Korakrit Arunanondchai at Clearing, all images via Art Observed
As Frieze opens up shop for the week on the West Coast, the bevy of satellite fairs and event openings are underway across the city. One particular highlight, and also a second-time event for Frieze Week, Felix LA, the joint effort of collector Dean Valentine and dealers Al and Mills Morán, has returned to the rooms and public spaces of the iconic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles for the week. One of the more compelling fair entries of the week, the work’s program, which sees gallerists taking over rooms in the hotel, allows a unique mixture of intimate exhibitions and adventurous concepts that felt well-suited to the well-heeled patrons of the contemporary art market, both looking for a good piece of work and a unique experience shopping for it. Â
Tommy Malekoff at Moran Moran
The fair’s layout and concept made for a bracing, unique event, as collectors and artists hobnobbed by the hotel’s lush outdoor areas, or packed into rooms upstairs in an attempt to view works or get a first crack at a desired piece. Sales were brisk, and attendees were particularly engaged as they passed through the various spaces where art was on view.
David Alekhougie at Kate Werble
At Andrew Kreps Gallery, one could view work by Andrea Bowers and Darren Bader, among others, mixing political engagement and playful, object-based inversions, while in Peres Projects’s room, the gallery was showing work by Richard Kennedy and Manuel Solano, a mixture of portraiture and light touch abstraction that made for a particularly intriguing series in conversation with the hotel’s unique viewing layout. In another corner, Clearing Gallery had brought new works by Korakrit Arunanondchai, while dealer Kenny Schacter had a packed booth with works by Josephine Messer, Maddie Knight and more.  Also of note were an interesting series of photos by David Alekhougie, showcasing a series of pants and undergarments in the state of “sagging” on mannequins, a reference to racially-charged modes of police profiling and distinctions of class.
Sophie Von Hellerman at Wentrup
Considering the ever-growing stature of Los Angeles’s local arts community, and the growing number of locally-focused galleries and young artists in the city, Felix seems to have taken up a strong position amongst the local residents of the city, as well as those further afield who have maintained a close connection to the city’s arts community. The fair’s concept promises for an interesting next few years as these connections are further cultivated and strengthened.
The fair closes today, February 16th.
Cynthia Talnadge
— D. Creahan
Read more:
Felix Art Fair [Exhibition]
