Metro Gallery presents "Collective Amnesia" new works by Mary-Austin Klein

Los Angeles, CA – Metro Gallery presents Mary-Austin Klein’s solo exhibition, “Collective Amnesia.” These new works explore the form of the Los Angeles landscape, the idea of how those of us who reside here define it, how we define ourselves by it, and how we interact with it. Mary-Austin Klein’s exhibition tackles these questions through oil paintings of the urban landscape displaying the enchantment that is Los Angeles. The exhibition will be on display from May 17th to June 21th, 2008. Please join us for the opening reception Saturday, May 17th, 2008, from 6-9pm.

Mary-Austin Klein’s love of the natural environment began as she grew up on the Palos Verde Peninsula where she connected with the jagged landforms against the Pacific Ocean. With a fine art degree from The Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design, Mary-Austin’s work has dealt with desert landscapes to her recent works where urban design is quite simply stated. This concrete city is enveloped by real estate, but beautified by the natural environment surrounding these forms. Mary-Austin Klein captures the honest depiction of homes holding tight to slippery hillsides, smoky skies, dream homes, empty lots, and ding bat apartments representing the collision of natural beauty and the dreamers that have called Los Angeles home.

"I really noticed in the wake of the last round of fires how people were so outraged that their houses burned down, as if this had never occurred here before....same for earthquakes -- we live with the unthinkable every day, as if in a state of perpetual collective amnesia...."

About Metro Gallery
Metro Gallery is a full service contemporary fine art gallery located at 1835 Hyperion Avenue in Silverlake, California. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 12pm-7pm. For more information on this exhibit, opening, and upcoming exhibitions, please contact the gallery at (323) 663-2782 or visit www.metrogallery.org.