Long View Gallery

Why the name Long View? Judging by the sheer length of its museum-size walls -- which show off big paintings better than any place in the city -- you might think it refers to the gallery's architecture. The former Plymouth showroom is among the best looking art spaces around.

But it also alludes to a sense of something lasting, a visual aesthetic that transcends fad and fashion. "More often than not, the work we show doesn't follow the trend," says Drew Porterfield.

Translation: Don't expect too much experimentation. Do expect plenty of top-notch painting (as with the current show of jumbo-size, cellular-looking abstractions by Paula Crawford). After that, Porterfield promises a bit of a change of pace: Photographs of last winter's blizzard that have been digitally manipulated into kaleidoscopic images - part abstraction and part landscape.

Good neighbor: Civilian Art Projects. Featuring the work of painter Jan Razauskas and sculptors J.J. McCracken and Millicent Young, "Climate Control" opens Jan. 21 from 7 to 9 p.m.

-- Michael O'Sullivan (Jan. 14, 2011)