My Saturday goal of seeing a bunch of art was gleefully fulfilled. After a family #dtlawalkabout with Meaux and JFK, I headed out solo to Regen Projects to catch the last day of Daniel Richter's show. It was a stunner.

I was very intrigued by the gradients, taping off, and and sharp lines under the super bold, gestural marks.

Blew me away how Richter can get so much energy from painting a single, rough line. The layers below give it depth, but I especially loved the single lines of oil stick or brush stroke.

Beautiful, super sexy work. I loved it all. And Regen Projects is a jewel, the space is a treat to be in.

Post Regen I went around the corner to Various Small Fires. Stepping into the courtyard I suddenly wanted a pool to jump into. I think it reminded me of being in Palm Springs, which I equate with pool frolicking. That and Mateo Tannatt's Water makes many beds, 2016. The courtyard is fab. Clever use of space and inviting the blue sky and powerlines to be part of the show.

The group show GRIND has a cool punk rock, new wave vibe that is easy to like. I especially enjoyed Lothar Hempel's Acid and Iron, 2011 and Ellen Berkenblit's T vs W, 2016.

Next up, on my way back downtown I took a quick peek at The Lodge, where the wonderful Alison Lodge has created a clever, sweet spot for showcasing work. Split between two storefronts connected by a skinny brick lined outdoor passageway, the gallery has a cozy vibe. And any gallery with a dog and a comfy couch is a gallery I'm going to. The current show is Mary Woronov, featuring mostly figurative work. I especially liked the small paintings.

After a quick look and scratch for the pup, I dashed home, jumping off the jammed freeway early and taking the 2nd Street tunnel to downtown. The tunnel! Poor thing. It needs some help, but still wonderful in it's BoHo, Grey Gardens kind of state.

When I made it home, I ditched the car headed to BLAM to meet up with my pal in art, Nadege. I took no pictures of the show (!) but of course her work was my favorite in it. Go see for yourself.

Next up on the arting adventures was a trio of shows at Venus, Nicodim, and the sassy upstart BBQLA. South Anderson is a pleasure to stroll...except right now there is some kind of sewage leak and it stinks really bad. But other than that, love this patch galleries in Boyle Heights (which includes several more spots, we just didn't go this time around).

Venus has an art car show: Piston Head II. It's a mixed bag, but when they are good, they are very good, these cars.

Sterling Ruby's retrofitted police bus was extremely claustrophobic and effective. As was Scharff in a completely opposite way. Olivier Mosset's mashed up vehicle of course makes me think of Chamberlain, but Mosset is all rust and grease to his chrome and gloss. Good stuff.

Across the street, on the opposite corner, Sterling Ruby also had a stellar work at Nicodim's Omul Negru group show, Vampire. The creepiest of creepy. An extremely disturbing exhibition that I hope a ton of people saw. Brutal works about the bogeyman, brutal politics, weak attention spans, torture, and unknown thumps in dark rooms. It featured a stellar lineup of artists (serial killers): Daniel Albrigo, Will Boone, Mike Bouchet, BREYER P-ORRIDGE, Gunter Brus, Brian Butler, Church of Euthanasia, John Duncan, Damien Echols, Brock Enright, Bob Flanagan, John Wayne Gacy (!!), Ed Gein, Adrian Ghenie, Douglas Gordon, John Houck, Jim Jones, Jamian Juliano-Villani, Ted Kaczynski (!!), Daniel Keller, Mike Kelley, Marco Lavagetto, Lazaros, Lionel Maunz, Asger Kali Mason Ravnkilde Moulton, Alban Muja, Ciprian Muresan, Steven Parrino, Hamid Piccardo, Ana Prvacki, Jon Rafman, Sheree Rose, Sterling Ruby, Benja Sachau, Max Hooper Schneider, Richard Serra, Robert Therrien, Ecaterina Vrana, and Zhou Yilun.

It was a lot to take. The twin towers falling superimposed with amature porn video on a loop...geez. If I hadn't come on the last day I would have come back again to take it in small doses.

Stepped outside to the sunshine (and sewage smell), and headed to the last day off BBQLA's Oily Doily, a small show of tenderly subversive moments. And of course I love giving a gallery dog a scratch.

The gallery space had an excellent new pink carpet floor and was curated by Kenn Taylor featuring work by Alex Becerra, Kent O’Connor, Becky Kolsrud, Brandon Landers, and Amanda Taylor. I was sorry to miss the opening, but happy to catch it on the last day. BBQLA is a treat.

An excellent Saturday afternoon. Los Angeles, I love you.

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