Art of Living

The artist John Baldessari used to say that one cannot teach art, but “you can set up a situation where art might happen.” I thought about those words during Frieze/Felix week in LA, a dizzying cross-town parade of art fairs and art-adjacent happenings. In Los Feliz, hundreds turned out for the launch of Los Angeles Review of Architecture, and no, there weren’t enough tacos. (I got the last one!) Next was a Westside housewarming party celebrating a stunning residential design by local architect John K. Chan. (Overheard: “I knew we need dining room furniture, but there was a Lari Pittman print being auctioned off …. So we choose the print over the futniture.”) On to a house-gallery (the trend, which has been documented by the Los Angeles Times and Financial Times, shows no sign of stopping) hosted by architect Edwin Chan, where a group show, organized by Central Server Works and curated by Maxwell Sykes, saw the debut showing of Yuuki, a Japanese artist who is also an actual rock star. After living here for twenty-plus years, there are places I still haven’t been to. The Neutra VDL Studio and Residences in Silver Lake is one of those; it is a space as succinct as a Steinbeck character description. The reason for my visit was a fundraiser organized by the artist-run and -authored Material Press, which is preparing the release of its fifth and final edition, de-Materializing. There were performances by Adrian Chi Tenney, Emmett Mathison, and Mamie Green of the Volta gallery; up on the roof terrace, David Horvitz made art for guests to take home. Another joyous confluence of art and architecture, activated by a respectful intrusion of movement and sound throughout the (relatively) modest modernist villa.

As the sun set on the reservoir, I mentally prepared for the two fairs. Frieze is a temporary space for art commerce with ultra-specific design considerations. wHY Architecture’s roomy project solved the art-fair lighting problem while offering moments of rest and space to talk. Felix takes place within a domestic-ish setting where the art is happening to it; I felt a sense of discovery … and occasional claustrophobia walking through the makeshift galleries. These sites—a huge tent at the Santa Monica Airport and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, respectively—are activating different parts of the art world, creating time and space so that art can get into the world. The week ended with the screening of E for Eileen by Gerard & Kelly, a pitch-perfect short film that imagines Eileen Gray’s last day in her own (relatively) modest modernist villa, E-1027, near Monaco. It was an ideal transition back to real life and a reminder of how a house can set up a situation where art might happen.