Los Angeles Art Show

REDCAT

Model Opera (1974) by Zhang Yaxin

By Penny Orloff

From Rembrandt to Ruscha and Beyond

According to the official resolution passed in August, 2008, the City of Los Angeles will use the confluence of over 50,000 international visitors to the annual January L.A. Art Show to anchor a month-long celebration of arts in the City. Created to help to position Los Angeles as a world-class art destination, and now in its 16th year, the L.A. Art Show is recognized as one of the preeminent international arts destinations.

This year's L.A. Art Show, entitled "From Rembrandt to Ruscha and Beyond," features painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, and video from over 100 prominent galleries around the world. Located in the Los Angeles Convention Center in the heart of Downtown L.A., the Show plays host to the international art-buying public from Thursday, January 20 through Sunday, January 23. "It's a chance for serious collectors to visit more than 100 galleries at one time," says Betina Tasende, the president of the Fine Art Dealers Association (FADA), which founded and owns the Show.

"The L.A. Art Show brings together art from the Old Masters of the 16th century, through the Impressionists, right up to the present moment," says Tasende. "There's not another like it in the United States." All artwork is for sale at the show, ranging in price from several hundreds to several millions of dollars.

The original event showcased a mere 14 galleries, and drew 250 attendees. As L.A. continued to grow and develop as a major world center for fine art, the Show rapidly outgrew previous venues. Kim Martindale, who has produced the Show every year since its inception, says, "The Convention Center was a great move for us. Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, where we held the show for many years, had become overcrowded, and had very limited parking – not to mention the leaks when it rained!"

Martindale cites the Convention Center's proximity to the Ritz-Carlton and Marriott Hotels, and the many restaurants at LA Live, as very convenient for the huge number of out-of-town and international collectors. "Downtown has really changed, has taken a huge leap forward. The timing was right to bring the Show into the center of L.A."

One of the unique features of this year's Show is an interactive display related to the highly anticipated regional exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum, "Pacific Standard Time," opening in October 2011. Created by the Getty Foundation to promote L.A.'s position in the context of world art history, the PST exhibit will present a survey of postwar painting and sculpture in Los Angeles. The display at the 2011 L.A. Art Show gives insights into how art created in L.A. during the '40s and '50s has influenced modern art.

LA's growing reputation as a center of world art is reflected in an annual Show highlight, the Guest Country Exhibition, this year devoted to art from China. A specially curated Chinese Pavilion features more than a dozen China-based galleries, a Chinese language guided tour, and a special exhibition from 53 Art Museum, a new avant-garde contemporary art institution in Guangzhou, China. This exhibition of three cutting-edge artists, Feng Feng, Qin Jin, and Liu Qingyuan, is sponsored and curated by prominent Asian art publications Art Gallery Magazine and Gallery Sights.

As part of the Chinese exhibition, Los Angeles Art Association/Gallery 825 presents Flora Kao's installation, "Ghost Grove." Referencing Chinese landscape painting, the piece uses fabric, paint, and light to simulate the outdoor experience of trees. Additionally, a symposium at 2pm on Thursday, January 20th offers artist Tao Dong Dong in a provocative discussion of his work and the experience of being a contemporary artist in today's China.

Further demonstrating L.A.'s emergence as a cauldron of scholarly discourse around art, other symposia open to the public will feature presentations by a star-studded line-up of contemporary authorities. "NAKED: The Nude in America" is a book signing and lecture by nationally recognized scholar, art historian, and author, Bram Dijkstra; "Art is Architecture" is a conversation examining the evolution of digitally designed and fabricated spatial installations as art forms; and Robert Williams will speak on "Conceptual Realism, in the Service of the Hypothetical."

Among a plethora of curated programs is "Rarely/Unseen," a private collection of rare images by the master of 20th century photography, Henri Cartier-Bresson. Peter Fetterman shares his collection of Bresson's images – many of which have never been seen by the public prior to the 2011 L.A. Art Show – amassed over a 20-year period when Fetterman was Bresson's primary U.S. gallery.

In the past two decades, L.A. has become home to cutting-edge "guerilla" arts, born outside the art and design departments at institutions of higher learning. Curated by Bryson Strauss, the L.A. Art Machine presents "Vox Humana," a large-scale, live art installation by celebrated international street artists. Patrons can return each day to watch the murals unfold, with a completion celebration at 2pm on Sunday, January 23.

The L.A. Art Show kicks off with an opening night party on Wednesday, January 19, featuring culinary delights and specialty beverages courtesy of some of L.A.'s finest restaurants, such as Hama Sushi, Pane Vino, and Canzar. Entertainment includes a spectacular, authentic Chinese Lion and Dragon Dance, and a performance by silkscreen and performance artist, Russell Young.

Proceeds from the Opening Night Premiere Party will benefit The Art of Elysium, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization providing art workshops to more than 30,000 critically ill children in hospitals and hospices throughout L.A. The Premiere Party is sponsored by the J. Paul Getty Museum Education Department.


Opening Reception: Wednesday, January 19, 6-10pm
Tickets: $125-$500
General Admittance: Thursday, January 20 through Sunday, January 23
Tickets: $15 online, $20 at the door; 4-day show pass $35 online, $40 at the door
The Los Angeles Convention Center is located at 1201 South Figueroa Street. For tickets and information, visit www.laartshow.com, or phone KR Martindale Show Management at (310) 822-9145.

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