Fair Report: Art LA

Art LA

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The most marked difference about Art LA as opposed to other fairs was the absence of couture-clad women at the opening. Everyone attending the opening was in characteristic California casual—rumpled blazers and jeans seemed to be the uniform.

With both the Los Angeles Art Show and Art LA happening on the same weekend, this fair at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium promised to be the more contemporary of the two. But with the timing just between Miami Basel and The Armory Show and many of the galleries signing up as last minute participants, LA’s turn at an art fair felt a little thin with only about 60 exhibitors, most of which were local.

However, L.A. dealer Susanne Vielmeter countered: “What was great about this fair was that literally everybody from the local community was so supportive. Certainly an international scope was missing, but that’s understandable as this was the first time this fair has been remotely interesting.”

Based on the support from key Angelino players, everyone seemed to express a desire to attract a more diverse group of participants, which would help L.A. hold up as an arts capital and improve its influence on the rest of the art world.

Of the dozen or so international galleries in attendance, Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects (Toronto) had a strong selection of emerging Canadian and international artists. Her booth was one of the few to include a sound installation, as well as sculpture, painting and drawing. Canadian artist Mike Bayne showed 4-by-6 oil paintings on panel of local storefronts, parking lots and motels on the side of the highway that were so technically impressive passersby might mistake them for photographs. The renderings of cars parked on rain-soaked streets and 1940s-style suburban houses provide images of Canada that are reminiscent of Stephen Shore’s photographic studies of the American landscape.

At Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunert Inc. (New York), I was taken with two paintings from Ann Craven’s series of moon phases. Even though her work has been likened to that of Alex Katz, her play with repetition and her pagan/cultish subject matter were more reminiscent of early Karen Kilimnik.

In the end it was really the local galleries that shined. Highlights included Vielmeter’s booth, showing Wangechi Mutu’s Eve. The edition of 8 prints made from Mutu’s etchings and collages were contained in a zebra wood box with the title engraved on the lid. At the same booth, Sean Duffy’s turntable sculpture Spider and the Fly was a charmer, with eight record needles playing a Devo cover.

When asked about sales, Vielmeter said, “Many of the galleries, including us, joined at the last minute, so we had to show what was in our storage. Considering that the booths were very reasonably priced and it was in our hometown, we had enough sales to make it worthwhile. Overall it was a good experience.”

Jack Hanley Gallery (Los Angeles/San Francisco) had some fabulous drawings on hand from London-based artist Donald Urquhart, including a wall-size alphabet centered around Judy Garland. Urquhart, who was a key player in the Leigh Bowery nightclub scene in the 1980s, also shows his bold and campy drawings at Maureen Paley’s gallery in London.

There were two Bjorn Copeland mixed-media pieces at China Art Objects (Los Angeles) priced at $2,800. The Brooklyn-based artist (who is also a member of the band Black Dice) makes very intricate drawings and collages that have a 1960s, psychedelic/secret-society feel. His next solo show at the gallery opens in March.

Adding a bit of gravitas to this young event were some Ed Ruscha prints in Patrick Painter’s booth, selected from two early black-and-white photo series: Rooftops 1961-2003 and Vacant Lots 1970-2003.

Uta Barth’s 2006 triptych Untitled (06.26) looked exquisite in the ACME booth, which received several visits from serious collectors, observed gallery owner Randy Sommer. “It surprised me. They are always curious, which is a good thing. Plus, they don’t want to miss out on anything, especially if it is in their own backyard.”