The 16th annual Los Angeles Art Show took place in the city's Convention Center this past Thursday, January 19th through Sunday, January 23rd. I attended with my friend and fellow art-lover/collector Betsy Wills, who flew out from Nashville for the event and who is the author of an enjoyable art blog named Artstormer. The show, spread out on the floor of the center's main hall, featured over 100 galleries from around the globe with artworks of the Modern, Old Masters, Impressionist and Contemporary genres. Paintings, sculpture, mixed media, photography, etchings, lithography, LED art, video art and installations were among the mediums. While there were some wonderful contemporary art galleries represented, there were also some equally bad ones. I was sad to see that many prominent contemporary art galleries were not there such as the Gagosian and Pace galleries. However, a few of my personal favorites like the George Billis Galleries , Salt Fine Art, Rebecca Hossack Gallery and the Sue Greenwood Fine Art Gallery were present. For lovers of modern and contemporary art, Art Basel Miami is a better bet, but this show, with its varied selection may appeal to a wider audience. 20th century favorites like Picasso, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Miro, Robert Indiana, Sam Francis and Wayne Thiebaud, amongst others, were represented at the show. There were a few Renoirs, a Norman Rockwell, a Hopper and some Chagalls. Western, Dutch, American Indian, Aboriginal and German Expressionism were merely a few of the varied styles. And classic photos by Henri Cartier- Bresson, Ansel Adams, Elliott Erwitt and other prominent photographers' works were available. above: this Wayne Theibaud painting had a price tag of $385,000 USD Overall, I was disappointed with the show - but that's not to say there weren't several commendable highlights. I am going to share with you some work by my favorite individual contemporary artists from the 2011 Los Angeles Art Show in a two part series -- the first today and the second, tomorrow. Cecilia Paredes: Elizabeth Patterson: Jason Shawn Alexander: David Datuna: Eric Zener: Shao Kun and Ruggero: Margo Selki: Barbara Fishman: Heiner Meyer: Song Ling: John Gibson: Nick Veasey: Rusty Scruby: Chris Bracey: An installation by John Baldessari (below) featured individually framed letters of the alphabet, each embossed and painted, accompanied by an icon whose name begins with that letter: There was also a small selection (one or two) of art pieces by the following popular contemporary artists; Damien Hirst, Alex Katz, Yoshitomo Nara and Takashi Murakami. Takashi Murakami: Yoshitomo Nara: all photos taken by laura sweet of If It's Hip, It's Here Links to all the participating galleries Be sure to come back tomorrow and see more work from other talented artists who participated in the 2011 Los Angeles Art Show in Part II.
