As a curator who has performed huge group exhibitions, just like the Hammer Museum’s Made in LA biennial, Aram Moshayedi is used to spending at the very least two or three years organising an exhibition. This time, he did it in three weeks.
Quickly after the wildfires tore by way of Altadena and Pacific Palisades, he issued an open invitation to visible artists and different creatives immediately impacted to every contribute one work to a pop-up present. Greater than 80 selected to take part, from rising artists who simply graduated from school to internationally identified figures equivalent to Diana Thater and Paul McCarthy, each of whom misplaced their properties in Altadena.
The exhibition’s title, One Hundred %, is a nod to its enterprise mannequin: all proceeds will go on to the artist, with Moshayedi’s workforce engaged on a volunteer foundation, taking nothing and charging nothing. The present will happen at 619 N Western Avenue, throughout from David Zwirner gallery, 14-22 February, so it overlaps with the Frieze Los Angeles truthful.
J. Bradley Greer, Bob and Marilyn, 2024 Courtesy of the artist
The opening, Thursday night (13 February), guarantees to be one of many first huge art-world gatherings after the fires. “I feel there can be loads of feelings,” says Moshayedi. “It’s a convergence of people that have been affected both immediately or not directly by the fires and can hopefully provide a possibility for some sort of launch.”
Anticipate all kinds of works, from ceramics that survived in some type as a result of the medium might stand up to the acute warmth of the fireplace to new work made for this event. One younger artist, Jeffrey Sugishita, is displaying {a photograph} he made from himself standing amid the still-smouldering ruins of his dwelling, carrying all black aside from a helmet customary from flowers. Costs will vary from $50 to $30,000.
Moshayedi, who’s the interim chief curator on the Hammer Museum however developed this challenge independently, has labored with a number of of the collaborating artists earlier than, together with Kelly Akashi, Kathryn Andrews, Asher Hartman, McCarthy, Jon Polypchuk and Analia Saban. He had the thought for the present after realising what number of artists have been devastated by the wildfires that he didn’t know in any respect.
Kira Hawkins, Hate It, 2024 Courtesy of the artist
“As quickly because the fires began, I began amassing PDFs of obtainable works by artists I knew to ship round to collectors, donors, board members and others I assumed who I assumed would possibly have the ability to purchase work in that second of want,” he says. “However I realised there have been much more artists I didn’t know. I needed to discover a solution to faucet into that group of artists, who have been nameless to me, and lend no matter assist and providers I might as a curator.”
The art-world-friendly actual property dealer Geoffrey Anenberg helped Moshayedifind an area to make use of on Western, throughout from Zwirner, that was most not too long ago a furnishings showroom. The curator then labored with the grassroots group Grief and Hope, which has been elevating emergency aid funds for artists and artwork staff, to ship out the open invite. His invite acknowledges the enormity of the loss for a lot of and expresses a need to not burden the members. “Protecting in thoughts that your varied capacities could also be restricted, the thought of what constitutes a contribution or participation is totally open-ended and at your discretion,” it says.
At press time, Moshayedi had collected over 60 of the 80-plus works and was busy putting in. He has additionally secured a donation of sound gear from Dublab that may very well be used for efficiency or dwell music, but to be scheduled.
One Hundred %, 14-22 February, 619 N Western Avenue, Los Angeles
