Shin Gallery

If gentrification is steadily encroaching upon Chinatown, at least with Shin Gallery it’s in the form of art. This small, one room gallery showcases contemporary Korean artists .I prefer Burne-​Jones to a Pollack any day, but I like viewing the art here. They are not works I think my cat could have created by knocking over a bucket of paint. They are clever, beautiful, interesting and unique. The first exhibit I had seen was Phantoms On Parade by Hyon Gyon. using paint and textiles to explore shamanism on canvas. Her lively use of colors like scarlets, golds made the faces she created more intriguing than macabre, and the 3D affect give an another alluring angle to the huge canvasses. The latest exhibit is called the Diminished Virtue by Jong-​Wan Choo. These charcoal, and acrylic works are visually stunning grey pieces with splashes of color on a few. The artist depicts the decay and corruption of man, drawing human bodies that seem to explode with «stuffing» or paper, of if you are Rorschach inclined, small maggots, birds etc. They were gorgeous, surreal. In the middle of the gallery, among the paintings, was another exhibit called The Skin. These were handbags placed in various «stations» in the gallery, all by artists from different states. While the handbags provided lively contrast to the paintings, I thought they detracted from them. Other visitors thought otherwise. This woman, a handbag designer, spent a long time viewing them. This gallery is definitely worth a visit as the art here is quite beautiful.
A tip: call first as the hours vary from what is on Unilocal.It was marked «closed» when I passed by but it was open at 6:30 pm. Then one day I thought it was open and it was closed. Also, if you get hungry, Golden Forest, Americanized Chinese food at its best is across the street and so is Papa John’s and down the block.