Roadside Americana for the 21st Century

Photorealist painter John Baeder made his name in the 1970s with numinous renderings of diners and other resonant American places. The photorealist technique of basing meticulously detailed paintings on photographs went out of fashion somewhat during the installation and video art era in the ‘80s and ‘90s. But these days painting is back, photography has fine-art status, and Baeder is still haunting roadside America. Here, some images from “L.A. Taco Trucks,” a show of watercolors inspired by the artist’s own snapshots, at the Paul Kopeikin Gallery from June 7 to July 5.

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Paul Kopeikin Gallery, 6150 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles; (323) 937-0765.