Art lovers in LA have a busy weekend ahead of them. Gallery Weekend Los Angeles runs July 28 through August 1, and includes at least 74 participating galleries and nonprofit organizations. Coinciding at about the same time: Felix Art Fair at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and LA Art Show at the LA Convention Center.
At Felix, the hotel rooms become galleries for contemporary art. Pieces will be hung and installed in the bedrooms, bathrooms, and cabanas by the outdoor swimming pool.
“There's going to be this indoor-outdoor feeling centered around a swimming pool, which feels very LA,” says Lindsay Preston Zappas, the founder and editor-in-chief at Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles (CARLA). She’s looking forward to checking out a new sculpture by artist Navine Mahmoud called “Wax Lips.”
Nevine Mahmoud, Wax Lips seated, 2021, polyester resin, plastic, plastic chair, steel hardware, 38 x 32 x 20 inches. Photo courtesy of the artist and M+B, Los Angeles. Photo credit: Josh Evington.
Meanwhile, the LA Art Show will be celebrating its 26th year. To counteract its more traditional vibe, the fair this year is focusing on digital art like non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
“This is a type of cryptocurrency that's making its way into the art world,” says Preston Zappas. “And the LA Art Show is claiming to be the first in-person art fair to include NFTs on the floor of the fair, being exhibited.”
Art lovers attend the LA Art Show at the Convention Center in 2019. Photo by Hayk_Shalunts/Shutterstock.
If you’d rather stay home, you can check out Frieze Viewing Room Los Angeles. In April, Frieze LA decided to postpone its in-person event to February 2022.