Normally at a gallery opening you expect loud music, maybe a DJ or an Angelino strumming a guitar, foreign beer or hard liquor, some itty bitty snacks that are more pretentious than nourishing, a crowd of people content with looking at themselves rather than the work, gallery owners aloof and scrutinizing; on the whole a very intimidating event. I usually arrive, hyperventilate in the parking lot, and then do something embarrassing like spill water on the front of my dress, and have to wait outside on Glendale boulevard, in the sweltering dusk of a Saturday evening hoping the heat will dry it within ten minutes.

This predicament happened last weekend when I arrived at Black Maria for “Here we Grow”. The water part, I mean. Strangely, or maybe not so strange as it was refreshing, the gallery had none of those stereotypical pretensions. Sure there was a DJ, but he had yet to start playing. There were snacks and drinks, but they were unassuming (do-it-yourself style, laid out on a platter) and I actually helped tap the keg. Honestly, I’d never seen anything like it.

The owner of Black Maria, Zara Zeitountsian, and her staff, which consisted of a handful of people, from the gallery curator Sam Saga to Zara’s daughter Lily and her friend Erin, all banding together for the final push in launching their gallery opening. It was a collective, indeed a familial event and I felt quite welcome.

This Northeast LA gallery specializes in the more laid back side of art. Their mission statement even says, “The goal is to reach out to local artists and to help make gallery-going a revelatory and rewarding experience.” And you know what? Amen sister Maria. I’ll come tap your kegs (I found out how to rid them of foam: apparently you have to turn it upside down and then flip it back up—who knew?), and you keep promoting the underbelly of the Los Angeles art scene. There are all kinds of beauty, especially in art, but there is something profoundly beautiful in an unrefined gallery space, and Black Maria is as natural as they come.

“Here We Grow” presents new works by Flying Fortress, Galo, and PEZ; all urban artists apart from the mainstream, dedicated to street art, graphics and promoting global communication through wanderlust, Posca markers, and spray paint.

www.blackmariagallery.com

LISKA JACOBS for LA2DAY

liska@la2day.com