Art fairs are descending upon Los Angeles this week, and there’s more to see than ever before. This year, Frieze expands to the Santa Monica Airport, and Felix Art Fair rings in its fifth iteration with an extra day of laid-back poolside viewing. Meanwhile, L.A. Art Show enters year 28 with a larger global presence, as SPRING/BREAK arrives with the promising theme of “Naked Lunch.”
But if all that isn’t enough, the city is bustling with unmissable gallery shows too. Because fair fatigue is real, galleries can serve as a quiet space of refuge for those looking to catch their breath without sacrificing time away from art itself.
Below, we share 10 must-see gallery exhibitions that make for the perfect interlude between fair festivities.
Alma Allen
Blum & Poe
Alma Allen returns to Blum & Poe with his fourth solo exhibition with the gallery. When the artist lived in Joshua Tree, his sculptures were usually born of carved wood. Since moving to Tepoztlán, Mexico, however, the artist has shifted to the mediums of bronze and stone. Debuting at Blum & Poe are Allen’s wall-hanging bronze relief sculptures featuring soft black patinas, reflective surfaces, and singular shapes. In the center of the gallery is Not Yet Titled (2022)—the name that all the works share—a milky colored marble piece carved with neat pleats that draw the eye to its ridged surface.
Outside, a bronze work sits on a pedestal, catching pools of glimmering light between the folds of its curves. The sculpture, from its centrally located perch, begs to be admired from every angle—not unlike Allen’s larger body of work.