Barely into 2019 and the art world waits not. LA Art Show sprawls across the LA Convention Center floor to feature 120 galleries from 18 countries.
On exhibit are a pointedly contemporary and modern array of paintings, sculpture, installations, photography, video performances, and acrylic, oil, graphite, charcoal, gouache, and watercolor works on paper.
LA Art show is featured at the LA Convention Center, nestled in the heart of DTLA, and adjacent to Staples Center and the Grammy Museum. Just like any new exhibition drastically alters the space of a gallery, the LA Convention center was asked to change its vast halls to accommodate the LA Art Show. As one could guess, this show truly takes two full days to see. Even the most imperturbable art-goers can get overwhelmed with the amount of quality and diverse works LA Art show features. That being said, LA Art Show has something for everyone.
At $30 bucks per head per day, LA Art show is much more accessible than most boutique and large-scale industry happenings in LA. As a whole, my sentiment is that the art world is conscientious of income disparities in LA, and makes a concerted effort to be accessible and inclusive. That being said, a $60 weekend pass and $30 daily General Admission is still steep for many. However, undoubtedly worth the look if you can spring the cash.
At its inception in 1995, LA Art show exhibited at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium with a merely 14 U.S. Galleries. LA Art Show has since ballooned. LA Art show continues to transform, and this year, it features geographic diversity from the local Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), to U.S.-based Littletopia by Red Truck Gallery co-founder positioned in New Orleans, to a Pan-Asian conglomerate of ink paintings.
LA Art Show go-ers I spoke with confirmed that the LA Art show continues to mutate, and they affirmed that the 2018 works exhibited had changed almost entirely from the year prior. This is heartening for a number of reasons. But primarily it’s good to see the LA Art Show curators encourage distinct works of art from new, emerging artists in the burgeoning contemporary art scene.
Cordoned off by gallery exhibitors, the LA Art Show is neatly sectioned not by artist, but by gallery. Lowbrow art is housed distinctly (but not aggressively) from Pan-Asian ink paintings, just as videos of performance pieces are situated separately (albeit next to) historical, contemporary paintings. From hyperreal sculptures of Jimmy Hendrix, to 8ft foot tall gunpowder murals, there’s something for everyone at LA Art Show.
LA is a multicultural city which bursts at the scenes with a diverse people. LA is also a city the world looks to for the elevation of art. Year after year, LA Art Show better approximates this bridge and solidifies this expectation.
LA Art Show 2019:
https://www.laartshow.com/
Dates:
January 23-27, 2019
Location:
1201 S. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90015