Shana Nys Dambrot
The art fair onslaught continues apace, as Felix and SPRING/BREAK art now fully underway, and Frieze Los Angeles—by some accounts, the sun around which this little solar system spins—is finally here as well. While you can still use last week’s aspirational gallery openings list for more mellow gallery hopping, this week is not exactly slow. Exhibitions and special events across art, photography, design, performance, music, books, film, politics, comics, monsters, and blood keep everyone on our feet all week, but Sunday is devoted to reading and self-care.
vanessa german: skateboard memorial to tyre nichols who screamed out for his own mama to come for him while the police were jumping on his back and taking his name out of his soul and making him dead with their own looseness of being and in the brutality of this separation unaliving him for no reason other than _________. Well. Or, skateboard as grief., 2023. (grief, salt, sore throat from all the screaming, shoes wore out in the soles from marching and begging—then, a beautiful son gone, a beautiful son and his name become a hashtag in the ever-expanding digital memorials of children killed by …, i don’t really know what to say y’all, ok: heartbreak, fear, rage, tears, crane hood ornament, rhinestones, adhesives, cloth, rose quartz for the how the entire universe is held together like how a womb. holds an entire human together within an. Entire human. 12 1/2 x 26 x 9 in) (© 2024 vanessa german. Courtesy of the artist and Kasmin, New York. Photo by Charlie Rubin)
Thursday, February 29
Frieze Los Angeles. The headline-generating Frieze Los Angeles is a celebrity-magnet of a high rolling art fair, whose global brand of marquee galleries can be counted on to bring art stars to town and hometown stars out in droves—but whose inclusion of more independent outfits and edgier commissioned projects is always appreciated. Featuring 1000 of today’s most exciting galleries from Los Angeles and around the world, an expansive program of on-site installations, collaborations with nonprofit organizations, and pop-ups from some of L.A.’s favorite restaurants—inside and out at the Santa Monica Airport. 3027 Airport Ave., Santa Monica; Friday-Sunday, March 1-3; $76-$202 with bespoke add-ons available; frieze.com.
Agnes Varda, Mosaic Self-portrait, Paris, 1949, Silver Gelatin Photograph (Courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery)
Desire to See: Photographs by Agnès Varda at Fahey/Klein Gallery. The first U.S. exhibition dedicated exclusively to Agnès Varda’s photographic work, this retrospective provides a comprehensive visual narrative of the iconic French New Wave filmmaker’s life and creative pursuits. Through a diverse selection of photographs spanning from vintage lifetime prints developed and printed by Varda, to newly discovered posthumous works, the survey highlights her radical vision and passionate engagement with the world. 148 N. La Brea, Hollywood; Opening reception: Thursday, February 29, 6pm; Walkthrough with Rosalie Varda: Saturday, March 2, 2pm; On view through April 13; free; faheykleingallery.com.
Beyond The Visible, installation view (Courtesy of the artists and albertz benda, Los Angeles. Photo: Julian Calero)
Beyond the Visible at albertz benda. A group exhibition bringing together artists whose work explores the interconnections within our perceived—or imagined—realities. Artists in this exhibition construct worlds in which the tangible seamlessly merges with the metaphysical through interplays of vivid color, geometric forms, and repeated elements. Approaching space, psyche, and the natural world using distinctive techniques and personal narratives, each artist within Beyond the Visible examines themes of subjecthood, nature, and the human soul through their respective constructions of transcendental, ethereal landscapes, and psychological universes. 8260 Marmont Ln., West Hollywood; Opening reception: Thursday, February 29, 6-10pm; On view through March 30; free; albertzbenda.com.
Terry Allen
Music Beyond the Grave: Terry Allen and the Panhandle Mystery Band at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery Masonic Lodge. For this week’s edition of Frieze Los Angeles, L.A. Louver presents a survey of works by the inimitable, iconoclastic American artist and musician Terry Allen. Through an exhibition crossing six decades, Allen’s polymathy will be highlighted through virtuosic drawings, sculpture, and mixed media works that spin autobiographical mythologies weaving conceptual, narrative, musical, and theatrical frameworks—not to mention the couple’s striking cameo in Killers of the Flower Moon—reflecting on American darkness, existential dread, and human absurdity. To further mark the occasion, Allen brings his band to the Masonic Lodge stage for two nights of tunes, humor, commentary, and remembering. 5970 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Wednesday-Thursday, February 28-29, 8pm; $75; lalouver.com.
Giant Robot Biennale 5
Friday, March 1
Giant Robot Biennale 5 at Japanese American National Museum. Since 2007, JANM has partnered with Eric Nakamura, founder of globally obsessed-over visual cultural universe Giant Robot, to produce the Giant Robot Biennale, a recurring celebration of the ethos of Giant Robot—a staple of Asian American alternative pop culture and an influential brand encompassing pop art, skateboard, comic book, graphic arts, and vinyl toy culture. Giant Robot Biennale 5 will feature artists Sean Chao, Felicia Chiao, Luke Chueh, Giorgiko, James Jean, Taylor Lee, Mike Shinoda, Rain Szeto, and Yoskay Yamamoto, among many others. 100 N. Central Ave., Little Tokyo; Opening reception: Friday, March 1, 6-9pm, free; On view through September 1, $16 regular admission; janm.org.
Jordan Eagles, Blood Equality Illuminations (installation view, Science Gallery, London, UK), Jordan Eagles, 2017) (Courtesy of and © Jordan Eagles)
Jordan Eagles: Illuminations at the Getty Center. Eagles explores the visual power, aesthetics and ethics of blood as an artistic medium; his more politically motivated series, rendered from donated human blood, are utilized to advocate for fair blood donation policies, anti-stigma, and full equality. At the Getty, Eagles presents Illuminations, an installation utilizing blood donated from members of the LGBTQI+ community who are on PrEP, and individuals who are HIV+ and undetectable. The organic material is preserved in resin panels—some layered with vintage comic book images with narratives connected to blood—and placed on analog overhead projectors, illuminating the space and viewers in an affecting, magical sensorium. This one weekend only presentation complements the ongoing exhibition Blood: Medieval/Modern. 1200 Getty Center Dr., Brentwood; Friday-Sunday, March 1-3 during regular museum hours; free; getty.edu.
Pussy Riot, FEAR NOT, 2024
Nadya Tolokonnikova (Pussy Riot): FEAR NOT at the Wende Museum. A pop-up exhibition in conjunction with Frieze LA and the ongoing Visions of Transcendence: Creating Space in East and West exhibition and in collaboration with Turner Carroll Gallery, this event stands as a powerful testament to artistic defiance against authoritarianism and commemorates the resilience of the creative spirit. Tolokonnikova’s newest artwork is created in response to the tragic death of her friend Alexei Navalny in prison. Navalny dedicated his life to striving for a free Russia, and his loss is profoundly felt. Through her art, Tolokonnikova calls on the West to recognize and confront the significant threat that Russian President Vladimir Putin poses to global peace and security. FEAR NOT is a call to action—a reminder that democracy is precious and fragile, requiring our constant vigilance and courage to preserve. 10808 Culver Blvd, Culver City; On view: Friday, March 1 – Sunday, March 3; Artist Talk: Saturday, March 2, 2pm; free; wendemuseum.org.
Von Wolfe at Richard Heller Gallery
Saturday, March 2
Von Wolfe: Oracle at Richard Heller Gallery. Von Wolfe’s creative process balances human intuition with advanced digital tools, using diffusion models within a node-based system to achieve remarkable precision. Von Wolfe adeptly bridges the digital and the tactile, treating each medium with equal respect and ensuring their coexistence is both harmonious and distinct. A direct descendant of Baron von Schlossberg, who served as the court painter to King Ludwig II of Bavaria, the artist’s work demonstrates a unique blend of heritage, intellectual curiosity, and a commitment to exploring the intersection of art and technology. Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica; Artist reception: Saturday, March 2, 4-6pm; On view through March 23; free; instagram.com/richardhellergallery.
The Pink Cloud (2020, Brazil)
The Pink Cloud and Brazilian Short Films at the Hammer. UCLA Film & Television Archive hosts The Brazilian Filmmakers Collective in conversation with their short and feature length documentary and narrative films. The Pink Cloud (2020) imagines the world being locked down for years due to a mysterious cloud that kills upon contact. In luli Gerbase’s debut feature, two casual acquaintances, Giovana and Yago, are locked together in an apartment as this unexplained threat circles the globe. While that may sound like COVID, The Pink Cloud was made prior to the pandemic, yet it eerily captures that real-life time of isolation with disquieting accuracy. The program includes a slate of new Brazilian short films in which close attention is paid to the inner lives. Billy Wilder Theater, Hammer Museum, 10899 WIlshire Blvd., Westwood; Saturday, March 2, 7:30pm; free; hammer.ucla.edu.
Dawoud Bey, Untitled (James River) (detail) from the series Stony the Road, 2023. Gelatin silver print (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. © Dawoud Bey)
Dawoud Bey Book Release at Arcana. Bey is best known for his iconic street photography, especially around Harlem, as well as his powerful portraiture, dedicated to an honorable representation of African American life in the United States. However with Elegy—a monograph produced in conjunction with a major exhibition—Bey brings together three portfolios of landscape photography. Night Coming Tenderly, Black (2017), In This Here Place (2021), and Stoney the Road (2023) are situated firmly within his overall practice, but with a switch of perspective from the cities and faces of Black America to the very country itself, the landscapes and landmarks steeped in the bloody, contested history of Virginia, Louisiana, and Ohio. Following the trail of enslavement from auction blocks to plantations to escape and emancipation, Bey reveals that the past is not only a painful prologue, but very much alive in the present. 8675 Washington Blvd., Culver City; Saturday, March 2, 4-6pm; free; arcanabooks.com.
Manifesto, 2015 (©Julian Rosefeldt)
An evening with Cate Blanchett and Julian Rosefeldt at the NuArt Theater. Following the world tour of the art installation and film version of Manifesto, Blanchett and Rosefeldt have teamed up again for his new film, which will be screened after Manifesto in a private sneak preview, including a Q&A with the two artists. Manifesto—starring an overwhelmingly multi-faceted Cate Blanchett—pays homage to the moving tradition and literary beauty of artist manifestos, ultimately questioning the role of the artist in a society threatened by populist tendencies. Performing this contemporary call to action while inhabiting 13 different personas, Blanchett imbues new dramatic life into both famous and lesser known words of Futurists, Dadaists, Fluxus artists, Suprematists, Situationists, Dogma 95, and other artist groups, and the musings of individual artists, architects, dancers, and filmmakers. 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A.; Saturday, March 2, 5:30-10:30pm; free; vatmh.org.
Eric Anwar
Eric Anwar: Lies and Other Fairy Tales. The artist’s first solo exhibition embodies a dream-like version of nostalgic childhood characters captured in an unexpected, reimagined portrayal of life’s reality and many times arduous journey juxtaposed with the perfect persona of beloved characters. A world in which childhood fables (from a pre-digital generation) are exposed to the disenchantment of growing up, coupled with an innocence left behind and the differences in the kids we once were and the adults we are now. A first-generation American and entrepreneur, Currently the Head of Marketing and Creative for the iconic 145-year-old rolling paper brand Zig-Zag, Anwar has been developing the vision of Lies and Fairy Tales for nearly a decade. 716 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica; On view March 2-10; free w/ rsvp; ericanwar.com.
#StayHomeAndRead
Sunday, March 3
The 36th Annual Stay Home and Read a Book Ball. The Library Foundation of Los Angeles is back with everyone’s (well, definitely my) favorite fundraising gala of the year—the one you can attend in your pajamas. Share photos of your literary festivities on the Library’s socials and show off what you’ll be reading—and wearing (fancy bathrobes?), and eating (cheese boards encouraged!), and of course, your adorable literary pets—by tagging @LibraryFoundLA in Instagram and Twitter, using hashtag #StayHomeAndRead to let others know you are celebrating and sustaining the essential work of our public libraries. Wherever you want; Sunday, March 3; $25; lfla.org.
Ciarra K. Walters at Sovern LA
Take A Minute Art & Healing Activation at Sovern LA. The expansive group show Take A Minute—with over 20 artists whose attention-intensive, tactilely material works encourage viewers to stop and take a breath to better appreciate the moments in our lives—has its all day opening reception on Saturday, March 2. But on Sunday, the show hosts a mindful automatic drawing session and guided breathing work led by exhibiting artist James Williams III, followed by an integrating sound bath with Jen Benitez infused with her heritage studies in ancestral knowledge and ceremony. 5757 West Adams Blvd.; Sunday, March 3, 11am-1pm; $40 donation; sovern.la.
Bella
Wednesday, March 6
Bella comes to streaming on PBS. A feature-length documentary about the life, work, influence, and impact of Los Angeles-based dancer, choreographer, and arts activist Bella Lewitzky. Lewitzky joined Lester Horton’s multi-racial modern dance company in 1934, formed her own company in 1966, and continued to dance at the age of 62. Lewitzky was also famous for battles against the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s and the NEA in 1990. The film incorporates rare archival footage of Lewitzky’s performances and interviews with her former students and fellow dancers, as it demonstrates how a “uniquely Californian” artist with vision and tenacity influenced the lives she touched. Beginning March 6, wherever you get your PBS; bellasfilm.com.
Kate Meissner, Chimera, 2024 Oil on canvas 76 x 76 in (Courtesy of albertz benda)
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