Hello friends,
I’m so excited to share my latest project with you: a newsletter! I’ve toyed with the idea of starting one for a while now, and with my flight to Los Angeles booked, it seemed like the perfect time to share my thoughts on what not-to-miss in the art world at the moment. In this quarterly newsletter, I’ll list my recommendations for exhibitions, events, and trends that capture this collective enthusiasm. My hope is that you’ll find Art Season enjoyable and informative. Please share widely, and click on the button to subscribe at the bottom of the newsletter. I’m delighted for you to join me!
WHAT TO SEE IN LOS ANGELES:
FRIEZE LA. IT’S BACK, AND BETTER THAN EVER.
Well, things have certainly come full-circle: Frieze LA in 2020 was my last business trip before the world shutdown. Here we meet again in the City of Angels. As the recent Omicron surge recedes, collectors are excited to travel and dealers are bringing high quality artwork by sought-after artists to this fair. As I always say, there is nothing quite like seeing art in person. After two years of viewing art on a screen, we are all ready to experience aesthetic pleasure again IRL.
Art fairs allow the art industry’s participants and admirers alike to flock to one city–with its bevy of parties, gallery openings, museum exhibitions, dinners and smaller satellite expositions that enhance one’s enjoyment of the fair–and be immersed in its social and cultural offerings. This plays out every year at Art Basel in Switzerland, Art Basel in Miami Beach, Frieze in New York; and Zona Maco in Mexico City, to name a few, with many more options around the globe. Though Frieze LA is a relatively new fair (it launched in 2019), Los Angeles is no exception. It brings together all of the fun and festivities like any other art world destination.
In fact, LA is a close second to New York as the art hub in the US. We have recently learned that mega galleries Pace will be merging with Kayne Griffin in Los Angeles, while Lisson and David Zwirner are now putting themselves on the map there, following the moves by Hauser and Wirth, Gladstone Gallery, and Gagosian to the West Coast.
And while I’m in LA, why not focus on hometown artists and galleries? I would need more than a week in Los Angeles to truly see everything that I would like to, but with two babies at home, I just have to hit the highlights in my four exciting days. Here is what I am looking forward to seeing in LA:
GALLERIES
Image courtesy of Hauser and Wirth
Gary Simmons
This is an exciting time for Gary Simmons as this is his first show at Hauser and Wirth in his hometown of Los Angeles. Simmons spent many years at Metro Pictures, but has since been picked up by Hauser and Wirth when the beloved Metro closed this year. Simmons is well-known for work that wrestles with themes of race, identity, and politics, and how complex and prevalent these issues are in the US. With a show that includes paintings, wall drawings, sculpture, and installation. Visitors to ‘Remembering Tomorrow’ will witness his masterful technique and singular style; Simmons wipes his canvases while they are still wet to achieve the smeared surface images.
‘Guts,’ installation view, 2022. Image courtesy of Night Gallery
Samara Golden
Not far from Hauser and Wirth, I am very much looking forward to seeing Samara Golden’s show at Night Gallery. A Night Gallery exhibition is always a must-see and Golden’s installations are always a delight—guaranteeing a truly immersive experience—so do not miss this show! This is the first exhibition at the gallery’s new location, so both the art and the space are up for exploration. Golden’s previous artworks have played with perspective, scale, and reflection, and I expect ‘Guts’ will deliver another iteration of these properties, in surprising and unsettling ways.
‘Syzygy,’ Installation view, Los Angeles, 2022, photo: Josh Schaedel. Image courtesy of Blum & Poe.
Theodora Allen
Lastly, Theodora Allen has really pushed herself in this new installation at Blum and Poe Gallery. In a palette largely composed of soft blues, Allen captures the elusive shooting star and brings it down to earth. With delicate brushstrokes and precise composition, Allen translates the dynamism of the celestial realm onto her large scale canvases. She is also showing smaller pieces that are symbolic and show great depth in their two-dimensionality; they are strong companions to the larger cosmological works. The show taps into the shared feeling of asking questions of the universe for insight and clarity into our present moment.
FAVORITE FRIEZE BOOTHS
I am usually most excited about solo booths at art fairs, which allows the viewer some context and depth into the artist’s practice.
María Berrío at Victoria Miro – While Maria Berrío is not an LA artist and Victoria Miro is across the pond, I made an exception for this booth. Berrío is a master at capturing people – her faces are truly striking. I also love that she pushes the traditional medium of painting by adding collage elements and another layer of texture and depth. These particular paintings are about migration journeys from a children’s perspective.
Mindy Shapero at Nino Mier Gallery – Nino Mier Gallery is one of the most exciting newer programs in LA. He will be showing a solo booth of Mindy Shapero’s paintings and sculpture. I am particularly a fan of the paintings – the canvases are very worked, intricate and detailed and radiate outward. Shapero also happens to be married to David Kordansky, so they are certainly fixtures of the LA art scene.
MUSEUM SHOWS NOT TO MISS Noah Davis at the Underground Museum – Noah Davis (1983 - 2015) was such an important artist with a life cut too short. Davis actually was a co-founder of the Underground Museum, so I am very excited to see how the Underground Museum presents their very own.
Piplotti Rist at The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) – One of the all-time greatest New Museum Shows was Pipolotti Rist. I am always mesmerized by the work and look forward to seeing this survey with some larger scale installations that are perhaps suited for an atmosphere in LA.
OUT AND ABOUT IN LA LA has an amazing furniture scene – as I am recently renovating an apartment and have been on a furniture hunt, there are a few stores that I don’t want to miss: Stahl and Brand and Orange Furniture Los Angeles.
My favorite restaurants in Los Angeles are certainly not off the beaten path – I love the regulars Jon and Vinny, Gjelina, and AOC . However, I asked an old friend who is a Los Angeles native and the biggest foodie I know to give me an updated report – he said that his staples are E Baldi and Sunset Tower, but the new hotspots to try are Mother Wolf and Horses (only in LA ).
Hope you enjoy! If you are not able to physically be in LA, follow @annebruderart on Instagram for more!