Friday, February 23, 2024

Frieze Week Los Angeles Guide 2024 (Updated)

This year I have created a special Frieze Week Guide for some of the events happening in and around Frieze Art Fair and LA Gallery Week. This will be updated when I get new events and information. Enjoy this amazing week in Los Angeles for art. 

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February 25, 2024, Sunday
    - Art School Portraits from 1974 by Nick Taggart at Gallucci Tull, 21658 Encina Rd, Topanga, CA 90290. Opening Sunday, February 25th, 1–4pm; on view from February 26th–March 3rd, 10am–5pm

    - Jennifer West "Space Webs" and Lyndsey Marko "The Beach" at Gattopardo, 918 Ruberto Ave., Glendale, CA opening from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm https://gattopardo.la

    - James Herman "Homework" and Jane Corrigan "The Noise Upstairs" at Sea View, 4166 Sea View Ave., Los Angeles, CA opening from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm   sea-view.us 

February 26, 2024, Monday
    - John Garcia "Low" at Del Vaz Projects, 259 19th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90402, Opening from 3:00 to 6:00 pm - on view from February 26 - April 6, 2024; February 27, 2024, Tuesday

    - Tali Lennox "Tremors" at Nicodim, 1700 South Santa Fe #160, Los Angeles, CA 90021, Opening from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm 

February 27, 2024, Tuesday
    - Spring Break Art Show (opening), 5880 Adams Blvd., Culver City, CA. opening reception from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm www.springbreakartshow.com 
   
 - "Evocation Field" A Collaboration with Bavan Gallery at Mey, 638 N Doheny Dr, West Hollywood, CA 90069; Opening Reception: February 27, 5-8 PM

    - Ai Jing "All the World is Green" at Helen J Gallery, 929 Cole Ave., Los Angeles, CA, opening reception from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm https://helenjgallery.com

    - Secundino Hernández and Nicola Tyson at Nino Mier Gallery 7277 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA; Opening and Walking Dinner from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm; on view to March 30, 2024

    - Loyal @ El Royale II, Opening Reception, 450 N. Rossmore Ave., Los Angeles, CA from 5 to 9 pm. Please email the gallery to RSVP at loyal@loyalgallery.com 

    - A’Driane Nieves’ "self-evident truths" Various Small Fires, 812 N. Highland, Los Angeles, CA 90038; Opening Reception: Tuesday, February 27th, 5 - 7pm Various Small Fires (vsf.la) 

    - Opening of Nora Turato "it’s not true!!! stop lying!" February 28–April 27, 2024 Public Reception: February 27, 5–8pm with performance at 6:30 pm at Sprüth Magers, Los Angeles, 5900 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036; Sprüth Magers (spruethmagers.com) 

    - Samantha Joy Groff "Huntress" at Half Gallery, 2249 Mountain Oak, Los Angeles, CA; Artist Reception: February 27th, 3-7 PM; Los Angeles — HALF GALLERY

    - "Evocation Field" a group exhibition organized in collaboration with Bavan Gallery and curated by Ashkan Zahraei at Mey Gallery, 638 N. Doheny Drive, West Hollywood, CA; opening 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Evocation Field — MEY می (meygallery.com) 

    Jason Rhoades: Drive | Catherine Goodman: New Works - Hauser & Wirth DTLA, 901 East 3rd St. Los Angeles, CA 90013, Tuesday, February 27 at 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM Hauser & Wirth - Contemporary & Modern Art Gallery (hauserwirth.com) 

February 28, 2024, Wednesday
    - Felix Art Fair (opening) 7000 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 - hours 6pm - 8pm Felix Art Fair (felixfair.com) 

       - Spring Break Art Show, 5880 Adams Blvd., Culver City, CA. opening reception from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm  www.springbreakartshow.com 

    - Terry Allen & the Panhandle Mystery Band, Masonic Hall at the Hollywood Forever Cemetary (LA Louvre) Link for Tickets

    - "Rooted in Africa" artists curator talk from 7 pm to 9 pm, at The Loft at Liz, 453 S. La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036

    - Aaron Spangler "Stung by a Lie I Believe" at Rusha & Co., 244 West Florence Ave., Los Angeles CA 90003; Opening from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm 

    - bitforms gallery "Interreality" 5500 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 12 pm to 11 pm; VIP party in partnership with ARSNL and On Approval on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, 7-10 PM. INTERREALITY is pleased to welcome guests for complimentary drinks, music, a showcase of work by Nadya Tolokonnikova, creator of Pussy Riot, and live art performances by Millie Brown and Preston Douglas to kick off Frieze Week. Millie Brown, known for performances that test the limits of the artist’s body, will launch her new video on NOWNESS during Frieze week and perform a portion of the piece incorporating fire for INTERREALITY’s VIP guests. Preston Douglas will present a three-part multidisciplinary art piece combining performance, couture, sound, and a full choir. Frieze Week Programming — Interreality 

    - Curator-Led Walkthrough of Thirty Years: Written with a Splash of Blood on Wednesday, February 28, 4pm at BLUM Los Angeles, 2727 South La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90034.  
Click here to register. BLUM (blum-gallery.com)

    - Mario Joyce "Amaryllis’ Garden" a special celebration from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at UTA Artist Space, 403 Foothill Rd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210 Amaryllis' Garden - UTA Artist Space

    - John McCracken, and (group show) Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, On Kawara, Sol LeWitt, Palermo, Robert Ryman, Fred Sandback, and Richard Serra, at David Zwirner, 612 North Western Avenue
Los Angeles CA, 90004 Wednesday, February 28, 6–8 PM; David Zwirner: New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris and Hong Kong Art Galleries

February 29. 2024, Thursday
    - Frieze Los Angeles - Thursday Preview, February 29 (invitation only): 10am – 7pm 3027 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, 90405 Frieze Los Angeles | Frieze

    - Felix 7000 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 - hours 11 am - 7pm Felix Art Fair (felixfair.com) 

      - Spring Break Art Show, 5880 Adams Blvd., Culver City, CA. opening reception from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm  www.springbreakartshow.com 

  - "The Wrinkle Room Frieze Edition Presents Transformer at Track 16" Thursday, February 29, 2024, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Track 16 | First Floor, 1206 Maple Ave., Los Angeles, CA; www.track16.com   

    - Terry Allen & the Panhandle Mystery Band, Masonic Hall at the Hollywood Forever Cemetary (LA Louvre) Link for Tickets

    - "Crescent Heights," an expansive group exhibition encompassing gallery artists, friends, and new faces at Harper’s Los Angeles, 8115 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046; opening on Thursday, February 29, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Crescent Heights - Exhibitions - HARPER'S (harpersgallery.com)

March 1, 2024, Friday
    - Frieze Los Angeles - Friday Preview, March 1: 11am – 7pm (Last entry is 30 minutes before closing time on each day.) 3027 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, 90405 Frieze Los Angeles | Frieze

    - Felix, 7000 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 - hours 11 am - 7pm Felix Art Fair (felixfair.com) 

  - Spring Break Art Show, 5880 Adams Blvd., Culver City, CA. opening reception from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm  www.springbreakartshow.com 

    - A GOD OF HER OWN MAKING is an immersive spatial opera performed by JOJO ABOT accompanied by intricately woven layers of voices, dancers, and mesmerizing visuals. Special Performance at LA Louver, 45 North Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291, doors open at 6 and performance starts at 7:00 pm. Attendance is full, but waitlist is here

March 2, 2024, Saturday
    - Frieze Los Angeles - Saturday, March 2: 11am – 7pm (Last entry is 30 minutes before closing time on each day.) 3027 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, 90405 Frieze Los Angeles | Frieze
    
    - Felix 7000 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 - hours 11 am - 7pm Felix Art Fair (felixfair.com)

  - Spring Break Art Show, 5880 Adams Blvd., Culver City, CA. opening reception from 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm  www.springbreakartshow.com 

    - "Palenque Queerteñx" at 6:00 PM (Saturday of Frieze Week) at Laband Art Gallery, Loyola Marymount University1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90045 as part of "Queerteñx," a two-person exhibition, guest curated by Erika Hirugami and featuring artists Salvador de la Torre and José Villalobos.

    - Closing of "Spray Paintings1969-1971" Michael Todd and the opening of "Double Take" Ladan Sedighi x Rubén Ortiz Torres from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm at royale projects | 432 S Alameda St., Los Angeles, CA 90013

    - "VIP RIP" group show celebration. at RIP Space. to RSVP and for location to https://rip.space/ in the spirit of all things VIP during Frieze Week LA, Rip Space is pleased to invite you to “VIP RIP.” Presented works reflect the contemporary condition of personal experience filtered through the sensory deluge of content, media, news, and information. Join us Saturday March 2 from 7-10PM for a program of screen-based works from Casey Kauffmann, Wednesday Kim, and Cassie McQuater, a mixed media installation from Ásgerður “Ása” Arnardóttir, and a special DJ set from Ice Wall.

Co-Curated by Valerie Amend
Free with RSVP; Saturday, March 2nd, 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm; 1250 Long Beach Ave, unit 326, Los Angeles, CA


    - "Import/Export" at Noon Projects, Saturday, March 2, 2024, opening from 5–8pm; 508 Chung King Court, Los Angeles, CA - Noon Projects (noon-projects.com)

    - "Parallel Time: Brian Hubble and Jose Guadalupe Sanchez III," at Tiger Strikes Asteroid, special reception 7 to 10, Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave #523Los Angeles, CA 90015

    - Vielmetter Los Angeles, 1700 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90021 +1 213 623 3280
vielmetter.com book signing and artist talk with Deborah Roberts and Essence Harden to celebrate Roberts' newest monograph, “Deborah Roberts: Twenty Years of Art / Work” 3:00 pm 4:30 pm. Please RSVP by clicking here.

    - Artist walkthrough with Wanda Koop at Night Gallery, at 1:00 pm, followed by a book signing with Hayley Barker at 2:00 pm, 2050 Imperial Street Los Angeles CA 90021. Night Gallery RSVP is required to attend at rsvp@nightgallery.ca

Good Mother Art Week Gallery Mixer & Art Show at Soho Warehouse in Los Angeles!
In collaboration with San Francisco-based galleries Glass Rice & Jonathan Carver Moore, Saturday, March 2nd, 2024 from 6pm-10pm at Soho Warehouse, 1000 S. Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA - RSVP is required.  RSVP to Soho House LA Gallery … | Partiful


March 3, 2024, Sunday 
    - Frieze Los Angeles - Sunday, March 3: 11am – 6pm (Last entry is 30 minutes before closing time on each day.) 3027 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, 90405 Frieze Los Angeles | Frieze
    
     - Felix 7000 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 - hours 11 am - 5pm Felix Art Fair (felixfair.com)

  - Spring Break Art Show, 5880 Adams Blvd., Culver City, CA. opening reception from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm www.springbreakartshow.com 


Wednesday, February 14, 2024

(Review) Joan Brown at the Orange County Musuem of Art, Costa Mesa, California

 

When one enters the galleries, I imagine the artist introducing herself with a name tag that reads “Hi! My name is Joan.” From her work, you do get to know Joan and her fascinating life.  Joan Brown’s retrospective, currently at the Orange County Museum of Art, is an invitation to explore the life and loves of the Bay Area artist. Brown’s work reflects a menagerie of interests and loves that is deeply personal. By the end of looking through the four rooms of the exhibition, the viewer will leave not only knowing Brown, but also sense of love for this great artist who died tragically at the age of 52 in 1990. The joie d’vivre is Brown’s lasting impression which is a gift to both artist and art lover alike.

The first encounter with Brown’s work happened in 1958 when at the age of 20 the Museum of Modern Art acquired for their permanent collection a painting, “Thanksgiving Turkey.” At such a young age, Brown was destined for something greater. Her early works fit into the gestural approach to figuration that was common in both Abstract Expressionism and subsequent Pop Art movements with thick and heavy paint applied to the canvas. The subjects Brown chose were domestic with her son Noel playing center stage in many of her early works. She also had a love of art history with paintings based on Rembrandt and Delacroix.  Although her works are very personal, Brown played a very important role in the Bay Area art scene, in particular the Beats with friends like Wallace Berman, George Hermes, and Bruce Conner. Until 1964, Brown was popular with bay area figurative artists such as Paul Wonner, David Park and Richard Diebenkorn. Everything changed in 1964.

In 1964, Joan Brown changed the direction of her art. She stopped making paintings that were quite popular with her dealers in New York and San Francisco. She went into exile until around 1966. Brown then began making work that was flat, illustrative and almost cartoon-like figuration turning away from the expressionist style that was prevalent in her early works.

The change in style gave Brown a confidence that seemed to have freed her from the constraints of the market and the art world at large. She was now able to paint what she wanted and to tell the viewer her passions and joy. She loved to swim. Brown was involved in swimming from San Francisco to Alcatraz Island and back. In fact, she almost drowned when a cargo ship went by her as swam the bay. There are several works that show the bay, Alcatraz Island, and her swimming. She loved animals. Brown would frequent the San Francisco Zoo and then paint self-portraits with animal faces. Brown loved to dance. She met her fourth husband while going to dance halls in the city. She loved Egyptian art and traveled the world. Finally, Brown wanted to create a spiritual connection. Brown became interested in religions of the world. She made trips with her fifth husband who was a fellow traveler in world religions and was also a San Francisco police officer. This final group of works was not only connected with a passion for a spiritual course of life, but it was also connected with a premonition that she was going to die young. In a freak accident, Brown was killed when a column she was building in India collapsed on her.

Brown’s life may have been cut short, but her spirit and passion continue in her work. Throughout the galleries, you not only see Joan Brown as an artist, but you also see her as a person. From seeing her as a dancer with her husband, to portraits of her as an animal, as a swimmer, and to the embrace of the world’s religion, Joan was a truly free spirit who embraced the world around her. Although the survey is slimmed down from its original location at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the exhibition is effective and inspiring. One feels her presence in this show as if she is saying “Hi, my name is Joan and here’s my life." Joan Brown is someone you will really want to get to know.


#joanbrown #orangecountymuseumofart #bayareafigurative #bayareaart


























Friday, January 19, 2024

100 Word Review: Jonathan Casella "The Palace" at The Pit

Jonthan Casella’s solo show at The Pit, “The Palace” is an intriguing exhibition of paintings where Casella inquiries about the state of images and how they relate to time, memory and emotion. Each canvas is occupied by mid-century like patterns, color, form, images allowing the viewer to chart a narrative course. The title refers to Henry David Thoreau “Walden” where the poet refers to a palatial setting as a site for settling fictions to engage with the real. Casella effectively maps a world where the poetic image leads the viewer to the unexpected. The paintings are engaging and fun.


On View through February 17, 2024
The Pit
918 Ruberta Rd. 
Glendale, CA 91201









Monday, January 8, 2024

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I'M BACK

 I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. After a long hiatus, I am back blogging again. This year is going to be quite exciting. I will be doing reviews on shows around Los Angeles as well as places I will be visiting in 2024. I will be covering Frieze Los Angeles as well as events and gallery openings during gallery week Los Angeles. For the first time, not only will I be doing a review of Frieze Los Angeles, but I will also be creating a guide to events surrounding Frieze. Parties. Talks. Events. You will be in the know for one of the most exciting times to be in Los Angeles and Southern California. If you have any suggestions, please email me at mvasquez9@hotmail.com. I will continue to give you the best that the LA art scene has to offer as well as from around the world. Thank you for your patience and I look forward to exploring a dynamic and amazing art scene. 



 

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

George Condo “People are Strange” at Hauser & Wirth, West Hollywood, California (Review)

 A deceased artist once said in an interview that Picasso will not be remembered in 20 years. George Condo’s solo show “People are Strange” which was on view at Hauser & Wirth’s new location in West Hollywood, California, would beg to differ. The 20th century modern master’s presence is felt and deeply influenced in Condo’s most recent work. The title is taken from the song by the Doors, the idea of the “strange’ is explored a way of seeking the contemporary condition. Condo uses Cubist pictorial strategies to construct identities and figures within the canvas. 

Using Cubism as a means and a way to create a figure, Condo’s paintings are exercises in the creation of form and space. His paintings are also psychological in nature. The multiple vantage points form an instability as each portrait makes an emotional state. Multiple views depict an inner state of the viewer. Besides Picasso, Condo takes cues from other modernism’s past. Artists such as Philip Guston, Matisse and Willem De Koning are quoted and utilized with Condo’s canvases. He adds the splatter on the paintings as if to give a wink and a nod to the gestural of the Abstract Expressionist. This seems more a deliberate exercise in wreckage and entropy. Out of the maelstrom, Condo creates portraits that are freakish and distorted in their presence. In his pursuit of form and distortion, Condo is reasserting faith in painting’s past and current practice. From all this, Condo is really saying that people are “strange” and that politics and contemporary society are making them this way. The artist is only revealing what is hidden. Condo makes his case by laying and overlapping, distorting and twisting the figures within each other. Bodies and figures converge and dissipate onto each other as if nothing is solid and everything is in flux. The figure is at the mercy of political and social forces that distort and manipulate.  

George Condo’s “People are Strange” was the perfect solo show to open at Hauser & Wirth’s new West Hollywood location. Condo is placing a mirror darkly onto the society that can truly be described as strange. With the proliferation of falsity, misinformation, and deep-fakes, Condo is only making a case that the strange is the new normal. “People Are Strange” is the first solo show since his 2019 show at Sputh Magers where Condo follows the same approach where the line between reality and the forces that distort that reality. It is also driving people apart from each other. That is what’s strange.  

George Condo. "People Are Strange" 

15 February – 22 April 2023 

Hauser & Wirth West Hollywood 















Monday, March 27, 2023

Felix 2023 - Photo Essay

Felix, co-founded in 2018 by Dean Valentine, Al Morán, and Mills Morán, is an art fair created with the intention to foster intimate experiences that prioritize conversation, collaboration, and community. With over 60 galleries participating, Felix 2023 edition took place February 15-19 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles.



























































































Frieze Week Los Angeles Guide 2024 (Updated)

This year I have created a special Frieze Week Guide for some of the events happening in and around Frieze Art Fair and LA Gallery Week. Thi...