LA Art Show 2012
My last post covered the Los Angeles Fine Art Show (Jan 19-22, 2012). Now we turn our attention to the LA Art Show, the “other” show held simultaneously in the same location at the Convention Center. Confused? Never mind, it’s all art.
The LA Art Show, the subject of this post, was the modern & contemporary side. That means 20th and 21st century art. Much of it by artists who are still alive, some of them even quite young.
Let’s take a look:
I enjoyed perusing the work in this booth (below), Denis Bloch Fine Art of Beverly Hills. Some famous names in there. Did you spot the Damien Hirst spot painting? They seem to be everywhere these days.
Speaking of spots, I did see quite a few dots this year. Perhaps it’s a trend? You know I’m all about the dots, right? So I do tend to notice them.
Here’s an example from a Korean artist, who overlays accent dots on top of traditional eastern landscape paintings. The twist is that the dots follow the underlying shapes but are intentionally offset a little, like when a printer mis-registers the different colors:
Hyun-Jae Chang, untitled, 2011, mixed media on linen, 50×50 cm, $1,750. Offered by Chung Jark Gallery, Seoul, South Korea. Detail below, showing the offset dots.
I enjoyed this colorful arrangement of dot art by Justina Ko:
Justina Ko monoprints, 15×11 inches each, shown by ECF Art Centers, Los Angeles.
Although I don’t much care for political Chinese art, I succumbed to the allure of Chairman Mao decorated with an overlaid grid of dots (you can see the dots in the detail view below). Reminded me of some of my own paintings where I put a grid of dots over an underpainting (like this one).
Liu Sheng, “Chairman Mao,” 2011, acrylic on linen, 110×90 cm. Shown by Hao Space, Guangzhou, China. Detail below.
Perhaps it’s a stretch, but this next painting struck me as one big dot made up of many little dots (dabs of paint, really, but I’m not picky):
Richard Pousette-Dart, Radiance (untitled), ca 1965-67, oil on canvas, 30×40 inches, $350,000. Detail below.
Continuing with a circular theme, we have these delicate-looking constructions by Korean artist Hee-Kyung Kim:
Hee-Kyung Kim, “Bloom” series, 2011, Korean paper, 60×60 to 90×90 cm, starting at $2,800. Offered by Art Company Misoolsidae, Seoul, South Korea.
What goes with dots? Stripes, of course! There were several flavors of stripes, but I especially liked these big colorful ones:
Tim Bavington, “Susie Q” and “Susie Q (distortion),” 2011, 64×64 inches each, synthetic polymer on canvas, $20,000 each. Offered by Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Is “synthetic polymer” a fancy way to say spraypaint?
More stripes:
John Waguespack, “Hollywood Hills,” 30×40 inches, oil on canvas. Shown by The McLoughlin Gallery, San Francisco.
From the linearity of stripes we move to rectilinear geometry, created by carving patterns through layers of multi-colored acrylic paint. Most striking (and most easily seen) from an angle:
David Allan Peters, “Untitled #4,” 2011, acrylic paint on panel, 60×48 inches, $18,000. Sold (congratulations!) by exhibiting gallery Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, Oakland, California. Detail below:
I’ve seen Peters’ work before and I’m always intrigued by the idea of carving through all those layers, like an archeological dig.
I’ll wrap up with this piece, also rectangular, though it seems just about ready to jump out of its geometric outline:
Matt Devine, “Ember #2,” steel with red, 48x48x6 inches, $14,500. Offered by Madison Gallery, La Jolla, California.
Next stop: we venture across the street to the new Affordable Art Fair, which made its Los Angeles debut this year.
Los Angeles Fine Art Show 2012
As I mentioned, this year the LA Art Show expanded. The promo billed it as “1 Weekend, 3 Art Shows!” referring to the LA Art Show, the Los Angeles Fine Art Show, and the LA IFPDA Fine Print Fair. All three were held in one big open area in the Los Angeles Convention Center, with a single entry fee.
I think calling it “3-shows-in-1″ is overstating the case, but it certainly is a big show. The “three” shows all ran together, and most visitors had no idea which one they were in. There was some separation between the two big parts (the LA Art Show and the LA Fine Art Show) but it was a pretty subtle distinction. (The third show, the Fine Print Fair, was just a single row of booths. I hardly felt it counted as a whole show.)
The LA Art Show, the largest segment, featured the more contemporary cutting-edge work. The Fine Art Show, about half its size, showcased the more traditional work: old masters, Early California Impressionists (always big here), and contemporary realism. That’s where we’ll start.
Here’s a peek at the Fine Art Show:
I walked this side first.
It wasn’t until after the show was over, while I was looking through my photos, that I realized there was one major difference between the two parts of the show: the Fine Art Show, the more traditional side, was carpeted and had colored walls. The LA Art Show, the bigger and more contemporary side, had polished concrete floors and white walls. I didn’t notice the difference when I was there. Too busy looking at the art, I guess!
Daniel W. Pinkham, “Enlightened,” 44×38 inches, oil on panel, $32,000. Offered by American Legacy Fine Arts, Pasadena, California.
Pinkham’s painting really grabbed me as I entered the Fine Art Show (the traditional side). The artist, new to me, apparently lives right here in California, and, unlike most of the other artists shown in the “historic/traditional” side, is still living. I love his work and am quite pleased to learn about him.
Here’s another landscape painting that intrigued me as I walked by:
Hugues Pissarro dit Pomié, “Bancs de Sable en Baie de Falcarragh,” oil on canvas, 51×38 inches, $28,500. Offered by Stern Pissarro Gallery, London.
This artist is apparently the grandson of the famous Camille Pissarro. The gallery specializes in works by all the Pissarro family members. Does artistic talent run in families? They certainly think so!
S. C. Yuan, “Carmel Highlands,” oil on masonite, 26.5 x 64 inches, $90,000. Offered by Trotter Galleries, Carmel & Pacific Grove, California.
This long landscape painting (which features an artistic “error” according to the curmudgeon/painter Stapleton Kearns, but which I think is perfectly fine) caught my eye, and pulled me into the booth where I spotted two more by the same artist. I enjoy his blend of eastern and western painting styles. Again, this artist was completely new to me, so I was glad to learn more about him. He led a hard life, trying unsuccessfully to balance earning money with making art, ultimately losing his marriage and taking his own life.
S. C. Yuan, “Monterey Pine,” oil on canvas, 40×40 inches, $115,000. Offered by Trotter Galleries, Carmel, California.
S. C. Yuan, “Pine Tree – Ronda, Spain,” oil on canvas, 24×30 inches, $55,000. Offered by Trotter Galleries.
Here are some more landscapes I liked. What, more landscapes? Yes, a pattern emerges. Our intrepid reporter does like the landscapes, indeed she does.
William Wendt, “Ranch in the Valley,” oil on canvas, 30×40 inches, $225,000. Offered by George Stern Fine Arts, West Hollywood, California.
Edgar Payne, “Harbor of Camaret,” oil on canvas, 22×26 inches, $85,000. Offered by Redfern Gallery, Laguna Beach, California.
OK, that’s enough landscapes. I take pictures of the paintings I like, without looking for anything specific. Apparently this year the stuff I liked on the traditional side of the show was… landscapes. Never fear, there were very few landscapes on the contemporary side! But that’s another post.
In closing, I owe a big thank-you to these guys:
M. S. Rau Antiques booth (from New Orleans, Louisiana)
They provided an online coupon to get into the show, for which I was most grateful! They also had an amazing booth which I wish I could show you. They were so busy talking to customers that I was unable to get permission to take photographs. They had a lot of beautiful pieces by old masters, including (most thrilling to me) an entire room full of 15th century Italian Renaissance altar paintings (like this one) with madonnas and gold leaf. I love that stuff!
That capped my visit to the Los Angeles Fine Art Show, the historic/traditional side. My next post will bring us firmly back into the 21st century with a look at the contemporary-art side, the LA Art Show.
The 2012 Los Angeles Art Fair Season
January in Los Angeles means art fair season. Los Angeles may not be Miami (not even close) but in 2012 suddenly the big international art fairs in Los Angeles grew and multiplied. Are we witnessing a renaissance for art in America’s second-largest city, or a desperate last gasp before the LA art market goes belly-up? Time will tell.
Here’s the lineup:
The LA Art Show, held in the downtown Convention Center, got so big this year that it declared itself “three shows in one.” Overstating the case, but it certainly expanded. Official website.
The brand-new (to Los Angeles, anyway) Affordable Art Fair made its debut just across the street at the LA Live venue. I liked being able to easily walk between the shows. Official website.
Art LA Contemporary returns this year to Santa Monica. Too bad there’s no easy way to get between the downtown shows and this one, but it’s worth the trip anyway. Official website.
By the end of this weekend (Jan 19-22, 2012) I’ll have been to all of these shows. I will post about them all, with pictures and commentary.
Note: I am highly biased. I don’t love all art. There are a few genres and styles that I am drawn to, and many more that I don’t care for. My reporting will emphasize what I enjoyed in each show. The good news is every show had something I liked. That is what I’ll be sharing here.
As I post about each show, I’ll put the links here. (Or, you can subscribe to my blog and get the posts automatically! See the right sidebar for subscription options.)
1. Los Angeles Fine Art Show 2012
3. The Los Angeles Affordable Art Fair 2012
4. Art LA Contemporary 2012
I’ve done this before. You can read about my visits to previous years’ shows here:
A look at the 2011 Los Angeles Art Show
Hello 2012
2011 was a banner year for me and my art. I’d like more of the same for 2012, please!
Looking back at my original plans for 2011, my idea of simplification worked out very well. I focused down on just the things that had worked for me before, and eliminated a lot of fluff. It really paid off.
I meant to start painting bigger paintings in my new bigger studio (especially once I got it lit). As it turns out, I finished several large paintings (triptychs) in 2011, each of which sold as soon as I showed it. That includes my largest painting to date, “Wind Wolves Triptych” at 7.5 feet wide:
Wind Wolves Triptych by Barbara J Carter, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 40x90 inches
I used to write up elaborate “business plans” for my art business each year. In 2011 I did away with this practice. It didn’t really affect what I did or how well things went during the year, but it certainly added to the amount of work I put myself through each January, writing up the plan.
No more of that! Last year I just made a broad outline for my year, with an eye to drastically streamline my process. A big part of the streamlining was only applying to two art festivals for the year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Luckily for me this worked out perfectly. I was accepted into both, and both shows were terrific events for me. Lots of my art went home with people! I hope to repeat it this year, though I am thinking about adding a third show to the mix just in case I don’t get into both of my “usual” shows.
I also participated in a few other exhibitions that came my way. I showed my newest and biggest abstract dot painting “Straightening” in the Open Show at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery in 2011. I was very proud of this big, ambitious piece and wanted to get it “out there.”
"Straightening" painting by Barbara J Carter, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 3x3 feet
detail of "Straightening"
Alas, getting my painting into that show was hardly a major coup, since the 2011 show was not juried. That means that anyone who showed up with art in hand (and the entry fee) would get their work hung in the show. Not exactly a prestigious, exclusive show for my resume, but at least it got my work out of the studio.
Happily, this painting later sold to a very sweet couple who have bought from me before. One of them admired it, and so the other secretly bought it as a Christmas present. The absolute best way to give art as a present! It was my final sale of 2011. What a great way to usher out a busy but wonderful year.
Here’s hoping 2012 is just as good!
Sold!
Here I am, standing in front of my latest painting, “Wind Wolves Triptych.” It’s hanging in this year’s big annual group show put on by the Silver Lake Art Collective. I got it done just in time for the show.
Photo by Jim Zver
I got a lot of compliments on this piece, and was feeling quite proud of it. It was my biggest triptych yet. But then I received the best news of all: someone wanted to buy it. Yay!
I just love it when my paintings find good homes. It is why I do this, after all.
I’ll be delivering it in person the day after the show comes down. In the meantime, there’s a lovely little red dot on the title card. That’s art biz shorthand for “sold.”
Postcards for everyone
About once a year I send out a postcard to everyone on my mailing list. Everyone! All over the world!
This could also be you.
I sent out my 2011 mailing last week:
If you didn’t get a postcard from me, I don’t have your address. Maybe you gave it to me but I typed it in wrong. Maybe you moved. Or maybe (gasp!) you never gave it to me.
No matter, it’s easily fixed. Drop me an email (info@barbarajcarter.com). Or go here and fill in all the stuff. Easy.
Open studio tour November 5-6, 2011
I’m showing my work at my friend’s open studio this weekend (November 5-6, 2011). It’s part of a tour of several artists’ studios in Silver Lake (Los Angeles). The tour is free and self-guided. You can see the locations of the open studios here: click for map.
The studios will be open from noon to 5pm both days. This is a casual affair: drop in when you can, stay for a while, chit-chat, pat the doggies, and sample Fred’s homemade ground-turkey chili. Our particular “stop” on the tour features work by 3 artists: me, Fred Chuang (painter), and George Lafayette (sculptor). If you haven’t seen George’s sculptures before, you owe it to yourself to come just for that. It’s a trip.
We’ll be at 2974 Waverly Drive, Los Angeles, California. See you there!
“Wind Wolves Triptych”
This is my latest painting, “Wind Wolves Triptych.”
“Wind Wolves Triptych” by Barbara J Carter, acrylic on canvas, 40×90″ (3 panels), 2011.
It’s the biggest triptych I’ve painted to date. Seven and a half feet wide!
The painting depicts a set of hills in the Wind Wolves Preserve, a large privately owned conservation area that is open to the public. Located in the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley of California, it’s a beautiful space: an unspoiled wide valley surrounded by rugged hills. The valley floor is carpeted each spring with fabulous wildflowers. It’s a bit of a drive from Los Angeles, but worth a visit. If I remember correctly, it’s open on weekends and admission and parking are free. The facilities include very nice bathrooms and a few picnic benches, and very good trails for ambling all about without crushing the flora. Dog friendly too (we don’t go anywhere we can’t bring our pooch).
My painting is on public display at the Silver Lake Art Collective’s annual exhibit now through November 19, 2011. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, you should go take a look-see. (All the info is in my previous blog post.)
Art pricing/availability information here.
Silver Lake annual exhibit
My newest painting, “Wind Wolves Triptych,” is going to be on public view in Los Angeles for a few weeks. Members of my mailing list got a sneak preview, but no one else gets to see it until the exhibit opens. (Want to join my mailing list? Easy! Sign up here.)
The exhibit in question is the annual group show by the Silver Lake Art Collective (SLAC), of which I am a member. This annual exhibit is usually held in the autumn, and is always in the enormous warehouse-sized gallery space generously provided by Citibank of Silver Lake. This year the show, aptly titled “SPECTRUM 2011,” includes a wide spectrum of work, including painting (realism to abstraction), photography, collage, and sculpture. The sculpture alone is worth a visit if you’re in the area. Location and hours below.
I was involved in the setup, so here are some snapshots I took during the hanging:
Sculpture by George Lafayette, paintings by Donna Angers, and framed photos by Jerry de Wilde.
Paintings by David Crocker and Siri France, sculpture by Peter Bodlaender. The ladder is not part of the exhibit, heh.
Paintings by David Dies, mosaic art by Mel Weiner, and a painting by SLAC’s most famous artist member, Don Bachardy (who is represented by Craig Krull Gallery in Santa Monica; we’re supposed to put that in whenever we mention Don).
So, are you coming to the show? I’ll be at the opening reception this Saturday, you should stop by and say hi! (And get a chance to see my mysterious new painting that I’m not showing you.)
SPECTRUM 2011
Silver Lake Art Collective annual exhibit
October 22 – November 19, 2011
Open to the public Thursdays through Sundays, 12-8pm (12-5pm Sundays).
Opening Reception Saturday October 22, 2011, 6-10pm. Free and open to the public.
Closing Reception Saturday November 19, 2011, 6-10pm. Free and open to the public.
Citibank Art Space Gallery
2450 Glendale Blvd
(Around the side of the Citibank main building)
Silver Lake (Los Angeles), California 90039
Meet me at Kings Mountain
On Labor Day Weekend, all 3 days, I’ll be showing my art in one of the best outdoor art shows in California, the Kings Mountain Art Fair.
Held in a magical redwood forest about halfway between Palo Alto and Half Moon Bay (south of San Francisco), this is a real gem of a show. If you’re anywhere in the area, I highly recommend that you go. Not just because I’ll be there (though of course that’s reason enough!) but because it’s frankly the coolest outdoor art show I’ve ever seen.
Don’t just take my word for it. NBC says it’s “worth the drive.”
Last year was my first time exhibiting at Kings Mountain, and I’m thrilled to be coming back again this year. It’s going to be a great show!
Kings Mountain Art Fair
September 3 – 5, 2011
10am – 5pm
13889 Skyline Boulevard, Woodside, CA
Free admission, free on-street parking, free parking shuttle.
I’ll be in booth 134, same as last year. See you there!
