The LA Art Show is the oldest art fair to occupy Los Angeles’ burgeoning fair season, and it is still a vital presence. This year, the 28th iteration of the fair, produced by Kassandra Voyagis, offers abundant highlights including works from six Japanese galleries, a variety of work from 14 South Korean galleries and artists, and the return of the European Pavilion.
The work in DIVERSEartLA, curated by Marisa Caichiolo provides a variety of haunting video installations that are as lush and captivating as they are prescient social commentary on global climate change. In conjunction, the Mueum of Latin American Art offers work from Judy Baca; AMA showcases the work of Mexican photographic artist Alfredo De Stefano.
Baca’s double-sided triptych “Thirteen Women in the Volcanic Eruption” (Side 1) created on acyrlic on wood panels, a part of MOLAA’s permanent collection explores the worship of a female goddess. The second side, on display as we visited, is a visionary look at Mother Earth, “The Birth of the Vision of the Heart,” above.
Immigration policies and the heartbreak of border crossings is the topic of an exhibition that combines video images with the clothes worn by immigrants in “Uninhabited,” an installation from Carmen Isasi.
With a sand covered floor and gorgeous images and sound, De Stefano’s “The Pulse of Silence (El Pulso del silencio)” is an absolute must-see exploring our planet, its future, and the terrible poetry of its possible demise.
Davis Birk’s work is equally fascinating, nature through a surveillance camera in “Project: Rendevous: Esta tierra es Mi Tierra.”
Petro Eiko’s riveting 3D sculptures are also rooted in an exploration of climate change and fragile state of water; she uses six 3D sculptures and video to create a mysterious and involving installation.
Curated by Beate Dusterberg, viewers can walk through a series of cylindrical metal sculptures containing images of eyes and bodies, illuminated by an eerie, glowing white light. Both futuristic and cautionary, the experience is otherworldly.
Artist Robert Vargas created a mural on site opening night, expressing the plight of missing indigenous women.
“IL GIARDINO PLANETARIO (The Planetary Garden)” from artist Pietro Rufflo collaborating with Noruwei, provides a prescient look at earth as a garden with haunting visual images.
At Building Bridges Art Exchange, an amazing cocoon of softly falling fabric provides a walk-in experience that evokes memories of a visit to Antelope Canyon. Other sculptural pieces are also on exhibit from the miraculous hand of artist Carmen Mardónez.
At the Rebecca Hossack Gallery, hauntingly luminous paintings by Laurence Jones were standouts, evocative of Los Angeles life both remote and glamorous. Luminous in an entirely different way, the works at Taguchi Fine Art by artist Regine Schumann utilize glowing flurorescent acrylic glass. Hayoon Jay Lee offers fascinatingly textile work that looks like feathers but is actually crated using rice, modeling paste, and acrylic on wood panel. The works were featured at Artego Gallery. More locally, Melissa Morgan shows off the futuristic glass, LED, and steel work of Anthony James among its sculptural offerings.
At the Los Angeles Center for Photography space, a bevy of fine work shines, including poignant, hauntingly delicate cynotypes from artist Cathy Immordino; works by Carolee Friday and Sarah Hadley were also lovely.
Hung Viet Nguyen at bG, above
At bG Gallery, a series of lush works with a lavendar edged palette from Susan Lizotte were joined by a wide variety of works including the charming dog sculptures from Alessandra Pierelli, witty ceramic cats and dogs from Linda Smith, and masterful California seascapes and skyscapes from Gay Summer Rick. Hung Viet Nguyen’s splendid, deeply textural Sacred Landscape series was also included in the exhibition space, along with abstract cyanotypes from Richard S. Chow, among many other outstanding works.
Over at Fabrik Projects, Nancy’s Wise’s oil on aluminum flowers bloomed vividly; the gallery is also showing works from actor and artist Val Kilmer. Fabrik is also behind the massive sculptural work, “Launch Intention” a mega metal paper airplane in design, from artist Griffin Loop, seen above. Thematically, the work stands as a call to action; visually it is an inventive geometric stunner.
At Art in Bloom, astonishing works from Britney Penouilh and Angela Izzo include the Mystical Creatures Tarot Deck, Penoullh’s exceptional clay sculpture cast in resin, “Gothic Altarpiece,” (above) and more.
EK Gallery, features the work of Chuni Park, (above) with perfect and precise images of nature.Ukrainian artist Denis Sarazhin offers beautifully crafted work at Arcadia Contemporary, whose gallerist, Steve Diamant, was able to secure the artist a safe place to work in the U.S. as the war wages between Ukraine and Russia.
The Maria Elena Kravitz gallery shone with bright and gorgeous images from Adeola Davies-Aiyeloja, Peter Zelle, and Mark Davis among the artworks that compel with textures and patterns. Touchon Gallery’s evocative underwater photographic works from Alex Sher were a rewarding deep dive.
Throughout the exhibition, viewers will find a variety of awesome surprises such as whimsical and delightful plexiglass image-shaped letters hanging from the ceiling in the wonderful “Raintype: Lorenzo Marini” (above) presented by Bruce Lurie Gallery, which also exhibits the work of painter Michael Gorman.
Around one corner, “Shai Kremer: The Edge of Knowledge, ” a photographic lightbox; around another, hyperrealistic scultpural works from Carole A. Feuerman startle and delight at Markowicz Fin Arts; in other spots, viewers will find sinuous metalic figures prance while brightly colored strongmen and super heroes flex their muscles. Red aliens, sardine can sculptures with video installations, Chagall reinterpreted on fabric, a deconstructed typewriter: it’s all there, and it’s all well worth seeing.
Tickets to the event, running Thursday through Sunday are available for purchase here. Don’t miss. LA Art Show is the longest running art fair in the region for a reason – it’s good.
- Genie Davis; photos – Genie Davis