LA Art Show

The Most Comprehensive International Contemporary Art Show in America

The 25th Annual LA Art Show, the most comprehensive international contemporary art show in America, will officially kick-off the city’s art season at the Los Angeles Convention Center on February 5, 2020. This year will be the largest lineup of art and programming in the city’s history, with the LA Art Show leading the way.

For the 2020 edition of the fair, the LA Art Show will be premiering the European Pavilion, a brand new programming section comprised of contemporary European galleries, with an emphasis on exhibitors and artists from Spain, Italy, and the UK. The pavilion will be a celebration of the profound influence that European art has had on the world, with participating galleries curating exhibits that highlight the various movements and stylistic developments that have defined much of Western art. Within this new section will be a special exhibit showcasing Catalan artists from 1900 to present, offering a glimpse into the modern art history of the region.

The 2020 edition of the European Pavilion will shine a spotlight on the Catalan Modernism Movement, which was an avenue for Catalonia to set itself apart from the rest of Spain and establish a form of independence. The Movement is stylistically characterized by motifs, shapes, colors and concepts inspired by nature, with the artists adapting physical shapes from nature and using natural light, colors and symbolism throughout their work. “Throughout all of world history, many major political and cultural movements were originated and seen through by the influence of artists, capturing the feelings of the collective and making them tangible” says LA Art Show producer Kim Martindale. “The Catalan Modernism Movement is one of the most powerful contemporary examples of this, and we are thrilled to highlight this movement with this year’s programming.” There are over a dozen galleries confirmed so far for the European Pavilion. 

Since its inception, the LA Art Show has spear-headed the rise of the city as a world-class art destination. In 2009, the convention was named as the anchor event of Los Angeles Arts Month by the City of Los Angeles, and its move to the LA Convention Center is largely credited for instigating the revival of DTLA. Over the course of its 25 years, the show has also showcased some of the most talked-about exhibitions and performances in the world. In 2010, LA Art Show launched street art into the mainstream with an exhibition featuring live painting by legends like Retna and Mear One. In 2014, LAAS premiered Venice Biennale artist Zhang Yu’s “Fingerprints” exhibition before showcasing works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

More recent editions of the LA Art Show have exhibited Lluis Barba’s “Traveller in Time: The Fragility of the Historical Memory and Political Powers,” Raphael Montañez Ortiz’ couch destruction performance, Eugenia Vargas Pereira’s “Talking Head Transmitter,” and more. “For 25 years, LA Art Show has been raising the profile of the LA art scene, as well as bringing more and more compelling art to our market,” says LA Art Show producer Kim Martindale. “I’m excited by the clear impact this has had on our city and looking forward to expanding the show even further.”

The LA Art Show creates one of the largest international art fairs in the United States, providing an exciting, immersive, insider art experience to sponsors, their select guests and VIP clients. The show attracts an elite roster of national and international galleries, acclaimed artists, highly regarded curators, architects, design professionals, along with discerning collectors. This innovative, exceptional cultural environment attracts executives and board members of Southern California businesses, state, county, and municipal government representatives, as well as leaders of the region’s cultural institutions. Attendees are trendsetters, influencers and alpha consumers, who seek and demand the newest and the best in all areas of their lives—art, design, food, technology and travel being specific passion points

Come celebrate not only 25 years of explosive growth for the LA Art Show, but the new era of the Los Angeles art community! The eclectic exhibition has outgrown three venues in its 25-year history, before finally finding a home in the LA Convention Center. 

Today, booths from more than 100 galleries from 18 countries—some from as far away as Spain and Japan—sprawl out over the Center's 260,000 square feet of exhibition space, filling it with modern and contemporary art in a variety of mediums. 

Its new European Pavilion celebrates the profound influence the art movements of artists from Spain, Italy, and the UK have had on the world, while DIVERSEartLA returns once again with local institutions such as LACMA and The Broad.