This weekend the Art Los Angeles Contemporary fair has taken over the historic Barker Hanger at the Santa Monica Airport. The towering, vaulted space is perfect for a large art fair like this one, having previously housed Chanel runway shows and art world benefits. Dozens of international galleries have set up shop here, with exhibitors from Los Angeles, London, Milan, and even Iceland.
The Ry Rocklen show at Praz Delavallade of Paris is worth a visit. London and L.A.-based Ibid. Projects is showing a series of large-scale paintings by Alex Ruthner, which look like web printouts of houses and horses cellotaped to a bedroom wall.
At David Kordansky, entranced visitors lose themselves in the psychadelic textures of Zach Harris’s carved panel paintings. The artist was on hand to explain some of his symbolism. Jonathan Viner of London is exhibiting strong works by a few familiar names: Pentti Monkonnen, Amir Nikravan, Nicholas Deshayes, and Kika Karadi. Nikravan also has a lustrous panel painting in Various Small Fires’ booth, next to work by sculptor Kathleen Ryan and delightful paintings by Amy Yao.
Culver City gallery Anat Ebgi has a beautifully abstracted bust by Nick Hornby on view. In the adjacent booth, Brussels gallery Levy Deyval is showing security mirrors painted with ironic quips by Spencer Longo and some beautiful wall-mounted works by Kate Steciw.
As the afternoon waned, an unexpected downpour trapped umbrella-less fairgoers under the clear plastic tent bar attached to the central hanger. Compared to the riotous Art Book Fair across town, the mood here was relatively subdued, with sparse crowds munching on tacos and sipping lattes. ALAC has yet to establish itself as a must-see event for L.A.’s growing art scene, but in any case the art here today was well worth a gander.