THE AFFAIR OF THE FAIRS: FRIEZE, FELIX, ALAC, SPRING/BREAK, STARTUP, AND A PLEASURE DOME

Shana Nys Dambrot, February 13, 2020

Folks have taken to calling it Frieze Week, which is forgivably both cute and convenient, as well as reinforced by local and bi-coastal outlets’ daily, nay, hourly, branding amplifications. In any case, the phenomenon has gotten the city’s attention, and the swirl of L.A., national and international contemporary art fairs orbiting the Frieze L.A. sun right now truly does have a lot to offer the caffeinated and curious.

From downtown to Hollywood to Venice and back to Hollywood, with five fairs in four days (seven if you’re ambitious enough to throw Modernism Week and Art Palm Springs into the weekend mix) plus an avalanche of co-presented and self-identified, kind of random but frequently interesting off-site “Frieze Week” programs, projects and activations (Barbara Kruger murals everywhere!), if you have any hope of seeing it all, you’re going to need a plan. And maybe next year, a new name. L.A. Art Week seems easy. Art Week L.A.? Ideas welcome.

Lili Bernard (stARTup)

stARTup Fair: In its fifth year here and with franchises in Houston and original San Francisco, this event is devoted to emerging contemporary artists who aren’t represented by galleries. It too takes place in a hotel, with each of the 80 artists, who were curated into the fair by a panel of arts professionals, transforming their own room into whatever manifestation of their vision they can pull off, from chill domesticity to lived-in dreamscape. The fair is also known for its nonprofit partner exhibitors and its robust slate of discussions all centered around the pursuit of creative entrepreneurship and models for approaching art as a career. The Kinney, 737 W. Washington Blvd., Venice; opening night: Fri., Feb. 14; fair dates: Sat.-Sun., Feb. 15-16, $15-40. startupartfair.com.