Buyer, be there: It’s a shopping marathon

RISKING visual overload and depleted bank accounts, organizers of four Southern California art fairs have joined forces to present a marathon of viewing and shopping opportunities in January. The extravaganza, dubbed Art Week Plus, will offer something for nearly everyone who still has money to spend after Art Basel Miami Beach or who didn’t make it to the Right Coast’s be-all, end-all, see-and-be-seen contemporary art fair.

Photo L.A. 2006, the 15th edition of a photographic art exposition organized by L.A. dealer Stephen Cohen, will kick off the round of shows, Jan. 19 to 22 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. About 70 dealers will show works by an international array of artists. Cohen’s newest creation, artLA, will shift the focus to contemporary art, Jan. 26 to 29 at the Santa Monica Civic. The 2-year-old fair will display the latest in painting, sculpture, video and new media.

Collectors and wannabes with an eye for fine printmaking can congregate at the Los Angeles Print Fair, Jan. 27 to 29 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art facility known as LACMA West. Sponsored by the International Fine Print Dealers Assn. and the museum’s Graphic Arts Council, the show will present 16th to 21st century works on paper from the galleries of association members.

The fourth fair, the Los Angeles Art Show, sponsored by the Fine Art Dealers Assn., will appear in its 11th edition Jan. 25 to 29 at Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport. Offering “five centuries of fine art from around the world, all available for purchase,” the show will feature about 50 dealers’ booths of Old Master, 19th century and contemporary art.