“Gimme A Little Sign” at Sister Gallery

The summer group shows begin, and this one is a knockout, with work by six relatively young abstract painters. All come with a different approach and investigation into abstraction with equal vigor and enthusiasm. Local painter Brad Eberhard shows two new paintings using a patriotic summer palette. Each one consists of circular forms topped with a deflated black oval, and his tongue-in-cheek titles appropriately reference hats and berets. Gail Stoicheff uses masking and stencils to create a sea of lines, which result in a fractured explosion of color. Annette Wehrhahn plays with stencil, pattern and texture and couples uniformity with blobby subconscious imagery that breaks through any grid or rigidity. Also included are Peter LaBier, Baker Overstreet and Davis Rhodes. Don’t miss the opening Sat., June 23, 6-9 p.m.

437 Gin Ling Way, Chinatown | www.sisterla.com | (213) 628-7000 | Through August 4

“The Greatest Generation” at Circus Gallery

This summer show, with more than 30 paintings, focuses on the work of James Krone, Katie Herzog, Justin Hansch and Jason Starr. These four young L.A. painters all have lived at some point in time at Hansch’s home in Silver Lake, which is also known as JMOCA and doubles as an exhibition space for small shows. Hansch shows a group of works from his “Sunday” painting series, in which he created a painting every week based on current news events and crudely adopted the style of a master painter in each one. Herzog, a former student of library studies, uses the library as the setting for everything from a wedding to kids playing war in Today the Library Got Ripped a New Asshole. Krone’s paintings of bones, bats and a spider crawling out of a used and discarded condom are actually sweetly dark, if you can imagine. Starr’s hilarious self-portrait as a baby looks like a bearded Claymation infant, a literal baby man wearing a diaper. It’s nice to get the sense of camaraderie from this group, as well as some humor that is ironic, but not so jaded that it’s off-putting.

7065 Lexington Ave., L.A. | www.circus-gallery.com | (323) 962-8506 | Through July 21

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