Art fair season has arrived in Los Angeles. Every February the city is packed with festivals, new exhibitions, performances and other events. This year’s celebration comes with an unexpected backdrop: the aftermath of the Palisades and Eaton fires, which destroyed thousands of homes, including those of artists who also lost their work and their workspaces. Organizers at Frieze, the L.A. Art Show and the Other Art Fair updated their programming and are creating space for the community to heal and support one another.
Here’s a rundown of some of the week’s biggest events:
Felix Art Fair
Feb. 19-23
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles
$35-$250
felixfair.com
Felix returns to L.A. for its seventh year. Whereas most of the week’s major festivals are set up in spaces that feel like a convention center, Felix’s displays are at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, where art is shown in hotel rooms and around the outdoor pool.
“Felix has always been and was created to be local,” co-founder Dean Valentine said. “The galleries all have rooms with windows that look out over Hollywood and all of Los Angeles, so the air of Los Angeles filters through everything we do.”
L.A. participants include Babst Gallery, Fernberger Gallery and Timothy Hawkinson Gallery. According to Valentine, about 30% of the galleries are new to the fair each year. He and co-founder Mills Morán are looking forward to Megan Mulrooney Gallery’s presentation of Nick Taggart’s works on paper chronicling the Hollywood scene of the 1970s and 1980s.
