 453-3031.

Group Show: The Last Plastics Show Karl Marx famously said that history repeats itself first as tragedy then as farce. He might have thought differently if he’d had a chance to see “The Last Plastics Show,” an absorbing exhibition that features overlooked works by 15 of the 24 artists in the original 1972 version of the show, which was held at CalArts and organized by Judy Chicago, Doug Edge and DeWain Valentine. The current rendition is a timely eye-opener: It makes us mindful of how densely textured the present is before it gets streamlined and simplified and turned into history (D.P.). Cardwell Jimmerson Contemporary Art, 8568 Washington Blvd., Culver City. Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; ends Feb. 13. (310) 815-1100.