Reaching the Art Market Via ‘LAX’

Initiated by the Municipal Art Gallery and including seven additional venues, “LAX” is expected to become a biannual showcase for Los Angeles’ contemporary art. Plans to stage a new “LAX” every two years made the exhibition appealing to BMW, according to Scott Doniger, the company’s field marketing manager. “BMW is interested in setting up long-term relationships with the arts community of Los Angeles,” he said, noting that the company is likely to continue to support the show in the future.

Participating galleries will offer events ranging from a symposium at UCLA’s Wight Gallery and a collaborative production by Buzz Spector at USC’s Fisher Gallery to videos and performances at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions.

Plaza de la Raza will exhibit Frank Romero’s work. Otis/Parsons and the Municipal Art Gallery will present large group shows. The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center will display David Roesler’s and Joseph Shuldiner’s work. The Santa Monica Museum of Art is planning to showcase Bob Flanagan, Todd Gray, Lyle Ashton Harris and Michele Lee.

According to Doniger, what made “LAX” particularly attractive, from a funding standpoint, is that “the exhibition really reaches into the community, geographically and ethnically.”

At a time when the city has been hit by the recession and social unrest, the company wanted “to assist Los Angeles not only economically but by doing something that would touch the city more deeply. BMW felt that this exhibition and its visibility at the art fair would lend support to many in the L.A. community,” Doniger said.

Fall Art Fair Regroups

The annual art fair, ART/LA92, will once again be held this fall in the L.A. Convention Center despite the deepening recession, organizers say. In addition, “LAX: The Los Angeles Exhibition” will be held citywide in conjunction with the fair. How ART/LA92 has fared over the years and locations of related “LAX” shows:

YEAR COUNTRIES ATTENDANCE EXHIBITORS 1992 - - *71 1991 18 24,300 101 1990 20 27,200 158 1989 18 29,500 160 1988 19 28,000 155 1987 21 26,000 170 1986 15 14,600 130

* To date

Source: ART/LA92

Map showing:

CONVENTION CENTER, EMPHASIZED

UCLA’s Wight Gallery

USC’s Fisher Gallery

LACE

Plaza de la Raza

Otis/Parsons

Municipal Art Gallery

Japanese American Cultural and Community Center

Santa Monica Museum of Art