With a surge of successful galleries setting up shop, museums gaining substantial international recognition, and notable artists moving into town, Los Angeles is finally getting the recognition in the art world that it deserves.

1. haute spots haute spots
L.A. (Art)
Scene
With a surge of successful galleries setting up
shop, museums gaining substantial international
recognition, and notable artists moving into town,
Los Angeles is finally getting the recognition in
the art world that it deserves.
By Marina Cashdan
R
evisit the American art world 25 years associate curator Shamim Momin points out, “One
ago and you’ll find that the action was of the most compelling aspects of the L.A. art world
happening almost exclusively in New is the impact of the schools, in the strength and
York. By the late ’80s, however, pioneers on-going commitment of the professor, as well as in
Blum & Poe
like New York’s prestigious Luhring Augustine the sense of community they engender thereafter.
gallery began blazing the trail to the west, marking The galleries and museum certainly have presence 2754 S. La Cienega Blvd.
310.836.2062
the start of the art world’s bicoastal expansion. in L.A., but it is one parallel to the artists, rather than
www.BlumAndPoe.com
While interest only trickled to the other side of the the system of strict hierarchical validation that still
J
country during the ’90s, in the last few years a West retains in New York, by and large.” Now in 2007,
ust east of Santa Monica and Venice, south of Beverly Hills, and north
Coast thrust has mounted so significantly that the there are dozens of reputable art galleries showing
of LAX airport is Culver City. What was once only movie studios,
City of Angels is now indisputably recognized as a artists with considerable professional résumés both
car dealerships, low-rent factories, and gambling dens back in the
credible art destination. in and outside of Los Angeles—artists who also
Prohibition days, the semi-pedestrian neighborhood is now kin to
show with galleries in New York, Berlin, and London,
New York’s West Chelsea, where white box galleries have sprouted between
Los Angeles is in a hotbed of prestigious art among other notable art cities, and take part in
the industrial buildings and garages, and trendy eateries have made it L.A.’s
universities—CalArts, UCLA, the Claremont major art exhibitions like the biennials and art fairs.
new restaurant mecca. Where La Cienega meets Washington Boulevard
Colleges, Art Center College of Design, and USC,
there is considerable foot traffic: swarms of art-goers mix with trendy revelers,
to name a few—however, until recently, young artists When a city is experiencing so much success,
spilling over onto the street during the collective openings of the more than
found themselves with little to no financial backing it’s hard to keep rumors that an art fair is looming
two dozen galleries, all less than five years old. The pioneering Blum & Poe
upon graduating and were left with no option but at bay. While Armory Show founder Paul Morris
gallery—a 5,000-square-foot orange building on La Cienega Blvd., co-owned
to move to New York. But over the last 10 years feels that Los Angeles is a “sleeping giant” in
by Timothy Blum and Jeff Poe—is an aesthetic and commercial benchmark in
interest in contemporary art piqued and with it came art fair terms, the immense size of the city and
the neighborhood. The gallery has an impressive list of artists, including Carroll
a wave of financial support for contemporary art limited public transportation present problems
Dunham, Takashi Murakami, Anya Gallaccio, and Nigel Cooke. Their current
institutions like MOCA, LACMA, and the Hammer regarding being a potential location for a
Museum, with galleries germinating pari passu. exhibition, “Hope from a Dark Place,” is a solo show by esteemed video artist
monstrous art fair. However, teeming with dozens
That reality alongside the progressive mentality of Slater Bradley, creator of “The Doppelganger Trilogy,” (recently acquired by the
of successful galleries, competitive exhibitions,
the West Coast art community—including the great Guggenheim Museum, New York), a series that starred his alter ego Benjamin
and a flourishing art community, Los Angeles has
pride they take in their young artists—created an Brock playing music icons such as Ian Curtis, Kurt Cobain, and Michael
evidently legitimized itself, sans art fair. Haute
echelon in which the art institutions take cues from Jackson, recreating both the energy generated by adoring fans and, on the
Living points out six art galleries in Los Angeles
the artists and not vice versa. Whitney Museum flipside, the uncontrollable downward spiral of success.
that you should keep your eye on.
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Gagosian Gallery and Regen Projects
Gagosian Gallery,
456 North Camden Drive
310.271.9400
www.Gagosian.com
Regen Projects
633 North Almont Drive
310.276.5424
www.RegenProjects.com
N
orthwest of Culver City, in the West Hollywood/Beverly Hills
neighborhoods, you’ll find power hitter galleries like Gagosian
Gallery and Regen Projects whose rosters are made up of
artists so well-known they deserve stars on Hollywood’s Walk
of Fame. At Gagosian, pieces by artists like Richard Prince, Mike Kelley,
Damien Hirst, and Jeff Koons have price tags that exceed those in the
neighboring Prada and Chanel stores. Their current exhibition, “You Left Me
Breathing,” is a solo show by infamous mixed medium artist Tracey Emin,
Photo by Hiroshi Kang
who sparked media furor in the late ’90s for “My Bed,” a piece made up of
a bed with stained sheets and bloodied undergarments, used condoms,
and other intimate items. Regen Projects advertises an equally impressive
list of artists, including John Currin, Sol Lewitt, Charles Ray, John Bock,
Elizabeth Peyton, and Matthew Barney, among many others with equally
impressive tariffs. Their current exhibition is a solo show of conceptual artist
Glenn Ligon who is known primarily for work that is greatly influenced by his
experience as an African American gay man in the United States.
Michael Kohn Gallery
8071 Beverly Blvd.
323.658.8088
www.KohnGallery.com
O
n the fringe of West
Hollywood, you’ll find the
prestigious Michael Kohn
Gallery representing a
multigenerational list of artists, with
established names Bruce Conner, John
McLaughlin, and Carl Andre alongside
mid-career talents like David Korty
and Dennis Hollingsworth, and young
emerging artists like Christine Nguyen.
Kohn’s current exhibition is a solo show
by American mixed-media master Bruce
Conner, known for his assemblages
of found objects such as stockings,
bicycle wheels and broken dolls, and for
his dramatic life-size photograms and
elaborate inkblots.
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Peres Projects
969 Chung King Road
213.617.1100
www.PeresProjects.com
I
n the late ’90s, with low rents and a close proximity to MOCA and
Marc Selwyn Fine Art schools like the Art Center College of Design and the Southern
6222 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 101 California Institute of Architecture, artists and art professionals were
323.933.9911 moving into Los Angeles’ Chinatown. Now this trendily seedy part of
www.MarcSelwynFineArt.com town is swelling with art folk, an evolution that feels reminiscent of New York’s
C
East Village neighborhood. Art goers head to Chung King Road, a 500-foot
hances are you won’t run into the celebrities, socialites, and hip hop stars pedestrian alley in Los Angeles’ Chinatown neighborhood, to find cutting-edge
you might run into at the aforementioned Gagosian Gallery, but at Marc galleries like Peres Projects. Gallerist Javier Peres (who also has an outpost in
Selwyn Fine Art in Mid-Wilshire, you’ll find serious art dealers, curators, Athens and Berlin) focuses “on important young artists working in any medium,”
and long-time collectors shopping around. Gallerist Marc Selwyn focuses including those such as red-hot celebutant artists/performing artists such as
primarily on established and mid-career artists, including photographer Robert Terence Koh, Dan Colen, and Dash Snow. If one is looking for a gallery that has
Mapplethorpe, Mel Bochner, James Casebere, and Tony Smith. its finger on the pulse of up and coming artists, Peres Projects is a sure bet.
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