La Luz de Jesus has a special place in its heart for all things lowbrow/oddball/deviant--but especially paintings and sculpture.

The counterculture leaning of the gift shop that fronts this gallery carry over to the back, where artists are seemingly inspired by graphic novels (if they don't already make them themselves). La Luz embodies the strange duality of being cutting-edge yet established--owner Billy Shire has led this mothership, which started out on Melrose Avenue, since 1986. Goth and sexual subject matter rule, as does religious iconography. Crowds for the openings are usually as eye-widening as the art.