John Knuth, director of the newly opened Circus Gallery in West Hollywood, has been organizing art shows since the age of 19. Getting his start in Minneapolis, moving to Chicago, and now based in Los Angeles, he's been bringing art exhibitions to improbable spaces near you for the last 5 years. Why? Because he believes art is as important and valuable as anything in a museum is, no matter what its location may be. In fact, he's always believed there is no reason to NOT put on an art show, whether it's in a gallery, a bar, the middle of the street, a pornography store or in your own house.

When John undertook the "Circus of Books Exhibitions" project in 2005 at Circus of Books in West Hollywood, he did so because he wanted to organize "the best art shows in a gay porn store." Each show featured a guest curator, was organized around a common theme, and in just under 2 years, over 200 artists had work exhibited in, above and around gay porn videos, DVDs and books. Artists featured included Richard Jackson, Dave Muller, local legend Angeline, one of the curator's mothers, and probably some of your artist friends. And the parties were insanely packed.

The wild-spread interest in his wrangling such assorted groups of artists into a confined and unlikely space, eventually lead John to the opening his own gallery space, where he could undertake larger exhibitions and focus on giving individual artists a chance to take risks with the direction of their work. This organizing principle behind Circus Gallery is an ambitious one; that of belief in up-and-coming artists creating "brave and thoughtful work." But that risk in itself has contributed to his success with the space so far. The work he shows seems to appeal to adventurous viewers who are ready to take in something cutting-edge, as well as to the collectors who see value in the vision of the artists, and respond to John's faith in them.

And he's had a great 9 months to show for it. Since the Gallery's opening in March 2007, he's shown 15 local, emerging artists in group shows and organized a summer screening and performance series featuring an additional 10 filmmakers and artists.

Right now is a great time to be introduced to the kind of work that is generating Circus Gallery's excitement, at the Gallery's final exhibition of 2007, "Circus Year." The exhibition brings together the work of artists featured since the gallery's opening in March, including Michael G. Bauer, Lindsay Brant, Sky Burchard, Sarah Cromarty, Justin Hansch, Katie Herzog, Adam Janes, Dawn Kasper, James Krone, Lauren Lavitt, Brett Lund, Kiersten Puusemp, Laura Riboli, Daniel Ruanova and Jason Starr.

Circus Year opens on Saturday December 1 with a reception for the artists and public from 7 to 9 pm. The show runs through January 5, 2008.

Circus Gallery is located at 7065 Lexington Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038

www.circus-gallery.com

By Mary McIlwain