May 9 Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk : Cartwheel Art

May 9 Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk

Posted by Lisa Derrick

Art! People! Classic architecture! Restaurants! Bars! Musicians! The Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk, held the second Thursday of every month is one of the liveliest events in Southern California, drawing every type: Hare Krishsnas and hairy chinned hipsters to neo-beatniks and Bentley-driving uptightniks shared the sidewalks and elbowed for room on the sidewalks and in galleries.

At the Art Walk Lounge, Can Love showcased their empty spray can art cart. Can Love’s graffiti recycling efforts can be seen in Speedy Graphito‘s mosiac Mona Lisa at the Fabien Castanier Gallery opening tomorrow. A DJ spun and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation signed people up for TAP cards, which can be loaded with money and used for Metro and DASH rides.

The DTLA Art Walk has a smart phone app to help navigate the Art Walk’s many galleries, but Cindy headed directly for The Hive with her friend, and while my friend and I took a different route. The Last Bookstore, with its numerous small galleries was a must-see for both of us, as the photos below show.

My first stop, Mignon Wine Bar on 6th Street next to Cole’s (which may or may not be the home of the original french dip sandwich), is a low key location for enjoying cheese and charcuterie. I had wanted to check out Mignon’s art culled from thrift shops, and it was a wise move, since a light rain briefly hit downtown. When we emerged at dusk, the sidewalks had the wet gleam of of noir novel.

The Hare Krishnas were dancing down the Spring St. as we paused to watch an artist do live charcoal drawings from a seated model. Kombucha Dog poured shots for a kombucha tasting, and local restaurants passed out fresh baked cookies, all very community-oriented. Stephen Rowe Art Studio featured a smart window installation, and live painting was going on inside the Stock Exchange building. The Last Bookstore also had live painting, while upstairs, the Spring Arts Collective and other galleries drew large crowds. Elizabeth Huston was showing her photomontage giclées, and Mark Edward was exhibiting at Fold Gallery (look for an interview with him on CARTWHEEL next week).

Along with admiring Edward’s and David Lovejoy‘s aseemblages at Spring Arts Collective, Cindy explored The Hive, where artist collective Shaq Jizz was showing, along with Adam Roth, Paul Arden, Patrick Haemmerlein, Walt Hall,and textile artist Marcel DeJure, whose his short film Wig Rodeo is a cult favorite. The Hive’s energy was high, with visitors and artists participating in a group live art session as a DJ spun.

With summer coming and nights growing longer and warmer, the DTLA Art Walk will draw even more people to Downtown for this monthly celebration of the city and its creative forces.