L.A. Art Show Showcases More Diverse Voices Than Ever
The largest and longest-running art fair in Los Angeles, the LA Art Show is embracing its biggest strength in 2025: diversity. For its 30th annual event, the five-day-long celebration (running from Feb. 19- 23) showcases more multicultural voices and talent than ever from over 100 galleries, museums and alternative spaces around the world.Turkey, Spain, Uruguay, Belgium, Japan, Canada, France, Taiwan, England, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and South Korea (the latter with no less than eight galleries) are all represented this time out, highlighting L.A.'s collaborative spirit here and abroad.'We are excited for this significant 30th anniversary milestone honoring LA Art Show as a premier art fair that has stood the test of time,' producer and director Kassandra Voyagis says. 'This year's show will be bigger and bolder than ever before with a significant global presence, many topical exhibitions along with larger-than-life installations — from Viktor Frešo's breathtaking 30-foot bear sculpture to a special live mural from L.A. artist Robert Vargas.' In the aftermath of the wildfires, Vargas' mural will depict the resilience of L.A. and will be auctioned off to benefit rebuilding efforts.The show's signature educational platform, DIVERSEartLA, returns with special programming marking the 30-year milestone too, including a retrospective curated by artist Marisa Caichiolo looking back at past showcases that amplify perspectives of marginalized communities.
'DIVERSEartLA was founded out of a need to question conventions and promote diversity,' says Caichiolo. 'As a beacon of representation, the 2025 iteration will be a call to action as well as an unwavering reminder of the work that remains with each installation, inviting viewers to participate, think and connect on a deeper level.'Focused on both advocacy and calls to action, Caichiolo hopes to spark critical conversation around race, gender, humanity and the environment. 'Being part of DIVERSEartLA is both an honor and a privilege,' says Luciana Abait, whose Project Water piece will be on display. 'Having the opportunity for thousands of people to engage with this work is not only a privilege but also a powerful tool for fostering a renewed awareness of the sacredness of nature.'Also announced following the fires, Building Bridges Art Exchange, curated by Caichiolo, will showcase work from artists who lost their homes and studios. This year's show will have a charity element and entry is free for firefighters. Returning exhibits such as Dactiloscopia Rosa: Video Art and QUEER Constructions, curated by Nestor Prieto and presented by Museo La Neomudejar from Madrid, Spain; and Carlos Martiel's Cauce/Riverbed, curated by Caichiolo and spotlighting the challenges faced by immigrants in California and the U.S., should be impactful.
A new presentation is similarly powerful: She, Unbroken from Snisarenko Gallery brings together Ukrainian-born female artists who have lived through the experience of war, exploring themes of displacement and identity.Three decades and counting, LA Art Show illuminates this city's creative contributions and multicultural influence on the global art community in a way that's accessible to all. According to Voyagis, the show had 'a pivotal role in solidifying the city's status as an epicenter of arts and culture — while also democratizing the art experience.'Learn more about the festival's special , and more, at
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Forbes
5 days ago
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An AI Film Festival And The Multiverse Engine
In the glassy confines of Alice Tully Hall on Thursday, the third annual Runway AI Film Festival celebrated an entirely new art form. The winning film, Total Pixel Space, was not made in the traditional sense. It was conjured by Jacob Adler, a composer and educator from Arizona State University, stitched together from image generators, synthetic voices, and video animation tools — most notably Runway's Gen-3, the company's text-to-video model (Runway Gen-4 was released in March). Video generation technology emerged in public in 2022 with Meta's crude video of a flying Corgi wearing a red cape and sunglasses. Since then, it has fundamentally transformed filmmaking, dramatically lowering barriers to entry and enabling new forms of creative expression. Independent creators and established filmmakers alike now have access to powerful AI tools such as Runway that can generate realistic video scenes, animate storyboards, and even produce entire short films from simple text prompts or reference images. As a result, production costs and timelines are shrinking, making it possible for filmmakers with limited resources to achieve professional-quality results and bring ambitious visions to life. The democratization of content creation is expanding far beyond traditional studio constraints, empowering anyone with patience and a rich imagination. Adler's inspiration came from Jorge Luis Borges' celebrated short story The Library of Babel, which imagines a universe where every conceivable book exists in an endless repository. Adler found a parallel in the capabilities of modern generative machine learning models, which can produce an unfathomable variety of images from noise (random variations in pixel values much like the 'snow' on an old television set) and text prompts. 'How many images can possibly exist,' the dreamy narrator begins as fantastical AI-generated video plays on the screen: a floating, exploding building; a human-sized housecat curled on a woman's lap. 'What lies in the space between order and chaos?' Adler's brilliant script is a fascinating thought experiment that attempts to calculate the total number of possible images, unfurling the endless possibilities of the AI-aided human imagination. 'Pixels are the building blocks of digital images, tiny tiles forming a mosaic,' continues the voice, which was generated using ElevenLabs. 'Each pixel is defined by numbers representing color and position. Therefore, any digital image can be represented as a sequence of numbers,' the narration continues, the voice itself a sequence of numbers that describe air pressure changes over time. 'Therefore, every photograph that could ever be taken exists as coordinates. Every frame of every possible film exists as coordinates.' Winners at the 3rd Annual International AIFF 2025 Runway was founded in 2018 by Cristóbal Valenzuela, Alejandro Matamala, and Anastasis Germanidis, after they met at New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Valenzuela, who serves as CEO, says he fell in love with neural networks in 2015, and couldn't stop thinking about how they might be used by people who create. Today, it's a multi-million-user platform, used by filmmakers, musicians, advertisers, and artists, and has been joined by other platforms, including OpenAI's Sora, and Google's Veo 3. What separates Runway from many of its competitors is that it builds from scratch. Its research team — which comprises most of the company — develops its own models, which can now generate up to about 20 seconds of video. The result, as seen in the works submitted to the AI Film Festival, is what Valenzuela calls 'a new kind of media.' The word film may soon no longer apply. Nor, perhaps, will filmmaker. 'The Tisches of tomorrow will teach something that doesn't yet have a name,' he said during opening remarks at the festival. Indeed, Adler is not a filmmaker by training, but a classically trained composer, a pipe organist, and a theorist of microtonality. 'The process of composing music and editing film,' he told me, 'are both about orchestrating change through time.' He used the image generation platform Midjourney to generate thousands of images, then used Runway to animate them. He used ElevenLabs to synthesize the narrator's voice. 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'When photography first came around — actually, when daguerreotypes were first invented — people just didn't have the word to describe it,' Valenzuela said during his opening remarks at the festival. 'They used this idea of a mirror with a memory because they'd never seen anything like that. … I think that's pretty close to where we are right now.' Valenzuela was invoking Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.'s phrase to convey how photography could capture and preserve images of reality, allowing those images to be revisited and remembered long after the moment had passed. Just as photography once astonished and unsettled, generative media now invites a similar rethinking of what creativity means. When you see it — when you watch Jacob Adler's film unfold — it's hard not to feel that the mirror is starting to show us something deeper. AI video generation is a kind of multiverse engine, enabling creators to explore and visualize an endless spectrum of alternate realities, all within the digital realm. 'Evolution itself becomes not a process of creation, but of discovery,' his film concludes. 'Each possible path of life's development … is but one thread in a colossal tapestry of possibility.'
Yahoo
19-02-2025
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L.A. Art Show Showcases More Diverse Voices Than Ever
The largest and longest-running art fair in Los Angeles, the LA Art Show is embracing its biggest strength in 2025: diversity. For its 30th annual event, the five-day-long celebration (running from Feb. 19- 23) showcases more multicultural voices and talent than ever from over 100 galleries, museums and alternative spaces around the Spain, Uruguay, Belgium, Japan, Canada, France, Taiwan, England, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and South Korea (the latter with no less than eight galleries) are all represented this time out, highlighting L.A.'s collaborative spirit here and abroad.'We are excited for this significant 30th anniversary milestone honoring LA Art Show as a premier art fair that has stood the test of time,' producer and director Kassandra Voyagis says. 'This year's show will be bigger and bolder than ever before with a significant global presence, many topical exhibitions along with larger-than-life installations — from Viktor Frešo's breathtaking 30-foot bear sculpture to a special live mural from L.A. artist Robert Vargas.' In the aftermath of the wildfires, Vargas' mural will depict the resilience of L.A. and will be auctioned off to benefit rebuilding show's signature educational platform, DIVERSEartLA, returns with special programming marking the 30-year milestone too, including a retrospective curated by artist Marisa Caichiolo looking back at past showcases that amplify perspectives of marginalized communities. 'DIVERSEartLA was founded out of a need to question conventions and promote diversity,' says Caichiolo. 'As a beacon of representation, the 2025 iteration will be a call to action as well as an unwavering reminder of the work that remains with each installation, inviting viewers to participate, think and connect on a deeper level.'Focused on both advocacy and calls to action, Caichiolo hopes to spark critical conversation around race, gender, humanity and the environment. 'Being part of DIVERSEartLA is both an honor and a privilege,' says Luciana Abait, whose Project Water piece will be on display. 'Having the opportunity for thousands of people to engage with this work is not only a privilege but also a powerful tool for fostering a renewed awareness of the sacredness of nature.'Also announced following the fires, Building Bridges Art Exchange, curated by Caichiolo, will showcase work from artists who lost their homes and studios. This year's show will have a charity element and entry is free for firefighters. Returning exhibits such as Dactiloscopia Rosa: Video Art and QUEER Constructions, curated by Nestor Prieto and presented by Museo La Neomudejar from Madrid, Spain; and Carlos Martiel's Cauce/Riverbed, curated by Caichiolo and spotlighting the challenges faced by immigrants in California and the U.S., should be impactful. A new presentation is similarly powerful: She, Unbroken from Snisarenko Gallery brings together Ukrainian-born female artists who have lived through the experience of war, exploring themes of displacement and decades and counting, LA Art Show illuminates this city's creative contributions and multicultural influence on the global art community in a way that's accessible to all. According to Voyagis, the show had 'a pivotal role in solidifying the city's status as an epicenter of arts and culture — while also democratizing the art experience.'Learn more about the festival's special , and more, at
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Yahoo
Ten Essential Local Artists Inspired by the City of Angels
February's two huge annual art events — Frieze Los Angeles and the LA Art Show — promote the local art market on a global scale, exponentially elevating its influence and impact. With collectors, creatives, celebrities and art aficionados of all kinds coming together to showcase, enjoy, buy and sell, Los Angeles' art scene has finally gained not only commercial viability but the respect it richly in the wake of last month's Southern California wildfire damage and loss, celebrating our city's creative spirit is about more than prestige or commerce. It's an opportunity for healing and unity — to advocate for our fellow Angelenos, and to express our ideas, emotions, hopes and pop art painters to eclectic photographers, street artists to fine artists, portraitists to muralists, multimedia forms of expression in L.A. have the spotlight right now — and rightfully so. 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After creating one of Los Angeles magazine's three special covers this month honoring the city's first responders, he'll be live-painting a massive mural called 'HEROES' (a tribute to the L.A. firefighters), at the LA Art Show later this Next: His 14-story 'Angelus' mural at Pershing Square, currently in progress, is set to break the world record this July as the largest freehand mural by a single artist. @therobertvargas Featured in LACMA's current Imagining Black Diasporas: 21st-Century Art and Poetics exhibition, Cullors' meld of art and activism continues to evolve and thrive. Known for her work with Black Lives Matter and the Center for Art and Abolition, her multimedia creative commentary incorporates cultural artifacts, textiles and metalwork that manifest 'a sanctuary of reflection and empowerment.' 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With a background in street, fine and pop art, his abstract expressionist work can be found at major L.A. restaurants and hotels, and at galleries and public spaces around the U.S. Swing's amalgamation of classic iconography and proud street vibes will be a highlight at this month's LA Art Show — and it's just the beginning for Next: Swing will be a part of Burning Bright - The Strength, Struggle, and Survival of LA Artists at Art Share L.A. and the AAF spring N.Y. fair, both in March. He'll also partake in the AMP San Francisco Art Fair in April, the Ampersand Show in May, the Hamptons Fine Art Fair in July and additional group shows in New York City and Miami. A figurative painter blending reality with fantasy in a fresh and defiantly feminine way, Fabia's work uses saturated color palettes and bold lines to arrest the viewer. Her oil-painted nudes and portraits convey magical moments in time and many local figures in her hometown of L.A. With a photographic yet surrealist approach that also evokes the punk rock energy of her homelife as a wife (to Bad Religion's Jay Bentley) and a mother, she's also commissioned for projects and has a line of fine art Next: In addition to teaching painting classes at her O.C. studio and recently releasing a line of paint brushes, Fabia is working on an upcoming solo show in Los Angeles and will be administering a two-week painting workshop in Rome this summer. With notable works at Watts Towers Arts Center, 18th Street Arts Center, Barnsdall Art Park and LACMA over the years, Grant's oeuvre gives rise to conversations about identity and love. She examines language and written texts through the mediums of painting, neon sculpture, video and books. The latter comes via the X Artists' Books imprint — launched with her partner, actor Keanu Reeves — publishing art books with a philanthropic component that's central to her Next: After a solo exhibition in Berlin at Carlier|Gebauer, Grant will partake in a group show at The Pit in Glendale. She's the honorary chair of Project Angel Food's Angel Art Transformation benefit on Feb. 27 and her just-launched LOVE Wine, featuring labels designed by her favorite artists, will release its second drop this summer. The French-born, L.A.-based street artist known as Mr. Brainwash incorporates a dizzying aggregation of ideas, mediums and references in his work, but his main inspiration is joy. His mantra, 'Life is Beautiful,' is imparted through all he does, from his whimsical Beverly Hills museum to his latest exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum — which celebrates the beauty and significance of cars through his signature collision of pop culture and fine art. In December, he set a Guinness World Record for the largest dual-sided mosaic made with Rubik's Cubes. He also created one of Los Angeles magazine's three February print covers and did a mural of the piece for everyone to enjoy at 1255 S. La Brea Ave. in Next: Guetta's work will next be seen at the Bob Marley Museum in Jamaica (on the reggae great's birthday) and in a new installation on Rodeo Drive, which includes over 18 sculptures and immersive photo backdrops inspired by famous artworks. Known for incorporating L.A. cityscapes into his edgy work, the native Angeleno's heightened reflections are both cinematic and thought-provoking. The city after dark conjures a special kind of energy and Israel — who's collaborated with everyone from Bret Easton Ellis to Louis Vuitton — captures it with animated realism and moodiness. Shamrock Social Club tattoo shop, Trashy Lingerie and the Troubadour are just a few of the landmarks included in his latest Gagosian exhibit, Noir. Paused during the fires, it reopened on Feb. 6 and spotlights nostalgic odes to his hometown Next: His next solo show, Heaven, in partnership with Aspen One, opens at the Aspen Art Museum this month. Through a lift ticket, an exhibition and on-mountain signage, he integrates pop culture, celebrity and entertainment. @alexisrael Movement and physical communication are revelatory art forms, and the L.A.-based, Japanese-born interdisciplinary performer incorporates both in dynamic ways. Specializing in Butoh dance, Kuramochi weaves live painting, video and tangible installations into her work, making for a uniquely visceral and theatrical kind of entertainment. Her immersive cultural commentary also explores history and rituals via a posthuman feminist perspective. What's Next: This month, Kuramochi is in a group show called Raze the Whitebox Presents a Butoh Opera at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz, and Moon & Stars in the Desert at Palm Desert's Walter N. Marks Center for the Arts. In June, she'll present a new solo show at the Japan Foundation, Los Ilse Valfré's enchanting female-driven universe has built an avid fan base through her brand, which includes apparel, home decor, day planners and artwork. The Mexican contemporary illustrator, who splits her time between L.A. and Nayarit, is known for evoking cosmic, character-driven aesthetics and dreamy narratives with a pop culture flair — as seen on her big mural outside the Spotlight nightclub at Cahuenga and Selma in Hollywood. She also just released a new book of her most popular pieces and launched a collaboration with Golden Goose Next: Exhibiting at international art fairs — in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Madrid and Tokyo — is in the pipeline. Valfré is also working on an upcoming solo show in L.A. and setting up her own space in Mexico City, called Casa Valfré. His iconic street art brand Obey Giant might own the most recognizable L.A. graphic designs ever, but Fairey has never rested on his laurels. From his powerful 2008 "Hope" portrait of Barack Obama to his "We the People" series during the 2017 Women's March and his Echo Park Gallery Subliminal Projects, Fairey's output has redefined how social commentary-driven street art makes people think, feel and see the Next: 'Warning Signs' opening Feb. 7 in New Orleans, features painted and printed works from his repertoire centered around combating injustice. 'The Golden Compass' opening Feb. 27 in collaboration with Over The Influence in Bankok, explores the human struggle to find balance and manage rage and grief. His gallery also a full schedule of events this month, during Frieze and the LA Art Show. After so many local artists and creators lost their residences, studios and livelihoods, or were otherwise been impacted by the L.A. fires, local arts organizations and philanthropists joined forces to create the LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund, an emergency relief effort to help them. Led by the J. Paul Getty Trust ( the coalition's many partners include the Mohn Art Collective (Hammer Museum, LACMA and MOCA); philanthropists like Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar; and foundations like Steven Spielberg's The Hearthland and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The fund launched with $12 million and applicants can apply through the Center for Cultural Innovation at .
