CULTURE
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he momentum of L.A.’s contemporary art scene has seduced many important transplants to the West Coast, including private art adviser Meredith Darrow. Referencing the upcoming openings of Hauser Wirth & Schimmel and Sprüth Magers, Darrow, who works with the de la Cruz Collection in Miami, is busier than ever. Here, her to-do list this month.
MOCA’s “Step and Repeat” series at the Geffen is a multidisciplinary program of performance art, music, comedy and poetry. Oct. 4; moca.org.
3 Don’t miss the colorful KAWS exhibit at Honor Fraser Gallery. Through Oct. 31; honorfraser.com.
Darrow at home in Venice beside a work by Frederik Vaerslev.
2 This month, the Hammer Gala honors hometown heroes Mark Bradford and Joni Mitchell, both favorites of mine. Oct. 11; hammer.ucla.edu.
1 Blum & Poe’s “From All Sides: Tansaekhwa on Abstraction” (through Nov. 8) is sure to be an interesting show. Then, head to the Mandrake for a drink. blumandpoe.com; mandrakebar.com.
Culture (bits) The Art Whisperer
Mark Boulos, Antigone, 2014.
Firstenberg at the new LAXArt space, slated to open in early 2015.
LAXART is not your average gallery, and has never been contained to four white walls. As director and curator Lauri Firstenberg takes the seminal concept into its 10th year, she’s doing so with a move to Hollywood. The new space, an iconic recording studio, is filled with creative energy (everyone from Louis Armstrong to Jimi Hendrix made music here). “We were looking for a hub for our experimental exhibition programs, discursive programs, performance series and public art initiatives,” she says. The latest is an initiative called The Occasional, a platform for staging newly commissioned work across Los Angeles. Mark Boulos’ film Antigone and The Gates of Damascus (which is on display at the Culver City location this month) is the first project realized, with artists David Hartt, Nira Pereg and Tavares Strachan next in line. laxart.org.
DARROW PORTRAIT: MOR WEIZMAN. “STEP AND REPEAT”: DYNASTY HANDBAG BY IAN DOUGLAS. BLUM & POE: JOSHUA WHITE. PAINTING 1: LEE UFAN, FROM LINE, 1979. MANDRAKE: JOSHUA WHITE. HAMMER EXTERIOR: STEFANIE KEENAN/WIREIMAGE. BRADFORD PORTRAIT: COURTESY OF THE JOHN D. & CATHERINE T. MACARTHUR FOUNDATION. HONOR FRASER: KAWS, UNTITLED , 2014, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS. FIRSTENBERG PORTRAIT: SHARON SUH. HOLLYWOOD FOREVER: COURTESY THE ARTIST
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