1) Wayne White's show at Western Project in May

Wayne White -- who won three Emmys for his set and puppet design on Pee Wee's Playhouse and served as Art Director on Peter Gabriel's memorable video for "Big Time" -- brought his detailed and playful sculpture, paintings and drawings to Western Project in Culver City in May. The work was great, but what really made this show were the chaotic and fun performances by artist himself at the opening. Check out the video below.

2) Andrew Hem's show at LeBasse Projects Gallery

Cambodian artist Andrew Hem's show at LeBasse in July was beautiful, but Hem's real contribution to the art of Culver City came in the form of the beautiful mural he painted on the BrandedArt Building in conjunction with the exhibition. 

As I observed in July the piece, entitled Dreams to Reality, "feels celebratory of the diversity of our city and the importance of communities. But this optimism is not a simple one. Not all the figures are smiling, and their eyes remain disconcertingly vacant. And then there's that arm that comes to grab the boy at the right edge of the mural..."

3) Zhang Huan's show at Blum & Poe

Featuring works constructed from bricks salvaged from centuries-old buildings in the Shanghai area that have been bulldozed to make room for more modern architecture, Zhang Huan's show at Blum & Poe was literally and figuratively the heaviest of the year. The 22-foot-tall bell-shaped "Pagoda" (above) also featured a stuffed pig -- the actual pig that famously survived 49 days in the rubble left by China's 2008 Sichuan earthquake.