Los Angeles is finally commencing its long-awaited international fair week. Artists, galleries, and collectors the world over will descend on the inaugural edition of Frieze LA, as well as a handful of satellite fairs setting up shop around the city, including Felix LA and Spring Break. Yet these upstart expos aren’t the only places to see great art. Many of the city’s top galleries and museums are also mounting some of their strongest shows this week. Here are eight exhibitions to check out if you’re in LA this week.

“Doug Aitken: Don’t Forget to Breathe” at Regen Projects

Installation view of “Doug Aitken: Don’t Forget to Breathe,” 2019. Courtesy of Regen Projects.

Down the street from Regen Projects’s 20,000-square-foot space on Santa Monica Boulevard is a derelict storefront window, empty inside save for three ethereal human figures. Illuminated by pulsating light, each figure holds a phone to her face, as if on permanent hold. This is Doug Aitken’s installation Don’t Forget to Breathe (2019), a dark rumination on late-capitalism in which e-commerce has turned brick-and-mortar stores into literal ghost towns.

Dates: February 8–17

Location: 6775 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles

“Phases” at Mixografia

Luis Filcer, Espejo (1978). Courtesy of Mixografia.

On view at Mixografia is a show that demonstrates the influence that the one-of-a-kind printer, publisher, and exhibition space has had on the LA art scene over the past 45 years. Titled “Phases,” the exhibition brings together a variety of printed works that showcase the evolution of portraiture and its conventions from the early 1970s through today. Twenty artists are represented in total, including John Baldessari, Larry Rivers, and Alex Israel—all of whom collaborated with Mixografia to make the work.

Dates: January 26–March 9

Location: 1419 E. Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles

“Sam Francis: The ‘70s” at Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art

Sam Francis, Green [Untitled] (SFP71-34; SFP73-12) (SFF.586) (1971-73). Courtesy of Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art.

Dates: February 15–April 12

Location: 1880 Century Park East, Suite 100, Los Angeles

“David Hockney: Something New in Painting (and Photography) [and even Printing]… Continued” at LA Louver

David Hockney, Viewers Looking at a Ready-made with Skull and Mirrors (2018). Courtesy of LA Louver.

The deadpan title of this show—if you can understand it—says it all. On view are all new works by the venerable British painter, including portraits, multi-canvas paintings, and what Hockney calls “photographic drawings.” The latter are wall-sized compositions made of hundreds of stitched-together photographs, the latest example of Hockney’s ongoing interest in new forms of technology. More than 60 years into his career, the artist casually continues to find ways to reinvent himself while still doing what he does best.

Dates: February 7–March 23

Location: 45 N. Venice Boulevard, Venice, California

“Albert Oehlen: Wall Drawing” at Gagosian

Installation view of “Albert Oehlen: Wall Drawing,” 2019. Courtesy of Gagosian.

Occupying a storefront space next to Gagosian’s Beverly Hills outpost, artist Albert Oehlen presents a “pop-up” wall drawing this month. The massive installation, a scribbly charcoal-on-paper sketch that the artist considers an exercise in free-form creation, can be seen both indoors and from the street.

Dates: February 8–March 2
Location: 420a North Camden Dr., Beverly Hills

“Beverly Pepper: New Particles from the Sun” at Kayne Griffin Corcoran

Installation view of “Beverly Pepper: New Particles from the Sun,” 2019. Courtesy of Kayne Griffin Corcoran.

“New Particles from the Sun” is a collection of sculptures the 96-year-old American-born, Italy-based sculptor Beverly Pepper, made in the early part of her career, between 1958 and 1967. The title is taken from a poem Frank O’Hara wrote for a show of hers held in Rome in 1965. The pairing makes sense: O’Hara’s rhythmic, expressionistic style complements Pepper’s steel experiments—both move at their own pace, following each idea and tangent to a natural conclusion.

Dates: January 12–March 9

Location: 1201 South La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles

“Gonzalo Lebrija: Veladuras Nocturnas” at Kohn Gallery

Installation view of “Gonzalo Lebrija: Veladuras Nocturnas,” 2019. Courtesy of Kohn Gallery.

After signing on with Kohn last fall, Mexican artist Lebrija makes his debut at the gallery this year with an ambitious exhibition. On view are paintings from the artist’s signature Veladuras series, which feature layers of muted semi-transparent paint that form prismatic abstractions, as well as a new sculptural work and film installation. Lebrija is not quite as well-known to American audiences as he is in his home country, but hat may be changing soon.

Dates: January 18–March 30

Location: 1227 North Highland Avenue, Los Angeles

“Cindy Parra: A Walk in the Clouds” at Gallery 30 South

Cindy Parra, Loss of Sensation (2018). Courtesy of Gallery 30 South.

Cindy Parra’s work looks like the art class homework of an elementary school child: Her acrylic illustrations are filled with doodled princesses, stars, and, most prominently, a pink unicorn. However, she does them with a knowing sense of irony, touching on a number of big themes along the way, including desire, fantasy, and fetishism. Parra, who goes by the handle @horseandunicorndrawings online, also sells the works for very cheap, usually around $400 to $600—a critique, she says, of the art market and the treatment of young artists.

Date: February 3–24

Location: 30 S Wilson Ave., Pasadena, California