I’ve been living in Los Angeles since the latter part of the eighties. L.A.’s incredibly vast, sprawling landscape offers many ways to encounter and interact with this city.
In the time I’ve lived here, the city has really changed, with the expanse of museums and alternative spaces for contemporary art, specifically. I’m interested in places like The Pit in Glendale, and galleries in what is now the Arts District. One of my favorite places to go is The Underground Museum, which has become a destination in West Adams. I lived as an artist in West Adams for years, and it’s now an area of alternative galleries where a lot of artists are moving. Mark Bradford and his partnership with Art + Practice have brought Leimert Park Village a lot of attention, and that’s really exciting, too.
Photo by Mark Blower Courtesy of Frieze Los Angeles.
This spring, I’m looking forward to seeing Pipilotti Rist at MOCA, which is now free for general admission. I’m really excited for Noah Davis’s show coming from David Zwirner to The Underground Museum, which the artist founded before his unfortunate passing at a very young age. I’m excited for Anish Kapoor at Regen Projects, an exhibition that would be on my list even if it weren’t my gallery. I’ll be checking out Commonwealth and Council in Koreatown, and next to Chef Ludo’s restaurant Trois Mec is Nonaka-Hill gallery (it has a “Cleaners” sign over it), which specializes in Japanese art. You’ll see things there that will just blow your mind.
While you’re in Los Angeles, make sure to do some old-school weird things, too. Go to Musso and Frank and drink a martini for that old Hollywood experience. In the eighties, HMS Bounty in Koreatown was our bar and hangout. There are many areas in L.A. where you can find great food in mini-malls, or amazing Korean BBQ, all these nooks and crannies that should be explored.
My show will open after Frieze on February 27 at Regen Projects. Lawrence Weiner and I will be sharing the gallery with two solo shows in conversation. The exhibition is titled “Rhetorical Landscapes” and includes images of swamps as landscapes and large monitor stop-motion political collages I’ve made.
My advice to people visiting Los Angeles for Frieze is to really allow yourself to explore.
—Catherine Opie
Artist
@csopie
