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For it’s 6th edition, and after the announcement of the cancellation of FIAC Los Angeles that was supposed to take place late March 2015, ALAC (Art Los Angeles Contemporary) affirms itself as a familiar fair presenting mostly paintings and two-dimensional works, yet with a distinctive Californian spirit. It benefits from a reasonable size with no more than 70 exhibitors, a comprehensive network of mostly North American and European galleries.

The fair is favourably located near the beach, as well as being close to the Paramount Ranch project. While a few gallerists have seemed to pull out their safe values (such as Katherine Bernhardt and Mike Bouchet) many of them propose lesser-known artists to a crowd of collectors reassured by the familiarity evoked by this fair, comforting in its coherence.

The works exhibited are mostly by male artists, such as like Andrew Birk, Hugo Canoilas, Al Freeman, Nel Aerts, Alexander Wolff, Pentti Munkkunen or Aaron Garber Maikovska. This confirms a trend of a new generation of formalist male painters in their thirties, benefitting from a strong market. The gallerists should be blamed for their ongoing lack of support of female artists.

Only a few curators or institutions seem to be part of ALAC, which confirms a chasm that has started a few years ago: a clear separation between blue chip artists, performing extremely well in the art market, and artists supported by institutions. With cuts on all European institutional budgets devoted to culture, this is a trend creeping to Europe and therefore the future of middle-sized, curated fairs like ALAC seems rather bright. And it’s not the sunset over Santa Monica, shining brightly like a true Alex Israel painting, that will contradict that statement tonight.

ART LOS ANGELES CONTEMPORARY
JANUARY 29 – FEBRUARY 1, 2015
THE BARKER HANGAR