There was a great deal of awesome art eye candy at the LA Art Show, which ran in the South Hall of the LA Convention Center January 19th through 23rd. From glittery NFTs to a dazzling series of installations by DIVERSEArtLA, there was plenty to take in.
Opening night also saw the return of a food court and cocktails, as well as art talks held throughout the event.
DIVERSEartLA, curated by Marisa Caichiolo, returned this year with an evocative, environmental perspective, shaping immersive experiences focusing on global warming and human relationships to nature. Each of the participants provided fascinating work, with TAM (Torrance Art Museum) presenting Memorial to the Future, a collaborative work curated by Max Presneill referencing Brutalist architecture in a large scale cityscape installation created by Daniela Soberman.
Both impressive and immersive, the structure was interspersed with photographic visual elements offering interpretations of nature, climate change, and danger in our environment. A dazzling piece.
Dox Contemporary-Prague, the Czech Center New York, and The General
Consulate of The Czech Republic present “THE SIGN,” a site specific
installation by Swen Leer used a mimicking of freeway signage to communicate trenchant messages that began in the entrance lobby to the South Hall. The largest and perhaps the most pointed was “Your children WILL hate you – eventually.” But, equally memorable as we all snapped photographs of art and masked but well-dressed guests posed for social media photos, was “Enjoy Your Life on Instagram or TikTok.”
Other installation pieces included work from MUSA, Museum of the Arts of the University of Guadalajara, and MCA Museum of Environmental Science presenting “THE OTHER WATERFALL & CHAPALA ALSO DROPS ITSELF” by Claudia Rodriguez, both of which reflect the contamination and lack of water that has affected the state of Jalisco, Mexico in the last decades. The result on exhibit: stunning visuals approached through a cave of netted curtains.
MUMBAT Museum of Fine Arts of Tandil and the Museum of Nature and
Science Antonio Serrano of Entre Rios Argentina presented “THE EARTH’S
FRUITS” by Guillermo Anselmo Vezzosi curated by Indiana Gnocchini, a
scientific research project and an installation work of
a specific ephemeral site, where the waste that takes on a second life is dignified. Vezzosi’s graceful trees, built into a darkened space, were beautiful.
Caichiolo curated “The Environmental Digital Experience” by A.Ordoñez delivered by Raubtier Productions & Unicus, an immersive experience
revealing a range of climate phenomena, with the culmination a representation of the positive growth of new flora. The sculptural construction of the images pulled viewers into a new space.
A startling, and even tragic look at the melting Arctic was presented in the large scale video installations from The Museum of Nature of Cantabria Spain in the work “Our turn to change” by Andrea Juan and Gabriel Penedo Diego, depicting on large screens how drop by drop, large amounts of ice are lost every second as the oceans levels continue to rise. UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center’s “Mound” by María Elena González, curated by Chon A. Noriega revealed the process of attempts at restoration; while “Recognizing Skid Row As A Neighborhood:Skid Row Cooling Resources,”
curated by Tom Grode highlights the neighborhood as a community, including the Skid Row Cooling Resources, a collaborative
planning effort and think tank.
But of course, there was so much more. A series of sculptures by artist Debbie Korbel; a collection of NFT art from Fabrik NFT Salon; a wide range of beautiful work at bG Gallery including stellar LA artists such as Gay Summer Rick, Susan Lizotte, Glenn Waggner, Richard Chow, Barbara Kolo, Hung Viet Nguyen, and many others. Each artist’s unique work is somehow quintessentially born of Los Angeles, and it was fitting that this exhibition space, filled with their beautiful work, was the first I explored at the exhibition hall. Arcadia Contemporary offered a fascinating collection of works, from a series of portraits to an evocative Yoda looming from a movie screen in a heartland farm field from artist Stephen Fox.
There were artistic homages to other creators from Picasso to Kerouac, as well as an actual Picasso; rich rainbows of stained glass from Judson Studios; strange mysteries of civilization, such as London underwater, from Thitz; glowing jelly fish from Mario Pasqualotto at Pigment Gallery; Jacob Gils dazzling landscapes at InTheGallery; the quilt-like images of Heimyung C. Hyun; Wyoming Working Group’s ongoing Jackson Pollock project; and at John Natsoulas Gallery, whimsical and involving sculptural works and wall art. Minoru Ohira’s forest of small sculptures has an otherworldly glow.
Sponsored by bG, there was Alexandra Dillon’s portraiture on unusual objects; LA’s Matter Gallery presented the works of JonMarc Edwards; Nathie Katzoff out of Seattle exhibited a series of dazzling cast and fused art glass works and sculptural wood furnishings. Also notable were the post-apocalyptic cats and dystopian landscapes at Cinq Gallery.
Los Angeles artist Cathy Immordino’s portrait cyanotypes haunted in blues, golds and beige at Fabrik Projects; while Luciana Abait’s startling lime green and hot pink landscapes seared at Building Bridges Art Exchange. And, one of my favorite images throughout the entire vast banquet of art on exhibit this year was Jorge Rios “This was the first reflection.”
Art tells us a story that resonates visually, emotionally, and in the soul. The LA Art Show served up a big, sprawling novel for 2022.
- Genie Davis; photos: Genie Davis