Next week, LA Art Week will take over the city, presenting a beautifully staggering amount of art— from Frieze Los Angeles and its 95+ global galleries, to local and satellite shows throughout the city. To prepare, we tapped art advisor and LA native Nancy Gamboa, who shared her advice on on developing your taste, tackling the fair, and not-to-miss artists at Frieze and beyond.
NANCY GAMBOA:
As an advisor, my job is to deeply understand the aesthetic interests of my clients and then harness all of the resources available to me to optimize their collecting to suit their tastes, budget and lifestyle. I provide access, education, and market knowledge that help my clients make informed art buying decisions, both substantively and financially.
This will be the fifth year of Frieze Los Angeles. You work with galleries all around the world—as an LA-based advisor, what differentiates the art scene here in LA within the global market?
The confluence of world-renowned institutions, top-tier MFA programs, new and established galleries, a highly engaged arts community, and sprawling landscape all make for a dynamic LA art scene that allows local artists and galleries, as well as new LA transplants, to thrive.
Artists To Watch At Frieze
Which emerging artists are you excited to see at Frieze this year?
Charlie Engelman
Recent Art Center graduate Charlie Engelman will show flocked minimalist sculptures with Chateau Shatto gallery.
Leah Ke Yi Zhang
The Chicago-based painter will show a painting at David Lewis Gallery, in addition to having work on view in a two-person show at Castle Gallery here in LA .
Georgia Gardner Gray
A signature figurative painting by the highly sought-after artist is on view at Regen Projects.
Beyond Frieze: Must-See Solo Exhibitions
Kate Mosher Hall: Never Odd or Even
Hannah Hoffman Gallery
February 17-March 23 2024
LA-based artist Kate Mosher Hall presents a solo exhibition of 7 monochromatic abstract paintings made using personal and found imagery and complex silkscreening processes.
Joan Brown
Matthew Marks Gallery
On view through April 6 2024
On view at Matthew Marks gallery in West Hollywood are large scale paintings made between 1972 and 1983 by legendary Bay Area figurative painter Joan Brown.
Paul Pfeiffer: Prologue to the Story of the Birth of Freedom
MoCA Geffen Contemporary
Nov 12 2023 – June 16 2024
MoCA presents the first retrospective of multidisciplinary artist Paul Pfeiffer’s including works spanning 25 years and the debut of a new commission.
Sam Gilliam: The Last Five Years
David Kordansky Gallery
January 13 -March 3, 2024
African American abstract painter Sam Gilliam’s exhibition at David Kordansky presents installations and wall works made toward the end of the late painter’s life.
Nora Turato: it’s not true!! stop lying!
Spruth Magers
Opens February 27
Up-and-coming Amsterdam-based conceptual artist Nora Turato presents her first solo exhibition at Spruth Magers’ LA location, including a performance during the opening.
Celia Paul: Life Painting
What are your top three tips for navigating the fair?
(1) Familiarize yourself with the fair map and the exhibitions on view during the run of the fair. Having a sense of the presentations you’d like to see both in the fair and throughout the city will help combat fatigue (and traffic!) and make for a more enjoyable art viewing experience. (2) Wear comfortable shoes. The fair is a marathon not a sprint. (3) Take snapshots of the artworks (and corresponding wall labels) that catch your eye. After seeing so much art, you’ll be glad you have images, artist, and gallery information to reference.
What tips would you give to a budding collector or art enthusiast on discovering or developing their own taste?
View as much art as possible in person, and to begin to engage with artist practices and the art community as whole. Commercial galleries and many museums are free and abundant resources that can be accessed by anyone.
NEUEJOURNAL: Outside of Frieze, what are the key forums for discovering new artists?
I recommend the SeeSaw gallery guide app to anyone interested in art. It’s an up-to-the-minute list of gallery exhibitions in major cities keeps you in the know, and its map function makes art-viewing easy to plan. In addition, MFA programs host open studios open studios of MFA candidates to the public to see their work up close. Instagram is also a great resource for discovering new artists from the comfort of your phone.
Where do you head for post-fair dinner and a debrief?
I love Farmshop at the Brentwood Country Mart. It’s low-key, delicious, and a great place to trade notes and unwind after the fair.
