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Los Angeles Art Show 2009
By Bruce Wildstein
L.A.'s biggest art show returned recently for its 14th installment, this time at the Los Angeles Convention Center. After spending a number of years at Santa Monica's Barker Hangar, holding the event at the Convention Center added new life to the four day show and allowed more galleries to exhibit. The new venue felt more upscale and more professional, with carpeting under foot, more space for each gallery, and greatly improved lighting. This puts the show on par with major art events in other cities like New York and Miami. This is mainly a higher end show, and is international in scope with about 143 galleries from Los Angeles and the U.S. plus a sizable number of galleries from outside the United States. The gala opening night saw over 1,000 guests arrive for an exclusive evening of viewing, music, food, and drinks. Organized by the Fine Art Dealers Association, the opening night was a benefit for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Environmental Media Association, and the Inner-City Arts organization.
Walking the show was a treat for art lovers, with everything from traditional paintings to contemporary works on display. From Rembrandt to Warhol, one could view paintings, sculptures, tapestries, photographs, drawings and more. And of course everything was for sale. Some of the highlights of the show included local gallery Hamilton-Selway, which has the largest inventory of contemporary art in the state. Works by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns and others were for sale. Timothy Yarger Fine Art of Beverly Hills had artist Jean Wells showing a number of her amazing mosaic tile sculptures, which included a bowl of giant Hershey "Kisses." Robischon Gallery of Denver showed works by progressive contemporary Chinese artists. Robert Berman Gallery of Santa Monica had an unsettling but realistic "bomber boy" sculpture by Australian artist Dietrich Wegener. Another interesting exhibition in its own area was a show called Supersonic 2009, which was a mini-show by 80 artists working in numerous types of media. The artists are Masters of Fine Arts candidates from a number of Southern California colleges. This show gives attendees the opportunity to see how our local art institutions are helping to produce new artists on a world-class level. In addition, one section of the show featured the Fine Print Fair, a small collection of art dealers selling mostly lower cost prints made by woodblock, linocut, and etching print methods.
Another aspect of the show was the daily special events and lectures. Panel discussions were varied and covered topics such as art as an alternative asset, art in the political landscape, and the art collector's boot camp. If one wanted to learn more about photography as art, a special lecture was available by an expert on that topic. Some patrons also were taken on tours of various Los Angeles art studios and public space exhibits.
Across town Art L.A., a smaller but no less important show was being held at the same time. Like the L.A. Art Show, Art L.A. also moved into bigger digs. Formerly in the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, this more avant-garde show took up residence in Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport. Los Angeles artists were a main focus, but galleries from other cities both in the U.S. and abroad were represented. Although higher end galleries exhibited, this show featured many smaller galleries with "outside" and emerging artists displaying unique originals in many mediums. The new venue was much improved over the patchwork layout of the Santa Monica Civic, and allowed easier access to the over 60 galleries exhibiting. And for those interested, special lectures and panel discussions were held during the show at a nearby theatre. The ART LA 2009 opening night reception benefited the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles. An eclectic mix of art patrons, the curious, and the offbeat attended what was more like a socializing experience than a true buyers show.