Pae White

"Artists Mourn the Death of a Great Space" screams the headline of a press release issued by a group of 10 performance artists and critics who claim that Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, a nonprofit center for edgy contemporary art in Hollywood, has abandoned its mission and no longer serves their interests. Nonsense, leaders of the embattled institution say. LACE isn't dead; it is doing what is necessary to dig itself out of a grave and get a new life that will benefit artists.

In an impressive show at Bliss Gallery, T. Kelly Mason outlines strategies for a Domestic Conceptual art, a newly developing style he shares with artists Pae White and Jorge Pardo, with whom he was featured in the Museum of Contemporary Art's recent "Pure Beauty" show.

Floor sweepings, pillows and monkey fur--variously undesirable, humble or sensual materials--are among the ingredients of "Sugar 'n' Spice." Although all the art in this exhibit--at the Long Beach Museum of Art through May 23--is by women, it isn't specifically feminist--at least, not in the traditional sense. Rather, it's subversive in a sneakily anarchic way, offering open-ended reflections on such topics as power, sex and the relationship between imagination and experience.

After three years of art-world couch surfing, the annual C.O.L.A. exhibition -- mounted to showcase the year's recipients of the City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Fellowships -- has returned to its original location in the newly refurbished Municipal Art Gallery. With all the uncertainty plaguing public arts programs today, it's no doubt a happy homecoming.

Stroll past the Armory Center for the Arts on any afternoon and you'll know that you've come upon a beloved institution. Children scurry in and out; teenagers loiter on the steps; parents and teachers confer on the sidewalk. The foyer is papered with schedules and announcements, and the hallways leading back to studios and offices are alive with the buzz of creative activity. Established in 1947 under the aegis of the Pasadena Museum of Art (it's been independent since that museum closed in 1974)

FIFTEEN years ago, interest in Midcentury architecture and modern design was limited to a handful of fans: historians, preservationists and people with a taste for fine things overlooked by the mainstream. Today, the sleek forms of homes and furniture from the 1940s, '50s and '60s are more popular and critically acclaimed than ever. Just visit IKEA or thumb through some high-end shelter magazines.

Art these days feels like an endangered species. The market boom of the '80s made it appear important and fashionable. Economic stagnation suffocated enthusiasm, aided and abetted by art grown so thin and preachy as to be virtually indistinguishable from the media. Even L.A.'s great quake contributed to the dirty work, causing collectors to shun art in fragile materials.