General comment by AB: For starters, I gotta give a great big shout out and a bright shiny gold star on the forehead to each and every outskirts artstablishment that decided NOT to have an opening tonight. Kiss kiss. I love you. Sadly, the thrill of this momentous manifestation is short lived, as I forthwith commence to contemplate where some of our most beloved galleries come up with some of the "art" that they show, and yes, I use the term loosely. Is the good stuff really in that short supply? Or maybe it's just me and I've temporarily misplaced my astute evaluatory chops. (Doubt it.)

What? You want names? You want me to call out the mung peddlers right here? Right now? Well, just you forget it. I ain't never gonna cowtow to no bloodthirsty art mob, lying in wait to witness and subsequently revel in the pathetic aftermath of a merciless critical blindside. It is neither my duty nor my intention to ever identify any gallerist who perpetrates to pawn pablum on the populace. I am merely a vehicle whereby, through the magic of my insanity, you get to see a whole shitload of art in one place.

Speaking of which...

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Hackett-Freedman Gallery: Marc Trujillo - You Are Here; Guy Diehl - Recent Paintings.

Review by Joanna Maria: Guy Diehl's still-life paintings embrace two themes-­ one of bottles set among other objects, the other of an open book with one page showing a painting by a famous painter with the opposite page covered by a smaller book and an envelope... very well executed, intriguing and delightful. They are thoughtfully composed, each object casting a shadow onto the next, directing very carefully how your eye moves around a painting. Composition is centrally compressed and highlighted by the use of light which adds an extra dimension. There might be a hidden message in what kind of object is placed on each painting, but it is hard to decipher. If you like this kind of art, you'll enjoy everything here.

Like Guy Diehl, Marc Trujillo's paintings are very realistic. While Diehl's are still-lifes, Trujillo's paintings focus on icons of our times-­ a gas station, a Wendy's restaurant, and so on. They are unmistakably American, looking geographically from the Southwest with their big skies, clouds and moody night atmospheres. They seem to pull you in-- so lonely that they need your energy to stay alive-- almost evil. During a talk, artist says he executes his images very carefully, every form and detail created using knowledge and techniques originating from great painters of the past.

Comment by AB: You instantly recognize brand names like Wendy's or Chevron in Trujillo's paintings, but look again-- those names are merely groups of shapes and forms-- your mind has been so numbed by incessant relentless corporate bombardment, you subconsciously fill in the blanks and see them as words-- like obedient little boys and girls.