Art Los Angeles Contemporary, ALAC
@ the Barker Hangar, Santa Monica, CA
January 26-31, 2016
Owner, Director & Curator: Tim Fleming

 

Huge.. Huge..

The very first impression was about the hugeness of the paintings presented at Art Los Angeles Contemporary, ALAC, for its Seventh year.  If you don’t have large walls to hang those large paintings presented on the show, or don’t have the money to purchase one, but love the artist, then you are forced to pass your tour and you have focus to another artist.

But not only

That first impression passed, it was possible to find smaller/more reasonable (in price) pieces in some of the European booths, widely represented this year. (see the list below)

And very good Art

ALAC, Edition 2016, was, from far, much better than last year. The number of galleries from Europe (20) balanced very well, aesthetically speaking, those from LA (22) and from New York (11).

The only one bad point was the lighting inside the main fair which was way insufficient even more obvious that visitors were invited to go outdoor in the Freeways section (read more below), which was bright, sunny and full of the enthusiasm of the young gallerists.

Here are below bAm’s Best offs and comments:

 

#1 BOOTH:

CHINA ART OBJECTS, Los Angeles

The gallery was showing a demanding diversity of  possible-to-hang artworks by Julia Dault, Sarah Braman,  Waldemar Zimbelmann, Rachelle Sawatsky and Kim Fisher.

 

No doubt, the beacon of the booth was the extremely strong ongoing series by LA artist, Kim Fisher (already mentioned by the LA Times at the occasion of “Made in L.A. 2014”) .

Below the artwork presented, a canvas made of a black linen stretched in the bias on which a second layer is glued. That second layer is a thin sheet of aluminum painted with airbrush with torn edges as if it were paper. The motive painted on it comes from an image seen on a magazine. That particular piece assemble all together strength and fragility, which because of the topic, a piece of ocean, can be the strength and fragility of the earth which relates to higher issues. Truly an excellent artist.

 

#2 BOOTH:

Praz-Delavallade, Paris

The French gallery, led by René-Julien Praz & Bruno Delavallade, was showing an impressive solo show with a set of paintings by LA artist, Matthew Chambers. Quite a spectacular show! It’s always a risk-taken to present a solo show, but when it works, like here, it pays off because the show was sold out right after the opening…

The panels -a recurrent same size in Chambers’ work- were painting with a flocked paint which gives some smoothness to the finish aspect. The way it was presented and the motives on the panels reminded, in abstract version, the work by French artist Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940). Excellent research from a painter who, when you see the entire body of work, follows in the footsteps of master Ed Moses.

 

#1 PAINTER

Ann Neukamp @ Valentin, Paris

For the second time in a row the German painter is our number one painter on the show. Seen at French gallery Valentin. Her topics come from images found on internet and mixed all together in a “bizarre” way, intriguing enough for the viewer to ask for what it is about.

Neukamp also processes two specific techniques. One is Oil painting, and the other Egg tempera, a painting process that uses water and egg yolk to bind pigments (like Rembrandt would do) in order to obtain two finishes for the paint, one flat, the other semi-gloss.

 

#1 ARTIST

Patrick Hamilton @Galeria Marta Cervera

Patrick Hamilton was born in Chile and lives in Spain. Chile artist’s body of work is made of sculptures, and photographs of tools and objects an ordinary worker uses on regular basis. The gallery from Madrid was showing a remarkable ensemble of photographs (below) taken in his studio. The back ground is a regular panel used to hang the tools. The postcards show the duality of Chile, which is both a beautiful country, and a country where social and economic progresses must be done.

Below that found image of a girl highlights the issues encountered by Chile whose original peoples –Mapuches, Aymaras and Rapa Nui- disappear.

#2 ARTIST

Brian Bress @ Cherry and Martin, Los Angeles

Brian Bress continues to put together humanoids and forms, and pushes it much forward here with the introduction of movement with short stories on video. Many layers, many lectures possible for this artwork.

Here the videos was showing some sort of humanoid with a costume with a pattern like the background, and who was inside the video facing us. But you don’t recognize him at first because of the identical pattern. That humanoid was slowly cutting with a hand saw (?) the paper which was the decor the visitor saw at first. Cut after cut, the visitor discovers more of the very background. Of course because it it Bress the forms carved were geometric. It was like the video was eating itself. Long story short, run to see that at Cherry and Martin.

 

#3 ARTIST

Rob Fischer at Derek Eller Gallery, NY

Always a beauty to see paint on glass. Risky in earthquake situation, but that piece already broken was very good. Besides, the volumes the artist makes are also very good. Take a closer look on the gallery’s site Derek Eller Gallery, NY.
To discover a new artist, this is what a Fair is all about.

#1 Best booth from”Freeways”

Ashes & Ashes, Los Angeles

Freeways is a brand new section for young galleries debuts at Art Los Angeles Contemporary 2016. It was interesting and their enthusiasm was definitely a booster to the rest of the fair.

Ashes & Ashes was showing Ryan McNamara and Cheryl Donegan. The gallery usually a bit more subversive was more soft on the show but it was quite refreshing.

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WE ALSO LIKED @ ALAC

The busy Philosophical Creatures in some sort of jungle by Aaron Morse at ACME, which does not aesthetically correspond to the rest in the show.

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Exhibitors 2016 AT ALAC

GALLERIES FROM LOS ANGELES

1301PE, Los Angeles
ACME., Los Angeles
Michael Benevento, Los Angeles
Cherry and Martin, Los Angeles
China Art Objects Galleries, Los Angeles
Thomas Duncan Gallery, Los Angeles
Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles
Marc Foxx Gallery, Los Angeles
Grice Bench, Los Angeles
Kayne Griffin Corcora, Los Angeles
David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles
Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica
M+B, Los Angeles
Meliksetian | Briggs, Los Angeles
Nicodim Gallery, Los Angeles / Bucharest
Night Gallery, Los Angeles
The Pit, Glendale
Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Beverly Hills
Various Small Fires, Los Angeles
Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles
team (gallery, inc.), New York, Los Angeles
TIF SIGFRID, Los Angeles

GALLERIES FROM NEW YORK

Alden Projects, New York
Brennan & Griffin, New York
Bureau, New York
CANADA, New York
Henrique Faria, Buenos Aires / New York
Feuer/Mesler, New York
Derek Eller Gallery, New York
Jack Hanley Gallery, New York
The Hole, New York
Jane Lombard Gallery, New York
On Stellar Rays, New York

GALLERIES FROM THE REST OF THE US

Altman Siegel, San Francisco
Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago
Ever Gold Projects, San Francisco

Clint Roenisch, Toronto

GALLERIES FROM AUSTRALIA

Neon Parc, Melbourne
STARKWHITE, Auckland
Sutton Gallery, Melbourne

GALLERIES FROM ASIA

ONE AND J. Gallery, Seoul

GALLERIES FROM EUROPE

Galerie Bernard Ceysson, Luxembourg / Paris / Geneva / St-Etienne
PRAZ-DELAVALLADE, Paris
Valentin, Paris
Galerie Hervé Bize, Nancy, France
Edel Assanti, London
Christian Andersen, Copenhagen
Galería Marta Cervera, Madrid
Josh Lilley, London
Carl Freedman Gallery, London
Workplace Gallery, Gateshead / London
Ibid., London / Los Angeles
Galerie Kadel Willborn, Düsseldorf
KLEMM’S, Berlin
Galerie Christian Lethert, Cologne
Galerie Nagel Draxler, Berlin / Cologne
fiebach, minninger, Cologne
WEINGRÜLL, Karlsruhe
Monitor, Rome, New York
MOT International, London / Brussels / Brussels
STANDARD (OSLO), Oslo

Freeways

DoPe Press, Los Angeles
Golden Spike Press, Los Angeles
Gottlund, Los Angeles
Siglio Press, Los Angeles

Badlands Unlimited, New York
Hassla, New York
Inventory Press, New York
Primary Information, New York
Printed Matter, Inc., New York
Rainoff, Sydney / New York

OTHER IMAGES