L.A. FAIRS IN THE NEW YEAR

The fairs are coming again, and the leader of the pack is, of course, Frieze Los Angeles (Feb. 29–March 3, 2024), returning once more to the Santa Monica Airport. There will be more than 95 exhibitors, with about half from the greater LA area. This time it’s all under one big roof—last year there were two, with the hip cool galleries in the big tent on the hilltop, and the rather neglected ones in the Barker Hangar at the bottom of the hill. The former was constantly jammed with visitors, while the latter, which housed the “historical” galleries and the emerging ones … not so much.

Fortunately, Frieze management listened to the attendees’ complaints, and architect Kulapat Yantrasast and his WHY studio expanded the size of the big tent. One hopes that management does something about the confusing parking—last year people were taken back to the wrong lot and wandered about for an hour before they could find the right one. Also, there was a crying need for more food options, as long lines swamped the few providers.

“We look forward to welcoming galleries from around the globe (including leading art spaces across Asia, Africa, Europe and South America), from Korea to Mexico, Japan to Germany,” said Christine Messineo, fair director of Frieze in the Americas, “alongside a strong core of exhibitors from across California.”

Other shows in February include the LA Art Show, which now takes place on a different week, Feb. 14–18, again at the Convention Center in DTLA. Felix is returning to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, starting a day earlier than Frieze on Feb. 28, but also running through March 3.

A carousel designed by Keith Haring, Luna Luna.

THE ARTFUL LUNACY OF LUNA LUNA

Now for something fun and different. Long ago in 1987 an Austrian actor/artist named André Heller realized a longtime dream to create “an art amusement park.” He signed up more than 30 international artists to help design rides, pavilions and signage, and two of them, Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf, even traveled to Europe to work on their pieces: a merry-go-round and a chair-swing ride, respectively. That summer Luna Luna was launched in Hamburg, Germany, with contributions from Jean-Michel Basquiat, Salvador Dalí, Sonia Delaunay, David Hockney and Rebecca Horn. Nearly a quarter of a million visitors checked in.

Sadly, despite the park’s success, Heller lost his funding. At the end of summer, the project closed and went straight into storage—for more than three decades.

Two years ago, the lot was sold to a conglomerate headed by DreamCrew—an entertainment business founded by rap superstar Drake and producer Adel “Future” Nur—and has been undergoing extensive restoration. By this writing is published, “Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy” should be open at the Ace Mission Studios in Boyle Heights—with about half the historic attractions on exhibit. Most are solely for viewing purposes, as the rides are too fragile and too valuable to be ridden. Among the attractions will be Hockney’s enchanted forest, Dalí’s geodesic dome (mirrored on the inside), Scharf’s chair-swing ride and Delaunay’s painterly abstractions on an archway. You may wonder how Delaunay’s work is here since she passed away in 1979; Heller had met with her earlier and got permission to use some of her work.

Nicely interspersed throughout are old photographs and didactic material about Luna Luna, the project, and its artists. There will also be performers circulating about, and of course, food and souvenirs for purchase. Don’t miss Heller’s wedding chapel, where you can marry whomever, even whatever, you wish

Betye Saar with Drifting Toward Twilight, 2023, © 2023 Betye Saar, photo by Joshua White/JWPictures.com, The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.

OVER AT THE HUNTINGTON

Betye Saar is a national treasure, still vital and creating artwork at 97. Recently the Huntington commissioned her to create a room-sized installation for its American galleries, and in November it was unveiled as Drifting Toward Twilight (on view through Nov. 30, 2025), with a vintage canoe floating across a “river” of branches and twigs retrieved from the Huntington grounds. She used to visit the grounds as a child, with her mother and aunt, “who were both avid gardeners,” she explained during the preview. “I wanted to do an installation that somehow integrated materials from this area.” Seated in the canoe are five “figures”—the three in the middle are birdcages perched on wooden chairs, and the two on either end are posts topped with antlers.

While Saar needs a little help getting around these days, her mind is still sharp as a tack. In the gallery she quickly saw that she wanted more branches and plant material underneath the boat to give it the sense of it floating through water or ether. She picked up some branches from a pile on the side and walked around the canoe, filling in the thinner areas. There’s a light that emanates from beneath, and Saar didn’t want viewers to see the source. “It should look more mysterious,” she said

Mr. Chow.

MOVIES AND ENDINGS

Many people would like to be artists—and why not? In popular culture they’re seen as successful outsiders who live large and outlandishly. Plugging into the fantasy is the HBO documentary aka MR. CHOW, about the colorful Michael Chow of the titular restaurant and now painting fame. The movie traces his life from son of a renowned opera singer in China to art student in London to starting a chain of upscale Chinese restaurants. From the ’60s through the ’80s, Chow lived life in the fast lane. He was married to Grace Coddington briefly, and then to Tina Chow, and traded meals at his restaurant for art by regulars such as Basquiat. These days he wants to be known as an artist as he’s shown—flinging paint and hammering on giant canvases in his giant studio in an LA warehouse.

Then there’s Anselm, a feature-length homage to the legendary Anselm Kiefer by director Wim Wenders. Like many, I was impressed by Kiefer’s extraordinary painting/multi-media “Exodus” series, on display last year at the former Marciano museum under the auspices of Gagosian. Wenders’ Pina is one of my favorite dance films of all time, so I was naturally drawn to seeing his doc, even in 3D, which is really not my
favorite format since it makes me nauseated.

Kiefer has a studio in the south of France—not just a warehouse but warehouses with acres and acres. His work is monumental, requiring monumental spaces to work in. This is a fascinating peek into his life as an artist. However, I felt Wenders was a bit too worshipful, and wondered if his subject is as dour and ponderous as this doc makes him out to be.

Finally, X-TRA magazine, most recently published quarterly, is folding as announced on Instagram. Founded in 1997 by two artists, Ellen Birrell and Stephen Berens, it covered a wide gamut of the arts including the visual arts, dance and fiction. The fall 2023 issue included a conversation between Shirley Tse and Alice Wang. Alas, another LA-based arts publication bites the dust. But what a great run!