SAVE THE DATE & PREVIEW: The Other Art Fair, Presented by Saatchi Art – March 15th through 18th
This week, opening on Thursday, March 15th, the internationally acclaimed art advisory service Saatchi Art brings their expertise in contemporary art to Downtown Los Angeles, with their West Coast premiere of The Other Art Fair.
Featuring a selection of 100 carefully curated artists from around the globe, this incarnation of their successful fair is debuting in the Grand Hall of the historic Majestic Downtown, at 650 South Spring Street. Built in 1924, this opulent restored venue is art itself, with elegant décor including carved marble columns, a grand sweeping staircase, oversized arched windows and 40-foot high Italian ceilings. A perfect showcase for art, the opening night gala, and the three-day show will undoubtedly become the jewel of the Saatchi Art fair circuit, which includes events in London, Sydney, Melbourne, Brooklyn, and Bristol.
Buying art directly from the artists with no middleman or gallery involved is always a treat for collectors, hence the success of these non-traditional art fairs. The talent list includes artists from around the US, and also Australia, Canada, UK, Italy, France, Austria, Germany, and Russia. We at Cartwheel Art are thrilled that another leading international contemporary art event is being held in the heart of DTLA! We are also excited about the many LA-based artists that are included in this inaugural Saatchi Art event. Some of these artists have been working with Saatchi Art for years, like Stephen Rowe, who has been successfully selling art online with them for over three years and participated in four of their shows. For others, like Gwen Samuels and Clara Berta, this is a new relationship. Yet all are excited about the reach and success of the Saatchi Art brand and feel excited to be exhibiting at this prestigious contemporary art organization with such a high caliber of chosen work. The following is a preview, featuring a few of our favorite participating local artists.
Annie Terrazzo is a multimedia collage artist whose unique style of portraiture incorporates recycled and found objects including old fashion magazines and newspapers, broken safety glass, and 3D printed objects with layering effects and interactive elements. Terrazzo, who travels extensively for inspiration, has been creating and exhibiting her signature works internationally for many years. She will be debuting a whole new body of work entitled “Riots And Cheap Thrills,” inspired in part by current events and the #MeToo movement. Themes will include female empowerment, objectification, identity, and the constant struggle for alignment and balance. She is also allowing the color to take the lead for the first time ever, along with different hues to lead the creative direction, much as a painter uses his brush.
“I see so much anger in the world, and it seems like the only way to win is to make someone lose, right now,” says Terrazzo. “But things develop in the opposite direction when they reach their limit.”
Clara Berta is an artist living and painting in the heart of DTLA, actually residing in the Majestic Building itself. Her sunny workspace, BertaArt Studio Gallery is a popular stop on the monthly Downtown LA Art Walk. Showing brand new work created just for this show, Clara’s new Minimalist series explores the ebb and flow of life, as she experiments with new techniques of pouring, washing and manipulating paint without traditional brushes. The result is ethereal, peaceful, and organic, yet still vibrating with emotion. Her less-is-more approach is successful in both large and smaller canvases, as the process of letting go is an ever-evolving intention behind her work.
“I have a desire to edit my work to the bare necessities of my expression, and though the outcome, I have found clarity of mind and an evolution of spirit underlying my process.”
Gwen Samuels is a mixed media artist whose work process and outcome are so unique it requires an explanation…Stemming from her love of pattern and textiles, Samuels, also a photography buff, shoots objects with interesting colors and textures. She then digitally manipulates her images, re-arranging, cropping, and finally printing them on transparencies in repeat patterns. Cutting the sheets into squares, the fragments are then stitched together, creating forms from insects to architecture, Greek vases to dresses. In her most recent work, including the “Un-Wearables” series she will be exhibiting, she has created wire forms and fill in the spaces, transforming shapes with her imagery to create whole objects with multiple meanings.
“My love of the handmade made the needle the natural tool to pull the pieces together. I left the threads hanging as evidence of the process. I arrange them slightly off the wall with straight pins to permit shadows to interact with the forms. From a distance the work appears as abstract compositions. Upon closer inspection, the segments carry recognizable imagery.”
Karrie Ross has been a multi-disciplinary artist for over 40 years, but the constant evolution of her work keeps it up-to-the-minute fresh and contemporary. Her playful and whimsical work addresses life and questions about the self and has been featured in over 135 international gallery and museum exhibitions. Her current series explores simple yet powerful abstract visuals using the organic flow of iridescent paint and hard-edged shapes as accents. Says Ross,
“Over the last year I have been exploring more abstract, light and space concepts in a very contemporary style. I have created some new work specifically for this show that incorporates wire for a 3D affect, paired with a light and space oriented background of iridescent tones of white. I feel these pieces are very “now” in their technique and are compelling visuals that will encourage questions.”
Kim West is a painter, muralist, and installation artist best known for her large-scale murals in the Downtown Los Angeles Arts District. One renowned 5- story mural there, entitled “Only One Way Through” that is featured on an outside wall of the Hauser & Wirth Gallery was described by the New York Times as ” dreamlike,” a term which can be ascribed to much of her work. Incorporating both figurative and abstract elements in her multi-layered work, her ethereal landscapes include luscious botanicals dripping with color and softly-hued skies in a multitude of pastel washes.
Moises Ortiz’s ultra-modern abstract paintings appear like shards of brilliantly colored glass exploding in all directions. Influenced by the cubist movement, he is best known for his large-scale graffiti work on public murals under the name Kharma1. Always looking to push the boundaries of his style through experimenting with technique, media, and substrates, some of his more dynamic work is created on aluminum or glass. Earning two degrees, a Masters Degree on Art and Design from the Faculty of Arts and Design in Mexico, and also an MFA in Painting and Sculpture by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando-Madrid, Ortiz is poised to take his art to the next level internationally.
Stephan Rowe is a man of many talents, balancing his time between his fine art career and his equally successful endeavor as a professional singer /songwriter/musician. Certainly one influences the other, as he is nothing but lyrical! His abstract works, some of which are inspired by the dot art that is prevalent in his outback hometown of Broken Hill, Australia, are exuberant expressions of color, passion, and joy. He has had several years of success with Saatchi Art Online and is looking forward to the opportunities and people that will surface through this new art fair.
“I’ve created some new pieces for this show, I would describe them as expressive, colorful, and playful, in my continuous search for happiness. I hope the viewers feel the same. “
Tickets are available here through Eventbrite
VIP Preview
Thursday, March 15, 2018
6pm – 10pm
Public Hours
Friday, March 16, 2018, 3pm – 10pm
Saturday, March 17, 2018, 2pm – 10pm
Sunday, March 18, 2018, 11am – 6pm
Address:
The Majestic Downtown
650 South Spring Street,
Los Angeles, CA 90014