Photo la
January 21-24, 2016

@The REEF/LA Mart

“PROMISING..BUT..HOWEVER..” SALON

Never forget that Photo LA was the very first art fair for photography to be created in the world, 25 years ago. Meaning that the 25th edition should have been the best ever.

 

PROMISING

Almost all the elements were there to say that “Photo la 25th edition was the best “cru” ever“: an Anniversary to celebrate, a very efficient communication with appealing monthly newsletters to kick off, a great place to show with all the amenities required. A great opening party organized with a DJ and Cuban music which was fun and crowded. Promising also because the fair had 25 years to build locally and internationally a unique network in the field of Photography.

Is that 25th edition reap the benefits of that longstanding experience as an Art Fair? NO.
Is that 25th edition reap the fruits of a longstanding immersion in Los Angeles? YES

 

Excellent show by one of the most acclaimed photograph from LA, whose entire body of work shows an extraordinary ability with technique.

PROMISING…BUT, FAR FROM AN INTERNATIONAL ART FAIR

Yes the competition is rude internationally with Photo London and Paris Photo Paris & Paris Photo LA , but both are in May, and the local one at the same time organized by Bonhams Classic Photographs LA is still very small (26 galleries).

Photo la was able to gather  only 46 exhibitors this year, (see the list at the bottom) with, unfortunately, no specific curatorial program concerning their selection: no real consistency in the booths, they showed a little bit of every thing. Whether the techniques, the choices of topics and angles, the perspectives and the edition… nothing new on board, when in the same time Los Angeles is becoming the capital for photography. Not to mention the awesome exhibitions of photographs anyone can admire at the Getty Museum, just to name one and all around in galleries like Craig Krull, Luis de Jesus, DNJ, Luisotti etc…

PROMISING…BUT…HOWEVER, EXTREMELY GOOD SHOWCASE FOR LOCAL ART SCHOOLS AND LOCAL NON-PROFITS

This was the good surprise of the fair. The art schools were showing samples of what their students are capable of. No exclusive, all booths were truly excellent. Same quality from the students of the non-profits who showed strong committed works.

Let’s bet for a better Photo la in 2017

Please continue to show the art schools and the non-profits. Continue the kick off Party-Gala. Continue your newsletters.

But please run all over the world to bring back some of those amazing galleries from Japan, from Korea, from the Netherlands, from Norway, from Spain, from South America etc…. Make a huge call to emerging galleries, emerging photographers. Make a huge call to those photographers in the sixties who are too much abandonned and don’t forget the Masters. Create more lectures for the students to learn from them, create more sections with themes, by country, by solo show and so on….

Come on Photo la, you can make it!

beatrice chassepot – los angeles – January 30th, 2016

 

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HERE IS BAM’s TOP TEN

#1

VENICE ARTS (non-profit)

At the very top was the VENICE ARTS booth with committed/smart topics taken from real life:

Details below:

#2

PABLOVE FOUNDATION (fighting children cancer with love)

With an outstanding young photograph here below, from an only 6 year old!

#3

The entire aisle dedicated to the Art Schools with:

 

Diverse and promising at Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa

Aesthetically demanding at College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita

Original at Mt. San Antonio College

 

Creativity and focus on the topic at Santa Monica College,

Diversity of strong personalities at California State University Northridge

Professional at Otis College of Art & Design

 

Ready for art fairs, but not enough content at Art Center College of Design

Minimalist at California Institute of the Arts

#4

Chimento Contemporary, Los Angeles

Chimento is a great growing gallery which, compared with the others, appeared like a sort of Alien there. Let’s hope they come next year with a bunch of others like Chimento.

#5

Steve Cohen Gallery, LA

#6

Duncan Miller Gallery, LA

 

#7

Elisabeth Sunday

Shown at Thomas V Meyer Fine Art, San Francisco

Her technique of shooting through a mirror makes impressive distortions and stretches on the bodies, as shown below. But most of all, for some reasons, you have a strange feeling of soul floating around each photographs. Like for painting on canvas this work has to be seen “in flesh” to understand its impact.

#8 Debora Medici-Guetta

Shown at Creative Photography Workshops, Los Angeles

Interesting photography below by Debora Medici-Guetta. Debora weaves together the stories of a city – breaking apart the images and putting them back together. She deconstructs the chaos of the metropolis and reinvents an entirely new world.

 no #9 and #10 but an outsider with the photo contest organized by art magazine, Artillery

Instagram, first time ever in an art fair!

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SOME MORE IMAGES

ASMP American Society of Media Photographers, Los Angeles

Press Photographers of Los Angeles

 

 

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2016, 25TH EDITION: 46 Exhibitors

1 Hour Cleaners
1650 Gallery
21st Editions
Andrew Smith Gallery, Inc.
Archival Image
artbarltd
Artists Corner Gallery
ART LEXING
ASMP
Be-hold
Best Buddies International
CHIMENTO CONTEMPORARY
Cohen Gallery
Couturier Gallery
Dermot Begley
Duncan Miller Gallery
Fine Art Maya Inc.
Galerie des Soupirs
GALLERY 1/1
Gallery (WAS)
Halsted Gallery Inc.
Hayworth Gallery
ITALIAN TRAMER Art Lounge – Los Angeles
John Nichols Gallery
Lauren White Pop-Up
Lucie Foundation
MJ Kim Pictures
Monroe Gallery of Photography
Photo12 Galerie
Press Photographers of Greater Los Angeles
Ricardo Fernandes
Santa Monica Auctions
School of Visual Arts
Scott Nichols Gallery
Select Vernacular Photographs
Simpleimage
Smith Andersen North
Street Gallery
TAG Gallery
Thomas V. Meyer – Fine Art
Timothy Yarger Fine Art
Venice Institute of Contemporary Art
Willem Photographic
Yale University Press
ZERO+ Publishing