At its worst, traveling to an art fair can feel like visiting a Starbucks. Inside the recycled air of a convention center, wandering from booth to booth, and looking at the same two dozen artists, you could be anywhere in the world. Good fairs, however, are different. They serve as invitations to discover not only new artists and galleries, but also the host city itself.
This year, Frieze Los Angeles (Feb. 29–March 3) will invite elements of its sprawling hometown’s spirit into its outpost at the Santa Monica Airport. Christine Messineo, Frieze’s director of Americas, also hopes visitors will venture beyond the tent to explore the quirkier and more intimate corners of LA’s cultural landscape. Ahead of the fair, Messineo invited CULTURED to accompany her on a whirlwind tour of some of the best art LA has to offer—often in unlikely places.
LACMA
“LACMA was the first museum I visited in Los Angeles after graduating from college. I was working as a stylist’s assistant, driving a car packed full of garment bags and shoeboxes, schlepping between parking garages and shoots. The museum was a reprieve, a reminder that art remained close.
That trove is growing—multiple cranes now dot the landscape, signaling the evolving legacy of the museum. Brooke Kanter, head of VIP, Americas for Frieze, and I were fortunate to get a sneak peek at the action from the third-floor offices across Wilshire Boulevard.”
Joan Brown, Center Obelisk, at Beverly Hills Public Library
“I love the public library. My son is 4 and we’re constantly looking for activities, so my relationship to the library has changed, but remains steadfast and strong. He treats the stacks as mazes, dashes up the steps, rides the elevator endlessly, but he also adores stories.
These places stewarded by our cities are essential to the ecosystem. In my many trips to the Beverly Hills branch, I encountered Center Obelisk [1986], the Joan Brown pillar made later in her life after years of portraiture. It’s tucked in an alcove of arches at the entrance, surrounded by green sprouting palms.”
Ryan Flores's Studio
“I met up with Casey Fremont—executive director of Art Production Fund and curator of this year’s public sculpture at Frieze Los Angeles—in Glendale at ceramicist Ryan Flores’s studio. We spent hours studying his vast array of finishes and glazes—the unpredictable nature of the layered colors and the discoveries along the way.
Flores is the recipient of a new on-site commission by Maestro Dobel Tequila at this year’s Frieze Los Angeles, part of a partnership launched last year. Debuting four hand-built plinths over five feet tall, the artist will display colorful sculptures referencing Gaudí’s Sagrada Família in Barcelona through forms reminiscent of fruits, flowers, and vegetables from the southwestern United States and Mexico. We also spent time with a collection of small ceramic cups that Flores is making for 100 lucky fair guests (with the added bonus of a tequila respite).”
Ozzie Juarez and Tlaloc Studios
“Ozzie Juarez has heart. His generosity of spirit extends to the constellation of close friends, colleagues, and neighbors he invites to work out of his warehouse space. (When I last visited Tlaloc, the studio collective he opened in 2021, he had just rescued a cat.)
The studio houses photographers, painters, an archive of punk rock ephemera and zines, traditional sign painters, and graffiti artists, who come together to share techniques, critiques, and mentorship. It’s inspirational and motivating and deserves attention. Ozzie was in the midst of completing a new body of work that will be shown at Charlie James Gallery during Frieze Los Angeles.”
Gaylord Apartments
“Los Angeles has a unique history of garage and home galleries. Some are temporary summer affairs, others move into the commercial realm, but these small operations and the exhibitions they produce often inform the larger conversation. Gaylord Apartments, a gallery founded by Ramsey Alderson, Joseph Geagan, Veronica Gelbaum, and John Tuite (one of whom was holed up painting during my visit for his upcoming show at LOMEX) is just this kind of spot. I visited as Teak Ramos was installing her first LA show in the space. Her intricately constructed wooden canvases line the space, referencing Diane Simpson and Susan Cianciolo. I want one.”
Tony Delap, The Big Wave, on Wilshire Blvd.
“I ended my tour with another public sculpture hidden in plain sight, The Big Wave [1989] by Tony Delap, which stretches over Wilshire Boulevard at the point where the city of Santa Monica meets Los Angeles. A bridge arching above the street embodies something you might not realize, which is that you are entering the final stretch of urbanity before hitting the ocean.
I think the work represents the artistic legacy of Santa Monica, which for decades hosted prominent West Coast artists including Lita Albuquerque, Tony Berlant, Richard Diebenkorn, and Sam Francis. We’re embracing this cultural legacy of public sculpture in the programming of the next Frieze Los Angeles. This year, in collaboration with Art Production Fund and the city of Santa Monica, significant work by Cynthia Talmadge and Matt Johnson will remain on view beyond the fair calendar.”
