The World to the Fair: Los Angeles

In a 5-part series from the upcoming issue of Frieze Week magazine, Chicago, São Paulo, Berlin, Tokyo and Los Angeles come to Randall's Island. Los Angeles is full of strong, varying micro-communities and networks—there’s room here for a huge range of models to coexist, from major galleries to independent artist-run ventures, often open only temporarily, spontane- ously, or by appointment. Besides established non-profits like Public Fiction and LAXART, which draw crowds, artists’ projects like Laurel Doody, an apartment gallery home to artist Fiona Connor, offer more intimate opportunities. When you visit, she’ll advise you to park in the nearby Staples lot (parking being a key concern for Angelenos). 

 LA’s outstanding institutions are dotted across the city: the Hammer Museum in Westwood, The J. Paul Getty Museum up in Brentwood, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture in West Hollywood, The Broad and The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) downtown, and The Huntington and Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. The wave of New York- and Europe-based gallery outposts has also spanned LA, with Sprüth Magers opening across from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in February, and Hauser Wirth & Schimmel downtown since March. Maccarone opened in Boyle Heights last year, and Matthew Marks opened its West Hollywood space in 2012, mounting shows by Robert Adams, Thomas Demand, and Trisha Donnelly, among others. 

 LA has a strong tradition of home-grown galleries too. Culver City is home to the likes of Blum & Poe and Suzanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, while Regen Projects in Hollywood anchors a nearly walkable gallery district, with Hannah Hoffman, Overduin & Co., Tif Sigfrids, and Freedman Fitzpatrick all in close proximity. Farther south, and near LACMA, you’ll find Marc Foxx Gallery, and David Kordansky’s latest space, which opened in 2014. The huge success of the LA Art Book Fair has challenged a few stereotypes about this being a book-averse city, as has the growing strength of public commissions and programs led by non-profit organizations such as West of Rome Public Art, Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND), and the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs. 

The full article appears in the first New York edition of Frieze Week magazine available here or with your tickets to Frieze New York.

Read Part I: Chicago
Read Part II: São Paulo
Read Part III: Berlin
Read Part IV: Tokyo

Frieze Week magazine is the insiders’ guide to our art fairs with a preview of the best works on view, news of curated projects and talks, and tips on the most important exhibitions and events taking place around town. Frieze Week is published in anticipation of Frieze New York in May and Frieze London & Masters in October.