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Arts & Entertainment
May 2008
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[ EASTSIDE EYE ]
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Goodbye to |
Rounding Hyperion Avenue’s major curve, perhaps you’ve noticed Metro Gallery. Since September 2005, gallery owners Juan Garcia and David Freire have added cultural vitality to the heavily trafficked thoroughfare, predominantly populated by industrial shops. Close by are the Found Gallery—“Not Particularly Tall” opens May 3rd—and popular lunch spot Viet Soy Café; Hyperion Tavern and Casita del Campo are also within walking distance. However, after Mary-Austin Klein’s solo exhibition “Collective Amnesia” ends in June, Metro Gallery will be moving on.
After a celebratory closing party June 28th, Garcia and Freire intend to swap their space with the hair salon’s next door with the plan to eventually move downtown, with some guest curatorial work at City’s Hall’s Bridge Gallery in between. In response to the evolving nature of the gallery business, the team will work closely with their artists, developing online and innovative sales approaches.
For both, the founding of Metro Gallery came for their personal passion for art.
“Working with the gallery and artists has opened up great opportunities and alliances,” said Garcia.
He and Freire are proud of their tenure: not only supporting local artists and the area’s art scene but with other efforts such as a mural project on Myra Avenue under the Sunset Blvd. bridge and annual participation in the Silver Lake Art Crawl.
Initially the gallery showcased local artists with a bent towards abstract work. The gallery’s final show features representational work by Echo Park-based painter Mary-Austin Klein and is slated for May 17th through June 21st. Klein was a popular participant in last summer’s Frogtown Art Walk. Per the artist, her striking California landscapes depict Los Angeles as a “spoiled land of enchantment.”
Metro Gallery,
1835 Hyperion Ave.
323-663-2782
www.metrogallery.org.