It was art-fair weekend all over Los Angeles, and other galleries held exciting openings, too. If there was any doubt that LA was overflowing with art—even rainy weather couldn’t hold back a strong turn-out.

Ray Beldner with Danielle Smith

At StartUp Art Fair at The Kinney Venice Beach hotel, founder Ray Beldner began the event with a short talk about its origins, and his desire to create an art fair that “wasn’t a cookie cutter event.” Performance artist Tiffany Trenda held pose in the hotel courtyard, and there were tastes of Cameron Hughes wine, pastries and Essentia waters given to attendees of the opening hours. Both the second and third floors of the hotel rooms were filled with art, as both local, regional and national artists took over rooms to exhibit. The Los Angeles Center of Photography and the Museum of Art and History in Lancaster, also had “booths.”

Kim Kimbro Taylor in MOAH room

Artists hung out and chatted with visitors, displaying photography, paintings, mixed media, digital art, textiles and sculptural works. Some, like Oakland’s Dani Arrecis, LA-based Lili Mueller, and local artist Annie Seaton, redecorated the rooms as well as exhibiting. Others offered video and digital art experiences in darkened rooms, or placed work even in the bathrooms.

Andre Smits left

At SoLA Gallery in Windsor Hills, a different kind of celebration was in store. Photographic artist Andre Smits, visiting from the Netherlands, held a crowded reception for his Artist in the World, a site-specific multi-wall mural that he collaborated on with local artists Monika Dahlberg and Alicia Ziff, featuring the photos he has taken throughout the LA area of artists, gallerists, curators and writers, taken from behind, giving greater value, he says to the work of the artists than the artists themselves. Smits says that taking the photos so that faces are not seen best expresses his idea that an artist is “the hand of some deeper invisible force.” From the Brewery to San Pedro to the Westside, Smits linked the people he met and how they were interconnected in his work. Participating subjects included artists Hung Viet Nguyen, Mika Cho, Alison Woods, Dani Dodge, Karrie Ross and hundreds more; many were in attendance at the event. Gallerists Peggy Sivert and Ben Zask served a spread of cheese and fruit, wine, beer and waters; Sivert said “I love the energy in the room tonight.”

Curator Randi Matushevitz with Bibi Davidson at Unfrozen

Despite rainy weather, there was also strong turn-out of eager attendees for the Randi Matushevitz-curated all-women artists show at Substrate Gallery. “Unfrozen” —a play on Frieze Art Fair just down the street—beautifully displayed the work of six LA-based artists including Matushevitz’ own dark and exciting work, Dwora Fried’s always trenchant dioramas, and Leigh Salgado’s vibrant textural works, along with work from Kim Abeles, Melinda Smith Altshuler and Lezley Saar. The pop-up was Matuzshevitz’ first curation.

Photos by Genie Davis