Datebook: Shots of old Route 66, dreamlike paintings and garments fashioned from paper By CAROLINA A. MIRANDA JUL 12, 2018 | 11:00 AM "Blue Swallow Motel," 1990, by Steve Fitch for “Vanishing Vernacular” at Kopeikin. (Steve Fitch / Kopeikin) A record of roadside vernacular and paintings that explore the intimate and the fantastical. Plus: a butch parade and an art-meets-sports night. Here are nine exhibitions and events to check out in the coming week: latimes.com/entertainment/arts/miranda/la-et-cam-datebook-vanishing-vernacular-steve-fitch-story.html# Steve Fitch, “Vanishing Vernacular,” at Kopeikin Gallery. Fitch, who is known for documenting the American West, takes on the slowly disappearing neon signage and vernacular architecture of the old Route 66 in his latest project “Vanishing Vernacular,” which is both an exhibition and book (published in the spring by George F. Thompson Publishing). For his show at Kopeikin, he gathers images of drive-ins, roadside signage and fancifully- designed motels that once channeled the romance of the open road, but which have now been sidelined by the interstate highway system. Opens Saturday at 6 p.m. and runs through Aug. 25. 2766 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City, kopeikingallery.com. Jonny Negron, “Small Map of Heaven,” at Château Shatto. Born in Puerto Rico and based in New York, Negron has long been inspired by the bright colors and sharp lines of comic books and Japanese woodblock prints. But he employs the forms in ways that are resolutely his own, creating intimate scenes that also feature aspects of the fantastical — such as lush landscapes and ghostly figures. Opens Saturday and runs through Sept. 1. Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave., downtown Los Angeles, chateaushatto.com. "Denissa," 2018, by Jonny Negron on view at Château Shatto. (John Berens / Jonny Negron, Château Shatto) Phranc, “Swagger,” at Craig Krull Gallery. The singer is also a long-running artist, known for creating works out of simple raw materials such as paper, cardboard and paint. The show at Krull will feature an array of everyday objects that reference the artist’s own life: paper dresses that serve as a nod to an uncle’s downtown L.A. dress shop and jackets that refer to her lesbian and feminist heroes. At the opening, Phranc will stage a fashion show with some of these objects that she has dubbed the “Butch Parade.” Also on view at the gallery will be painted underwater scenes by Connie Jenkins. Opens Saturday at 5 p.m. and runs through Aug. 25. Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., #B3, Santa Monica, craigkrullgallery.com. Leon Borensztein, “It’s so F___ Lonely Here,” at Little Big Man Gallery. Over a 30- year period, the photographer has chronicled the life of his daughter, Sharon, who contends with various physical and mental disabilities. This intensely personal show will gather art and ephemera that reflect the ways in which Borensztein has used the camera as a way of recording and understanding his daughter’s life and conditions. Opens Saturday at 6 p.m. and runs through Aug. 25. 1427 E. Fourth St., #2, Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, littlebigmangallery.com. Leon Borensztein chronicles his daughter's life at Little Big Man Gallery. (Leon Borensztein) Yasmine Diaz, “Exit Strategies,” at Women’s Center for Creative Work. The artist is known for employing drawing, collage and mixed media works in room-sized installations that explore personal and family histories. For her residency at WCCW, she has focused on adolescence, a period in which individuals are wrestling with questions of identity and independence, a tumultuous moment in which childhood and adulthood intersect. Through Aug. 3. On July 19 at 7 p.m., the artist will be in conversation with fellow artist Samira Yamin at 7 p.m. — RSVP through the website is required.) 2425 Glover Pl., Los Angeles, Elysian Valley, womenscenterforcreativework.com. “Sun Gazers,” at the Pit. A summer group show brings together work by the gallery’s stable of artists — including the six artists who have been with the gallery since the beginning. Expect a mix of painting, conceptual photography, drawing and mixed media collage. Opens Sunday at 4 p.m. and runs through Aug. 12. 918 Ruberta Ave., Glendale, the-pit.la. "Divider," 2017, by Erik Frydenborg, at the Pit. (Erik Frydenborg / The Pit) “Paradise,” at Night Gallery. And because summer group show season is upon us: In its latest show, Night Gallery is showing a range of emerging and established artists, including Alake Shilling, Tyson Reeder, Adrianne Rubenstein and Zadie Xa. Plus, there will be an installation of carpets produced by rural Berber women in Morocco. Opens Friday at 7 p.m. and runs through Aug. 18. 2276 E. 16th St., downtown Los Angeles, nightgallery.ca. Katherine Oslchbaur, “Horses,” at Nicodim. The Austrian-born painter, now based in L.A., combines surreal aspects of horses, human figures and signifiers of femininity (think high-heeled shoes) — all of it a playing on tangled issues of both freedom and domination. Through Aug. 18. 571 S. Anderson St., Ste. 2, Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, nicodimgallery.com. "Untitled (Red Land)," 2018, by Katherine Oslchbaur, at Nicodim. (Katherine Oslchbaur) Sports issue launch party with Incite, at 18th Street Arts Center. Curator-in-residence Astria Suparak and writer and filmmaker Brett Kashmere are emceeing a special event to mark the release of a sports-themed issue of the artist-run publication Incite Journal of Experimental Media. The evening will include sports poetry and remixed athlete interviews. Plus, the public is invited to submit a favorite sports GIF for their “Sports G.G.O.A.T.” (Greatest GIF of All Time) contest. Naturally, there will be libations — of the alcoholic and nonalcoholic kinds. Tuesday at 6 p.m. 1639 18th St., Santa Monica, 18thstreet.org. LAST CHANCE Esther Pearl Watson, “Tire Universe,” at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects. In paintings evocative of folk art — albeit folk art of an absurdist stripe — Watson pays tribute to the curious memories of her youth in rural Texas, as the daughter of a father who liked to build flying saucers. In funny, faux naif canvases, she renders images of highways, farmland, pumpjacks and the broken-down family station wagon. Also on view are paintings by abstract artist Caitlin Lonegan and Mark Todd, who makes works that evoke cartoonish record covers. Through Thursday. 6006 Washington Blvd., Culver City, vielmetter.com. “Soul Mining,” at the Vincent Price Art Museum. A group show examines the influence Asian immigrants have had on the economics and the culture of Latin America. Some of this connects with the anti-immigration histories of the U.S.: When the Chinese Exclusion Act was signed into law in 1882, Chinese laborers expelled from the U.S. moved on to Latin America, having a profound effect on the continent’s social, political and cultural landscapes. Also on view are works from the L.A. County Museum of Art’s permanent collection: the Mexico photographs of Mariana Yampolsky and objects from the museum’s holdings of ancient Egyptian art. Through Saturday. East Los Angeles College, 1301 Cesar Chavez Ave., Monterey Park, vincentpriceartmuseum.org. "Nuevo Dragon City," for the installation "This is not in Spanish," by Sergio de la Torre, at the Vincent Price Art Museum. (Sergio de la Torre) George Rodriguez, “Double Vision,” at the Lodge. The Los Angeles photographer has covered iconic musical events (the Doors at the Whisky a-Go-Go, anyone?), key civil rights happenings (the East L.A. walkouts and the farmworkers strikes of the ’60s) and so much in between. A new book, published by Hat & Beard Press and titled “Double Vision,” gathers a wide selection of his life’s work, which covers an intersection of Los Angeles people, neighborhoods and events. The show will allow visitors to get up close and personal to some of his key images. Through Saturday. 1024 N. Western Ave., East Hollywood, Los Angeles, thelodge.la. Jonathan Lyndon Chase, “Sheets,” at Kohn Gallery. In ebullient works that meld painting, drawing and collage, Chase explores quotidian moments in the lives of queer black men — sculpturally contorted figures shown in repose, in heated moments of desire and in balletic occasions of joy. He also plays with the signifiers of gender identity, showing men wearing makeup and other supposedly feminine things — men, ultimately, who embrace all aspects of who they are. Through Saturday. 1227 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, kohngallery.com. "Blue Boys," 2018, by Jonathan Lyndon Chase at Kohn Gallery. (Kohn Gallery) Shizu Saldamando, “To Return,” at Charlie James Gallery. The Los Angeles-based artist’s first solo exhibition at the gallery gathers stark portraits that depict friends, acquaintances, activists and fellow artists who inhabit the intersecting worlds of the city’s art and music scenes — such as performance artist Gabbi Ruiz and punk singer Martin Crudo. The new works include detailed graphite drawings, painting and collage on raw wood panels.Through Saturday. 969 Chung King Road, Chinatown, Los Angeles, cjamesgallery.com. Leopoldo Peña, “Pelotas Oaxaqueñas/Oaxacan Ball Games,” at the Fowler Museum. For five years beginning in 2011, the L.A.-based painter documented the traditional games played by California’s Oaxacan immigrant community. The games includes the centuries-old pelota mixteca (Mixtec-style ball) and variant called pelota de esponja(sponge ball), both played with decorated mitts that combine indigenous design with contemporary logos. The games, which often take place in empty lots around the San Fernando Valley, are fast-paced affairs that serve as important social gatherings. Through Sunday. 308 Charles E. Young Drive North, Westwood, Los Angeles, fowler.ucla.edu. Rafa Esparza, “de la Calle,” at the Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles.The Los Angeles artist is transforming the museum project room into a stage — or perhaps an elaborate green room — for collective works that explore issues of migration and colonization.