Faces to Watch in ’95 : We’re Counting on Them : ART

Some of them you know. Some you don’t. But the following artists, entertainers and executives have one thing in common: We’re counting on each to mae a significant impact or difference in their respective fields this year. Sure, there will be thers who make a splash, but after we talked with dozens of people who work in entertainment and the arts, these were the names mentioned most often. You might say that Jim Carrey was a face to watch in ‘94, and you would be right. But, based on “Ace Ventura,” “The Mask,” and “Dumb and Dumber,” Carrey’s ’95 should bear watching. Another pair of familiar faces--Jay Leno and David Letterman--appear on our list. Why? Haven’t we looked at these guys enough? Well, truth be told, how do you know what’s going to happen to them this year? Fame can be sooooo fleeting.

Larry Gagosian

Will he or won’t he open a gallery in Beverly Hills? That’s the art world’s burning question about Larry Gagosian, a controversial art dealer who got his start in Los Angeles in the mid-’70s and then in the mid-’80s re-created himself in New York as a high-rolling contemporary art merchant.

Now in his late 40s, Gagosian is known for co-opting some of the top artists in the biz and badgering mega-collectors into parting with their art treasures as well as their money. But his sketchy plans to stage a splashy return to Southern California in a Richard Meier-designed gallery on Camden Drive--possibly directed by L.A. dealer and old pal Fred Hoffman but, then again, possibly not--are worth watching.