Frieze is Hot in LA

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Frieze Art Week, Frieze art parties, Frieze art fair…yes, when LA Frieze’s up, it becomes a hot art party.  At this year’s Barker Hangar spectacular, there were some absolutely stunning works, some solidly commercial fare, some weird and wild pieces, and even a collection of works made from recycled materials – I applaud the effort, but for the cost, is a spray-painted mattress really something one would purchase?

But that’s a quibble. This is the place to discover fresh takes never seen before;  classics, like the marvelous Terry Allen installation, or the gorgeous, delicate, found-materials weaving of El Anatsui, and the grand spectacle of a certified,  high-end art scene.

Nancy Kay Turner has already written an earlier review published here that delves into her favorite pieces and a bit of Frieze history besides, so my approach is simply to show you works divided into the categories that I experienced them:

Wonderful and Why?

The titles of each section alone should serve to be a bit illuminating, and the visuals will likely tell you why images were placed in specific places. Beyond this somewhat silly but honestly fitting breakdown, the enormous fair — which featured more than 95 galleries — displayed a large number of textile and bead works, art made from found objects, fascinating pop art riffs, the aforementioned recycled material pieces, and some stand-out miniatures among its collections.

Wonderful!

From crazy-good mixed media miniatures displayed in two separate gallery booths…the hot violet creation with mini TV screens represented both wonderful and wow…

to the aforementioned wonder of El Anatsui…

to the ethereal lovliness of a work by Tomas Saraceno at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery…

to a lush gold mosaic and even lusher impressionist flowers and a moving take on personal lonliness…

…there was plenty of wonderful to go around.

A room solely devoted to Shepherd Fairey…

terrifying but beautiful apocalyptic images related to climate change by J. Homer French…

lush mixed media paintings, large scale sculptures, including both freestandng – some created from tiny fruit, some digital and wall art – well, this was all a visual feast.

Why?

So, you can paint bronze sculptures to look like Amazon boxes, but, why would you want to? Most people thought it was a joke, and the art was real boxes. If Art Basel had its banana, LA could have it’s Amazon deliveries.

Also, you can create a very cool sculpture made of old cds, but up close, unfortunately, they still look like cds, just in a sinuously lovely shape. And then there were the basketballs. Pretty sure they were real basketballs, possibly taken from my neighbor’s roof.

Also a why for me, given the well-heeled crowd attending the fair, was there an intermittant sprinkle of social commentary that wasn’t quite pointed enough to ruffle any feathers or raise any eyebrows or consciousness?

Then there were the rose quartz sculptures. I love rose quartz. I love sculpture. But, why?

And finally, even though it was a cool walk-through, why was there a very expensive Swiss watchmaker creating their watches in a large corner of the fair? Yes, the craftsmanship was artful. Yes, it was fascinating to watch an engraver at work. But it rang a loud bell of excess …

…that contrasted quite a bit with some very spiritual and lovely gongs in one near by booth, and those aforementioned bits of commentary-related art.

All in all, Frieze is a more than worthy contender in the ever-growing LA art fair sweepstakes. So next year,  put on your best faux fur so you won’t literally freeze in the blasts of air conditioning throughout Barker Hangar, and enjoy the hot art scene. Doubtlessly there will be plenty of wonderful, some werid, and also some of those “why’s.” We will have to wait and see.

  • Genie Davis, photos – Genie Davis 

Seguimos: Contemporary Art in Costa Rica

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Opening March 30th at Craig Krull Gallery, thirteen Costa Rican artists present Seguimos, an exhibition that offers original and vibrant contemporary artwork previously unseen in the U.S.

As co-curated by Los Angeles-based gallerist Hannah Sloan and the Craig Krull Gallery, work by Adrián Arguedas Ruano, Alina González, Allegra Pacheco, Christian Wedel, Isaac Loría, Javier Calvo, La Cholla Jackson, Lucía Howell, Luciano Goizueta, Matias Sauter Morera, Mimian Hsu Chen, Priscilla Romero-Cubero and Valiente Pastel explore a wide range of mediums while providing a fresh perspective on subjects such as the body, identity, and place.

Video, photography, and installations are joined by paintings, works on paper, and free-standing sculptures. Seguimos, which translates as “we keep going” takes its name from an exhibited installation that features some 120 works on paper by conceptual artist Priscilla Romero-Cubero.

Romero-Cubero registered liquid latex imprints of fingers – those of dozens of individuals. The imprints are positioned in groupings of four and marked with the slashes of diagonal tally marks. What is being tallied is a harsh statistic revealing the continued counting of the disappeared and silenced, victims of death and injustice. Thematically, this piece, and the overall exhibition, shape a powerful testimony to unforgettable lives and memory.

The personal and the political are both intrinsic to the exhibition. Javier Calvo’s “El Blanco es Relativo” (“White is Relative”) focuses on racial stereotype with an image of Calvo’s arm, on which these words are tattooed. The pointed message behind them relates to a racial stereotype in a country that is often incorrectly generalized as being non-white.

 

Morphing her own nude figure within mirrored fragments and the landscape of Costa Rica itself, artist Lucia Howell shapes video art that infuses a symbolic magic into a world that exudes the mystery of a mythological realm.

Body image is also at the core of works from Alina González that serve as a reflection of identity as a transgender woman. The artist combines these self-portraits with those of star talent in the transgender pornography industry as well as those of iconic cultural figures such as Bridget Bardot.

Queer culture in Latin America is also the subject of the irreverent and witty images of Valiente Pastel, who paints over erotic advertising and found objects to create a narrative that normalizes and satirizes sexual behaviors often hidden or occluded by shame, society, or both.

In the works of Allegra Pacheo, (above) intimate paintings of boxers and MMA fighters in motion emphasize her own body and physicality as she trains in an intensely masculine setting. The artist and documentarian’s work is suffused with energy and vigilant fierceness.

La Cholla Jackson presents a gritty and absorbing assemblage, shaping fashionable stiletto heels and pumped sneakers into a large-scale sculpture that reimagines high fashion through the lens of her own drag performances.

The exhibition traverses the terrain of geographic bodies as well as those of the human form. Mimian Hsu Chen creates her own sculptural work recontextualizing items of clothing and adornment as a 26-foot “waterfall” of diaphanous fabric sewn with embroidery, beads, and pearls. This textile work represents the seaweed and algae that drifts between the countries of Costa Rica and Taiwan, flotsam with no conception of political boundaries.

Matias Sauter Morera (above) depicts rich photographic images of the tropical, biodiverse Costa Rican landscape; self-taught painter Isaac Loria (below) offers light-filled fecund images painted al fresco on unstretched canvases that capture the lush beauty of his grandfather’s remote farm, the location where he paints.

The vibrant physical landscape is also the subject of Christian Wedel’s work.

His images examine the coexistence and comingling of the qualities shared by both flora and humans in the density of the tropics.

 

Engravings and woodcuts created by renowned Costa Rican printmaker Adrián Arguedas Ruano (above) depict a traditional masquerade festival in his hometown.

And Luciano Goizueta (below)  brings the video project, “Colección de Ahoras/Collection of Nows” to the gallery, a luminous work that reflects brief incidental moments in the life of a Costa Rican artist.

Each of the works in Seguimos is in its own way both self-reflective and universal, dedicated to the dynamic hope and belief that art, landscape, and humankind each shape a passionate commitment to the idea that “we continue.” It is an exhibition both as deeply devoted to the soul as it is to each of these bodies.

Seguimos will be on view March 30 through May 18, 2024. The artist reception runs from 4:30 to 6:30 on the 30th, with several of the participating artists taking part in an artist talk at 3 p.m., prior to the opening reception. Craig Krull Gallery is located at Santa Monica’s Bergamot Station in building B3.

  • Genie Davis; images provided by the exhibition

Play and Perfection at The Makery

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There are two terrific exhibitions currently exuding the spirit of play and perfection that inhabits the artist-run The Makery Gallery in DTLA.

Closing the 24th, Playtime is a brilliant and fun group show inaugurating the gallery’s new basement-level space, Sub Terra. It’s an exuberant and delightful show about – fun. When was the last time you enjoyed seeing inventively creative toys, ruminations on the purpose of play, and expression of pure joy?

 

From Heather Lowe’s dazzling, spinning holographic merri-go-round to a few holes of crazy cool golf transported from Mojaveland Mini Golf in 29 Palms with the two represented holes created by Anna Stump and Joe Alvarez, there’s something to make just about everyone smile. And admire the inventiveness and power inherent in play.

From Manuel Bracmonte’s “Technicolor Childhood” to Cathy Immordino’s make-your-own-diorama,  Lauren Mendelsohn Bass’s vibrate game of checkers…

…Monica Rickler Marks wonderful write-your-own-message colorful clothes line, and Tom Lasley’s mannequin boy and assemblage signs, this exhibition is tribute to vibrant colors and whimsy, and serves as a sweet testament to imagination.

Above, a glorious wall sculpture by Susanne Hannon

In the upstairs gallery, on view until March 30th, Betty Brown and Eva Montealegre have curated the dynamic Fuerte! which vibrates with texture, color, and the tactile. Brown and Montealegre grouped together a rich panoply of West Coast-based, multi-cultural women artists. Exhibiting artists include Adeola Davies-Aiyeloja, Roxane Berger, Dellis Frank, Susanne Hannon, Debbie Korbel, Eva Montealegre, Richelle Rich, Leigh Salgado, Hiroko Yoshimoto, and Linda Vallejo.

Among the many standouts are Vallejo’s stunning, large-scale wall sculpture “Golden Earring;” Korbel’s purple hued free-standing sculptural pup, “Baby;” and the lacey insouciance and intricate delicacy of Salgado’s intimate and sensual hand-cut acrylic and paper works.

Frank’s vibrant mixed media found art and textile wall sculptures; and Rich’s astonishing depiction of lushness in “It’s All for You,” also dazzle. Montealegre’s dreamily deep oil paintings, and Davies-Aiyeloja’s acrylic works speak to us of other worlds and magic.

Each artist’s work is as immersive as it is full of spirit-elevating punch. Fuerte translates roughly to strong and sharp, and the images here live up to the title.

A note on The Makery: the gallery consistently offers fresh, unique, and inventive exhibitions. If you haven’t spent the time in this Little Tokyo-adjacent space as yet, you owe it yourself and the art in Los Angeles, to pay a visit. The space also offers rental creative space and a range of membership levels; founding and resident artists Dave Lovejoy, Cathi Milligan, Cathy Immordino, and Richard Chow have shaped a special place.

  • Genie Davis; photos by Genie Davis

The Frieze Art Fair Phenomenon

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Twenty-one years ago, in 2003, the first Frieze art fair was held in London. It was nine long years until Frieze crossed the pond and brought the art fair to New York. When Frieze set up a huge tent in Hollywood (how appropriate) at Paramount Studios in 2019, it was anticipated with great excitement and seen as an acknowledgment of California’s outsized, though often overlooked, influence on contemporary art. Now Frieze LA has moved to the West Side and is no longer the new kid on the block. The new kid would be Seoul, Korea now. The Los Angeles fair is just part of Frieze’s ever expanding global brand.

Still, with 95 galleries, many from Los Angeles, representing 21 countries and hosting 32,000 visitors — collectors, designers, consultants, artists and of course, celebrity athletes and actors, it’s worth a look. It is a chance to see all the top Los Angeles galleries in one place  in a festive and bustling environment.

The concept of the gallery or museum as a clean, well-lit space with white walls has given way to a plethora of painted surfaces. Various Small Fires gallery is a case in point, with walls painted a rich wine red along with a rug of the same color that made the installation both striking and inviting.  VSF showcased artists whose work dealt with sustainability, species extinction and climate change. Brandon Ballengee’s mixed-media, hand-colored engraving of birds was elegaic and poetic. The artist cut out one of the birds leaving an empty shape instead, along with the ash-filled funerary urns on small shelves.

The text-based works of iconic conceptual artists Newton Harrison and Helen Mayer Harrison have words etched onto various materials like fabric or metal. One striking piece read  “Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin,” lifted from a Biblical text and written in both Hebrew, and in English. The translation: “you have Been Weighed ON THE SCALE AND FOUND WANTING.”

Commonwealth and Council gallery had a compelling conceptual exhibit by Lotus L. Kang. A superb, light-sensitive sheet of chemically sensitive, unfixed film hung like a scroll, and was changed continuously during the exhibition.

Alexander Gray Gallery had a beautiful solo show of New York artist Carrie Moyers’ stunning and surprising paintings. Hints of landscape, clouds, trees, hills, foliage were embedded in the glittery super-smooth surface, making these works delightful. The Matthew Marks gallery had ink drawings by Ken Price alongside his underglaze painted bowls, cups, and plates that demonstrated his process. This heady mix of the well -known and the new  was evident everywhere at the fair and was one of its strengths.

Regen Projects had a stunning, ever fascinating Anish Kapoor red stainless steel and lacquer piece that literally seemed to suck the viewer into the center weirdly like a black hole. Yet Elliot Hundley’s work nearby couldn’t have been more different than Kapoor’s slick reflective sculpture.

Hundley’s shaggy totemic sculptural piece was composed of found wood, string, fabric, purses, toys, netting intwined together that rose heavenward like an otherworldly devotional object.  Nearby was another Hudley work – a densely collaged wall piece filled with pins and imagery. It drew the viewer in to try to decode the thousands of visual components and relationships that ultimately delight and confound.

 

Around the corner at Karma gallery was a quiet Gertrude Abercrombie painting from 1960.  It was a tiny jewel of a work with a lady, a table, a black cat and a green ball.

The stillness inherent in this work was the exact opposite of the tumult and the turmoil of Celeste Dupuy-Spencer’s sculpted paintings nearby at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery.

These paintings with biblical imagery are filled with such angst and terror, that once seen they cannot be unseen. They are powerful commentary on the barbarism we see nightly on television that seems to be part of the dark soul of humanity.

The Jack Shainman Gallery had a fabulous mixed-media El Anatsui wall weaving that allowed the viewer the luxury of reveling in the details of the piece. Carlos Vega’s intricate oil on lead panel mixed media piece with cut outs was also intriguing and beautiful.

Always a treat to see the quintessential Los Angeles artist Carlos Almarez  at Ortuzar Projects. His inimitable work included superheated hallucinogenic images of downtown Los Angeles, car crashes at night amid the palm trees, and mythological self- portraits. Nearby was work by Hernan Bas, an artist, I was not familiar with. Bas had a solo show of pencil drawings and acrylic paintings of beautiful young men that echoed French Impressionist paintings. The large-scale  “A Bohemian at Breakfast”  is reminiscent of Manet’s ” Bar at Folie-Bergere,” and just as engaging.

Francois Ghebaly Gallery had a marvelous small version of Dominique Moody’s tiny house that Moody created for her “Urban Nomad” series. This model was made of vintage printer trays, glass bottles, photo collage, corrugated cardboard, paper tags, corks and water.

Terry Allen’s virtuoso mixed media work, assemblages and installations at LA Louver were delightful, charming and engaging. He is a local hero and treasure whose work never gets dated.

This was just a sampling of the visual feast that this Frieze presented to the viewer. Clearly there was too much to write about. To say there was something for everyone would be an understatement. The main problem with the fair is the expense of the ticket, which meant many artists could not afford to come unless gifted tickets, leading them to view the fair as becoming ever more exclusive instead of inclusive. For those of us who were able to attend, it proved enjoyable and worth it. I must add that I do miss the old Frieze at Paramount Studios for many reasons – it was iconic, very Los Angeles and so much more fun to walk amidst the sets representing the fake streets of New York,and enter into some of those structures, rather than in Barker Hangar. Ah, but that was before Frieze LA became part of the global brand.

  • Nancy Kay Turner; photos by Nancy Kay Turner