Lights, camera, art fair! That’s right, it’s time for Los Angeles art week once again—a crush of art fairs, parties, gallery shows, and museum exhibitions to chase away the winter doldrums. Here’s everything you need to know about the fairs taking place this week.
Frieze Los Angeles
February 16–19, 2023
Frieze Los Angeles 2022. Courtesy of Casey Kelbaugh/Frieze.
What: The week’s marquee event is going to. be. huge. Literally staged in the airport, the fair is nearly 25 percent larger than last years edition, with 124 exhibitors hailing from 22 countries. And the art isn’t confined to the labyrinth of booths either; Frieze Projects will take place across the city at key cultural landmarks.
Onsite activations produced in collaboration with the Art Production Fund will include Chris Burden’s monumental 40 Foot Stepped Skyscraper (2011), an artist-designed soccer ball that actual members of the Los Angeles Football Club will play with, and an homage to the Black beaches of the mid-century. Offsite, curator Jay Ezra Nayssan and Del Vaz Projects have teamed up for “Against the Edge,” a series of projects staged around the city, like Nicola L. at the Thomas Mann House, Tony Cokes at Beyond Baroque, and Kelly Akashi’s work at Villa Aurora.
Where: Santa Monica Airport, 3026 Airport Ave, Santa Monica, California
When: VIP Preview | Thursday, February 16, 10 a.m.–7 p.m.; Public Show Days | Friday, February 17, 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday, February 18, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, February 19, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Felix Art Fair
February 15–19, 2023
Installation view of Kavi Gupta at Felix Art Fair. Image courtesy Kavi Gupta.
What: The insider’s art fair, Felix was co-founded by Dean Valentine, Al Morán, and Mills Morán, and is curated to invite active viewing and conversations. Staged at the iconic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, complete with a David Hockney-designed swimming pool, the SoCal setting lends a more intimate and relaxed vibe to the fair.
This year, 60 exhibitors will descend on the landmark building, including 46 returning galleries and 14 newcomers. We’ve got our eyes on New York-based artist Jeremy Lawson’s Abstract Expressionist works at Harper’s; a group show put on by Adams and Ollman to celebrate the gallery’s 10th anniversary; and Liza Lacroix’s site-specific audio sculptures and new paintings on view at Magenta Plains.
Where: Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California
When: VIP Preview | Wednesday, February 15, 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Public Show Days | Thursday, February 16–Saturday, February 18, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, February 19, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
SPRING/BREAK Los Angeles
February 15–19, 2023
Meg Lionel Murphy’s “Dreams of Dragons” curated by the Untitled Space, New York, at Spring/Break Los Angeles 2022. Photo by Sarah Cascone.
What: The fourth edition of the beloved maximalist fair is centered on the theme “Naked Lunch.” Now, whether that conjures images of Edouard Manet’s 19th-century painting Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe, or William Burroughs’s 1959 cult classic novel (or, in fact, David Cronenberg’s 1991 film adaptation), expect Spring Break’s standard fare of photogenic installations bursting at the seams with creativity.
Where: Skylight Culver City, 5880 Adams Boulevard, Culver City, California
When: VIP Preview | Wednesday, February 15, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.; Public Show Days | Thursday, February 16–Sunday, February 19, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.
L.A. Art Show
February 15–19, 2023
Exhibitors at the LA Art Show in 2022. Courtesy of the LA Art Show.
What: The sprawling L.A. Art Show welcomes more than 120 exhibitors across the 180,000 square-feet convention center. The mega-fair is organized into sections including Modern + Contemporary, the European Pavilion, Japanese Pavilion, Works on Paper, and DIVERSEartLA.
Where: Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California
When: VIP Preview | Wednesday, February 15, 6 p.m.–10 p.m.; Public Show Days | Thursday, February 16–Saturday, February 18, 12 p.m.–8 p.m.; Sunday, February 19, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.