Large Scale Paintings. Photography. Graffiti. Digital Art. Scuplture. These are just a few of the types of art we got to experience while attending the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk. Once again, we were blown away by the amazing talents of the artists showcased. What is even more interesting about this once a month event, held every second Thursday, is the variety of people you encounter from different walks of life, which is an art form in itself. From all of the walking and gallery hopping you’re sure to get hungry, but with 3 parking lots hosting a plethora of food trucks ranging from Indian to Greek to Lobster and all the in between, hunger is the last thing on your mind. Not to mention the many restaurants, wine shops, street vendors and diners that house the area as well. If you’re in the mood for shopping, they have a section of booths set up with handmade jewelry, clothes and other fun things to purchase. Also, some of the boutiques double as a gallery, such as Crack Gallery and Dialect. However, the best part of the art walk is…it’s FREE!
While stopping into the CB1 gallery located in the Spring Art Towers, we got the privilege to talk to one of the featured artist, Ruben Reyes. I loved his collection of watercolor splatter & ink drawings. Originally from the Fresno area of California, he moved to Los Angeles to further pursue his career in art. Since moving to the LA area, he has gained quite a bit of recognition, and would like to expand his artwork into areas like New York. However with two young boys, he said that he plans to do so only after they become old enough to handle such a change. Ruben showed us his favorite piece in his collection titled, “Bound By Choice”. He said that this piece expressed his struggle with himself that has held him back from succeeding. I found the piece to be very expressive with a great meaning. I love when artist use themselves in their art work.
One of our favorite galleries is Cotrutza, which showcases the artist Claudia French ‘s amazing line drawings of women’s issues and struggles such as: abortion, pregnancy, depression and more. I love the movement she puts into the drawings and how she captures the audience with the emotion and meaning conveyed through her work. If these pieces don’t move you, I don’t know what will. A few other galleries we visited include: The Latino American Art Gallery which displayed beautiful color rich photographs of quintessential spanish ingredients and black and white pictures that embraced Latino men of older age. The GROUNDFLOOR, which is one of my favorites, showed very intricate paintings done in bold colors like red and gold by artist Tobias Keene. They also added to the ambiance by having a great jazz singer by the name of Eddie Wakes perform live. Lastly, Crewest Gallery was really fun to visit, with live DJ’s spinning and oversized graffiti pieces in bright neon colors.
I could go on and on about all the wonderful galleries and artist we got to see but that would take forever. Plus, me describing everything doesn’t do it justice! Be sure to check out the artists and galleries mentioned, as well as the art walk.
K.I.S.S
Courtney Z
Info: Every second Thursday of the month, Downtown Los Angeles
Other Artist we enjoyed:
Jake Thomas, Jim Lembeck , and photographer Gil Mares who photographs the worn hulls of ships docked in the Long Beach/ LA Harbor
GROUNDFLOOR Gallery
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