Brennan has also partnered with Tom Solomon (who owned the influential Thomas Solomon’s Garage from 1987 to 1996) and Steve Hanson (from China Arts Objects) to create Cottage Home, a former movie theater converted into an exhibition space. Though the gallery opened its doors earlier in the year, the space really kicks off with the current group show, “Emerson vs. Nietzsche” — the first in a schedule that calls for two shows a year by each of the three gallerists. This one is Hanson’s and includes work from 14 artists both represented and not represented by the gallery.

Like Brennan, Erica Redling is also making a short move across the street. Redling opened her gallery one year ago after working as director for China Art Objects and Maccarone in New York. The new Redling Fine Art will occupy the current David Kordansky Gallery space, in the good company of Mesler & Hug. After some renovation and expansion work, the new space will open in February. The last show in the old gallery: Jason Kraus. First show in the new one: Laura Riboli.

Mary Goldman’s gallery stood in front of China Arts Objects until this past August. She opened the space in 2000 in a partnership with John Tevis, which ended in 2002. Goldman has now moved to New York, where she grew up. “I will most likely curate in the near future, which will allow me to exhibit some of my artists again in a different context,” she says.

Her former space is now occupied by David Patton, who relocated from Highland Park, an East L.A. neighborhood. The new Patton gallery opened in September, showing the sculptures of local artist Christie Frields. Although he is still building his roster of artists, Patton says, “We’ll have works by almost all our artists at the Zoo Art Fair in London, our first international fair.”

Through it all, China Arts Objects, a Chinatown pioneer in the mid-’90s, along with Mara McCarthy’s The Box, which opened only one year ago but has been buoyed by support from Mara’s father, Paul McCarthy, remain important standbys that help maintain the Chinatown allure.

And ultimately, while everything changes, nothing is different. As Joel Mesler puts it, “I’ve been here since 1999, and every two years Chinatown changes. There’s always another move, but it’s okay as long as a good core is here. It’s always different, and it’s always the same.”