It's that time of year again when thousands of art enthusiasts flood the streets of Los Angeles, going from one art fair to the next–stopping at a gallery along the way. Although the city may not come to mind when considering an art capital, it’s home to a great community of galleries and artists. This year, Los Angeles Art Week has attracted local and international artists and galleries to present offerings at Frieze Los Angeles, an art fair taking place at the Santa Monica Airport consisting of 95 galleries (running February 29 through March 2); Felix Art Fair, a contemporary art fair platforming emerging artists at the historic Roosevelt Hotel (running February 28 through March 3), and independent galleries sprinkled around the city. With a long list of artists to see and incredible programming to boot, we’ve rounded up seven unmissable exhibitions this Los Angeles Art Week.
Anat Egbi gallery presents Gloria Klein, Jordan Nassar, and Meeson Pae at Frieze LA
During this year’s Frieze Art Fair in Los Angeles, Anat Ebgi gallery is set to present a curated offering of work by Gloria Klein, Jordan Nassar, and Meeson Pae. This presentation brings together three unique artists across generations and cultural backgrounds to explore themes of representation, spontaneity, and recontextualized narratives.
Pae will show two paintings and two sculptures, investigating the relationship between the body and technology. Nassar’s embroidered landscapes pull from his Palestinian culture – including traditional craft-making and history. The late Gloria Klein will have works from the ‘70s and ‘80s on display, paintings balancing ideas of order and disruption through geometric abstractions. This spectacular collection of artists speaks directly to Anat Ebg’s mission of uplifting voices who often lack recognition from the art world.
Pae will show two paintings and two sculptures, investigating the relationship between the body and technology. Nassar’s embroidered landscapes pull from his Palestinian culture – including traditional craft-making and history. The late Gloria Klein will have works from the ‘70s and ‘80s on display, paintings balancing ideas of order and disruption through geometric abstractions. This spectacular collection of artists speaks directly to Anat Ebg’s mission of uplifting voices who often lack recognition from the art world.
Gloria Klein, Untitled 1977. Courtesy of Anat Ebgi.
Jordan Nassar, 2024. Courtesy of Anat Ebgi.
Meeson Pae, Seep. 2024. Courtesy of Anat Ebgi.
Babst presents Henry Fonesca at Frieze LA
Henry Fonesca’s art continues to live on even after passing in 2006. The Nisenan Native American painter and illustrator with Hawaiian and Portuguese roots explored his heritage and traditional dance in his craft. During this year’s Frieze LA, Babst Gallery continues the artist’s legacy by showcasing works throughout the vibrant painter’s career. Each piece bears account of the vivid imagination of Fonesca, where ideas of mythology, identity, and community come together in colourful and quilted-like scenes.
“I don’t think that the Coyote mythology will ever dry up. It’s been around so long. It opens like a Pandora’s Box. I think I could keep it alive, it’s that potent… He reminds me of those multi-faceted crystal balls hanging in the window. You see flashes, but you don’t know where they will take off to. I’ve been trying to get that to the core of my work,” Harry Fonseca said to Abby Wasserman in Coyote and the Myth maker back in 1987.
“I don’t think that the Coyote mythology will ever dry up. It’s been around so long. It opens like a Pandora’s Box. I think I could keep it alive, it’s that potent… He reminds me of those multi-faceted crystal balls hanging in the window. You see flashes, but you don’t know where they will take off to. I’ve been trying to get that to the core of my work,” Harry Fonseca said to Abby Wasserman in Coyote and the Myth maker back in 1987.
Henry Fronesca, Pow Wow Club,1981. Courtesy of Babst Gallery.
Central Server Works presents Presque Vu
Central Server Works presents Presque Vu (running February 25 through March 13), a curated show of across-discipline artists straddling notions of revelation though never truly arriving at one. Utilizing mediums of ceramics, drawing, performance, assemblage, and painting, each artist meditates on the phrase ‘almost seen,’ a direct meaning of the French expression ‘presque vu.’
The show strings together: Peter Alexander, Katelyne Alexis, Melvino Garretti, L, Daniel Tyree Gator Lomack, Lila De Magalhaes, Higinio Martinez, Anthony Pearson, David Shull, Arthur Simms, Astra Huimeng Wang. In addition, Central Server Work is teaming up with the Los Angeles Coastal Gallery Collective to assist with coordination during this Los Angeles Art Week.
The show strings together: Peter Alexander, Katelyne Alexis, Melvino Garretti, L, Daniel Tyree Gator Lomack, Lila De Magalhaes, Higinio Martinez, Anthony Pearson, David Shull, Arthur Simms, Astra Huimeng Wang. In addition, Central Server Work is teaming up with the Los Angeles Coastal Gallery Collective to assist with coordination during this Los Angeles Art Week.
Astra Huimeng Wang. Untitled, 2023.
Crenshaw Dairy Mart and Charlie James Gallery present Noé Olivas’s Gilded Dreams
Gilded Dreams is a solo presentation by Noé Olivas, an interdisciplinary artist whose body of work explores themes of leisure, labor, westernization, and paths toward liberation. Presented by Crenshaw Dairy Mart in collaboration with Charlie James Gallery (running February 28 through March 31), Olivas created new works in painting, sculpture, and performance for this exhibition.
A co-founder of Crenshaw Diary Mart, Olivas’s practice mirrors the three driving forces of the gallery: ancestry, abolition, and healing. In this, the Los Angeles-based artist continues to cultivate a community not only through his art but also through the gallery. The opening reception for Gilded Dreams will host three performances, AR:4[POUR.BLOOD.OF.SPIRIT] by Robyko, Courageous Conversations by Patrisse Cullors, and BOTANICA/botanica: Resurrection by Marcus Kuiland-Nazario–a site-specific installation and performance.
A co-founder of Crenshaw Diary Mart, Olivas’s practice mirrors the three driving forces of the gallery: ancestry, abolition, and healing. In this, the Los Angeles-based artist continues to cultivate a community not only through his art but also through the gallery. The opening reception for Gilded Dreams will host three performances, AR:4[POUR.BLOOD.OF.SPIRIT] by Robyko, Courageous Conversations by Patrisse Cullors, and BOTANICA/botanica: Resurrection by Marcus Kuiland-Nazario–a site-specific installation and performance.
Noé Olivas, Keep Your Head to the Sky, 2024. Courtesy of the Artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. © 2024 noé olivas; Photo © 2024 Yubo Dong.
Commonwealth and Council presents Lotus L. Kang and Suki Seokyeong Kang at Frieze LA
Presenting Lotus L. Kang and Suki Seokyeong Kang for Frieze LA 2024, Commonwealth and Council continue their mission of supporting contemporary artists of color. Exhibiting work previously shown by highly esteemed museums and galleries, including the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul and Chisenhale Gallery in London, Suki Seokyeong Kang and Lotus L. Kang’s forthcoming offering expands their impressive portfolios. On display at the fair will be wall works and sculptures, where each artist explores their Korean culture, memories, and inherited traditions through materials including steel, light-sensitive unfixed films, reed, and hand-hewn, where every piece is laced with contemplative depth.
Lotus L. Kang, Molt (New York-Woodridge-Los Angeles-), 2022-24 Courtesy of the artist and Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles, Mexico City.
Jeffrey Deitch presents At the Edge of the Sun
At the Edge of the Sun is a year in the making. It’s a group show of twelve Los Angeles-based artists coming together to speak on their city’s history and personal experiences through varied disciplines. On display at Jeffrey Deitch’s Hollywood location (Feburary 24 through May 4), At the Edge of the Sun allows each artist to showcase their practice and extend a dialogue of cultural nuance and city pride to their community. Through installation, sculpture, painting, and photography, this exhibition drives home the notion that Los Angeles is not just stereotypes but a home to vibrant, diverse people and stories.
The participating artists consist of Diana Yesenia Alvarado, Michael Alvarez, Mario Ayala, Karla Ekaterine Canseco, rafa esparza, Alfonso Gonzalez Jr, Ozzie Juarez, Maria Maea, Jaime Muñoz, Guadalupe Rosales, Gabriela Ruiz, and Shizu Saldamando. Accompanying the work will be a book of interviews and profiles of the artists, including a special introduction by Dr. Rose Salseda. Additionally, participating artists tapped the shoulders of creative friends–writers, photographers, and designers–to contribute to the show’s ecosystem, bringing the exhibition outside the gallery walls.
The participating artists consist of Diana Yesenia Alvarado, Michael Alvarez, Mario Ayala, Karla Ekaterine Canseco, rafa esparza, Alfonso Gonzalez Jr, Ozzie Juarez, Maria Maea, Jaime Muñoz, Guadalupe Rosales, Gabriela Ruiz, and Shizu Saldamando. Accompanying the work will be a book of interviews and profiles of the artists, including a special introduction by Dr. Rose Salseda. Additionally, participating artists tapped the shoulders of creative friends–writers, photographers, and designers–to contribute to the show’s ecosystem, bringing the exhibition outside the gallery walls.
Ozzie Juarez, New & Used Wheels, 2023. Photos by Josh White. Courtesy of the artist and Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles.
Mario Ayala, Billboard, 2022. Photos by Genevieve Hanson. Courtesy of the artist and Jeffrey Deitch, New York.
Nicodim presents Isabelle Albuquerque at Feliz Art Fair
Situated poolside at the historic Roosevelt Hotel, Nicodim arrives this year at the Felix Art Fair with a beautiful presentation of artists. From Feburary 28 through March 2, Felix’s unwavering dedication to uplifting emerging artists and artists who create in the margins is the perfect underscore to the gallery’s arrival and embedded mission.
Centered around Isabelle Albuquerque’s Snake, a bronze sculpture holding great intent, artists Jeanine Brito, Ian Davis, Emily Ferguson, Tomas Harker, Devin B. Johnson, Rae Klein, Agnieszka Nienartowicz, Maureen St. Vincent have created new works for this year’s exhibition. Each experiments with identity expression, figuration, and fantasy through painting and sculpture. Also, Stanley Edmondson’s ceramic Gigantors will be displayed, rounding out an exceptional group of artists.
Centered around Isabelle Albuquerque’s Snake, a bronze sculpture holding great intent, artists Jeanine Brito, Ian Davis, Emily Ferguson, Tomas Harker, Devin B. Johnson, Rae Klein, Agnieszka Nienartowicz, Maureen St. Vincent have created new works for this year’s exhibition. Each experiments with identity expression, figuration, and fantasy through painting and sculpture. Also, Stanley Edmondson’s ceramic Gigantors will be displayed, rounding out an exceptional group of artists.
Isabelle Albuquerque, Snake, 2024. Courtesy of the artist and Nicodim.