On March 27 the city received another treasure house to add to the chain of enlightening gems that challenge any New Yorker or Chicagoan to complain that L.A. “got no culture.”  Bright and dazzling, the 10,000 square foot space has traditional galleries for hanging photos as well as a massive digital gallery capturing the beauty of the spellbinding photos in giant screen, and yes, there is ample seating to allow relaxation and enjoyment.

The premiere exhibit, L8S ANG3LES, (not a typo) features eight LA photographers, and the images are gripping and meaningful. While fine art is the keyword, there is the clarity and feeling message of architecture, life in LA, and much more. The annoyance of  having to deal with images that mean something only to their creator, with the nose thumb of much art to be found nowadays, will not assault you here.

Artists are John Baldessari, Catherine Opie, Greg Gorman, Douglas Kirkland, Tim Street Porter, Julius Shulman, Lauren Greenfield and Carolyn Cole.

To further prove that realistic, meaningful art may be having a rebirth in LA, spend some time at the lovely and eco-conscious G2 Gallery, at 1503 Abbot Kinney Boulevard , in Venice .  They are featuring Cold Feet: Penguins of the Antarctic, by Venice artist J.J. LeHeureux, a truly moving and educational exhibit about these amazing creatures. www.theG2gallery.com

The exhibit will run until June 28.  Gracious Wallis Annenberg has let this gem be open to the public at no charge. Cunningly concealed behind the new edifice which stands on the spot of the old Shubert Theater, 2000 Avenue of the Stars, it is well worth a visit.  http://www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org/