Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Convention Center, January 10-14
This story was featured in the January 2018 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art January 2018 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
The LA Art Show, the city’s largest international art fair, returns for its 23rd year with over 100 galleries from more than 18 countries including China, Japan, France, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. The event begins with an Opening Night Preview and Premiere Party on Wednesday, January 10, at 7 p.m., with a portion of the ticket sales benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The event continues its focus on contemporary art by featuring a range of painting, sculpture, mixed media, installation, and performance art. The special section ROOTS returns this year and features historical works from the 19th and early 20th centuries, along with contemporary works inspired by those traditional styles and techniques. “Even though the show says ‘modern and contemporary,’ we’ve still gone back to our roots and those movements that started it all,” says Kim Martindale, event producer and partner. “With most shows like this, those types of artists don’t even get to set up. We don’t feel there should be a punishment just because they’ve decided to paint in a specific style.” Galleries participating in this section include M.S. Rau Antiques, Rehs Galleries, and Maxwell Alexander Gallery.
The show recently forged partnerships with various art institutions to present a special section focused on civic engagement. With artwork and special programming from the Museum of the Arts of Guadalajara, Muzeo Anaheim, and the Museum of Latin American Art, the section focuses on the unique diversity that makes up the Los Angeles area. “We want to embrace everyone from all cultures and bring together this vast community where people can see all of these different things in one place,” Martindale says.
Littletopia, a special section dedicated to up-and-coming galleries that deal in the lowbrow art scene, also returns this year. “We realized there were many galleries in the show that worked in the lowbrow/pop surrealist genre, so we wanted to put them together to create a larger discussion of the work,” Martindale says. Littletopia features work from about 10 galleries, as well as a special appearance by famed artist Margaret Keane, known for her paintings of “big-eyed waifs.” The show continues through the weekend from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. —Mackenzie McCreary
contact information
310.822.9145
www.laartshow.com
This story was featured in the January 2018 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art January 2018 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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