The crowd inside Klowden Mann in Culver City last Saturday was more intriguing than the art that brought them there. One weekend after Art Basel, three weeks until Christmas, and 10 days into December, we felt the effects of the weekend’s predicament for art openings: it was kind of dead.

Still though, Bernard Chadwick’s suspending six-screen video installation rallied a fairly rowdy crowd. Even though they were somewhat older—typical for the art-scene in Culver (my mind would change about this later), it’s clear that age doesn’t change the way one takes advantage of free alcohol.

Klowden Mann opening

To the bar! We gently shimmied beyond the dimly lit main gallery and through the tiny space in the back where Sarah Cromarty’s mixed-media collages hung. As we sipped our too-sweet-too-Christmas-y ginger cider (bartender’s choice), we decided our time here was up.

Fuco Ueda’s work

Down the street, Thinkspace Gallery welcomed us with warm, open arms. It was quieter and more aligned with our 10-days-into-December mindset. The wood floors and ceiling complimented Japanese artist Fuco Ueda’s dreamy, euphoric acrylic paintings, which she thins to create a watercolor effect. We took comfort in the mellow vibe of the crowd, and made several laps around the space, letting Ueda take us on a ride through her “Odd-Eye.” Perhaps her physical presence in the gallery had something to do with its intoxifying energy.

Thinkspace crowd

We wondered about the contrasting crowds just doors down from each other. One, in the dark, sipping holiday drinks and chatting noisily. The other, a quiet solace of elaborately painted dream girls and thoughtful dialogue about them. The ironic part is that Chadwick’s installation is called “I Dream of You;” and sure, the multi-sensory sound and double exposure visuals created a dream-like effect for the viewer, but Ueda’s show, Odd-Eye, was handled with the delicate intimacy one experiences while dreaming—each dream unique to its own dreamer, and when re-told (or painted), conveyed unapologetically.

Mural

To our surprise, pre- and post-gallery hopping we experienced more art right outside. A homeless guy tried selling us his oil pastel cardboard landscape paintings for 40 bucks and around the corner we found a pretty awesome mural lit with alternating blue and red spotlights. We had fun snapping a couple shots and making some lively art of our own—maybe the weekend wasn’t as “dead” as we presumed?