The Los Angeles Art Show, the longest running platform for contemporary, modern, historic and traditional fine art in the country, will feature several exciting special exhibits curated by leading galleries and arts organizations. Taking place January 23 – 27, 2013 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the curated exhibits are one component of this year’s expanded programming schedule that also includes Dialogs LA, and engaging lecture series, and CHINA FUSION, a compelling offering of Chinese contemporary art.

ADC Contemporary & BUILDING BRIDGES International Art Exchange Presents Latin American Art Stars Betsabee Romero & Andrea Juan

A special exhibit, presented by ADC Contemporary Art & Building Bridges, will showcase two of the world’s art stars, acclaimed Mexican artist Betsabee Romero and celebrated Argentine artist Andrea Juan. Romero, one of the world’s top Latin-American artists,  has shown extensively in both Europe and the Americas.  Her current acclaimed body of work, uses automobile tires as a medium, which she carves into intricate patterns and imprints onto textiles. The final works are hung to create an immersive environment that has been described by critics as “ingenious”.  Betsabee Romero has exhibited at the Neuberger Museum of Art to high praise by art critics from the New York Times and Art in America. Romero’s tire installation will be situated prominently in between the Modern & Contemporary and Historic & Traditional sections of the show.

Andrea Juan’s enthralling floor to ceiling video installation New Species documents the unexpected effects of a warming planet, through changes in the glaciers in the Antarctic Peninsula. As the ice shelves retreat, a treasure-trove of new specimens in the Weddell Sea are uncovered, and a hidden ecosystem revealed. Her second video, Sea Images will accompany New Species. Juan seamlessly blends environmental concerns with a Christo-like urge to adorn landscape in vibrant color. She states, “The idea was to take art to Antarctica and develop short‐lived sites‐specifics as a praise of sorts, displaying a peaceful presence. And once the exhibition came to an end, the biosphere was to be left just as it had been found. The only trace/work that has remained is a series of video and photographic records plus the recollections of the inhabitants.”

Letters from Los Angeles: Text in Southern California Art:

The LA Art Show will present an expansive high-profile exhibition highlighting more than thirty LA-based artists who incorporate elements of words and letters in their work.  Curated by Jack Rutberg, Letters from Los Angeles: Text in Southern California Art puts a spotlight on this unique aspect of L.A. Art. The special exhibition will feature a literal Who’s Who in Art, including:  Lita Albuquerque, John Baldessari, Bill Barminski, Wallace Berman, Chris Burden, Hans Burkhardt, Huguette Caland, Doug Edge, Mark X Farina, Jud Fine, Eve Fowler, Gajin Fujita, Scott Grieger, Mark Steven Greenfield, Raul Guerrero, George Herms, Dennis Hopper, Ed Kienholz, Lynn Hanson, Charles LaBelle, Mark Licari, Michael C. McMillen, Jim Morphesis, Bruce Nauman, Stas Orlovski, David Allan Peters, Paulin Paris, Raymond Pettibon, Lari Pittman, Ken Price, Bruce Richards, Ed Ruscha, Richard Shelton, Alexis Smith, J. Michael Walker, Gordon Wagner, Tom Wudl and others.

 Letters from Los Angeles: Text in Southern California Art looks at the exceptional ways that these artists have used text in extremely diverse ways: immortalizing L.A.'s signs, streets and gas stations, using comic book captions to convey dramatic angst, juxtaposing  text  with  appropriated  images, framing collages with  wry  observations  and  titles,  employing  the   power   of   language   to   pose disquieting comments in conceptual works; surrealist re-configuring of old prints and clippings with snatches of verse and prose. The range of approaches is as individual as the artists themselves. The vast ways that these Southern California artists have incorporated words, numerals and text into their compositions reflects an aesthetic that might be seen as a logical antecedent to the current spotlight on contemporary-graffiti and tattoo art.

California Art Club Features Prominent Contemporary-Traditional Artists Exhibit Human Landscape

While the century-old California Art Club is generally associated with pristine landscape paintings of the Golden State, the revered fine arts organization includes among its membership many of the nation’s foremost figurative painters.  In this special exhibition for the 2013 L.A. Art Show, the Club is spotlighting the works of prominent contemporary-traditional artists that focus on the human form.  As a nod to its founding artists, who inspired the first art movement to be defined as uniquely Californian – California Impressionism – with paintings that captured fleeting moments of natural lighting across scenic vistas, the artwork in this special exhibition seeks to capture expressive moments of human existence. Featured artist include Cathey Cadieux, Warren Chang, Judy Davis, Ignat Ignatov, Tony Pro, Sergio Sanchez, Nancy Seamons-Crookston, Joseph Todorovitch, and Aaron Westerberg.

Launch LA Exhibition features artists Todd Carpenter, Marion Lane & Antonio Pelaya

Additional exhibits include a collection of works by eight contemporary-traditional fine artists presented California Art Club.  LAUNCH LA will feature three emerging LA artists, oil painter and photographer Todd Carpenter, acrylic and abstract painter Marion Lane and draftsman Antonio Pelaya.

China: FUSION

The LA Art Show will present a special exhibition organized by National Base for International Culture Trade (NBFICT) under the commission and guidance of the China Ministry of Culture and Shanghai Municipal Culture Radio and Television Bureau. 

China: FUSION showcases emerging artists from Mainland China and highlights the artists’ fusion of East and West culture through content and form. The 3600 square feet exhibition will be designed as a traditional Chinese style “9-Couleurs”, with the core exhibition area highlighting China's cutting-edge artists of the 1970s and 1980s. 

Additional Exhibitions by The LA Art Association & Let’s Educational Fund

LA Art Association will also curate a thrilling exhibit featuring select artists from LA Area. Lets Educational Fund will showcase works by a number of artists whose works aligns with the non-profits mission to de-stigmatize mental illness.

The Los Angeles Art Show takes place from January 23-27, 2013 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, South Hall 1201 Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015. Los Angeles Art Show programming is included with show admission. For additional information about the Los Angeles Art Show, to register for lecture or purchase online tickets, please visit www.laartshow.com.