The highly anticipated LA Art Show, held in the LA Convention Center from Jan. 24 to Jan. 27, energized the massive crowds with its diverse collection of images. Now in its eighteenth year, the show can boast of being the longest running fair for contemporary, modern, historic and traditional art in all of the U.S.
For this year's featured exhibition, the LA Art Show presented Letters from Los Angeles: Text In Southern California Art. This distinctive exhibit examines LA's association with text in the visual arts and creatively explores how LA's very identity is significantly defined by typography.
Examples of the power of LA text range from the iconic Hollywood sign to the numerous classic LA film studio logos that are embedded in the international public consciousness. LA's distinct relationship and identification with text is successfully reflected in the carefully chosen artworks displayed in the exhibit.
Letters from Los Angeles highlights more than thirty LA artists who uniquely incorporate elements of text into their work. These artists include Ed Ruscha, Wallace Berman, Hans Burkhardt, Alexis Smith, Mark Licari, Corita Kent, Ed Moses, Alexandra Grant, and more.
Seeing this conceptually cohesive collection of art, the viewer observes that each of the individual artists applies the words, letters, and numerals into the specific compositions in unique ways. The exhibit's overall effect is that it provides the audience with a deeper appreciation of the extensive variety of brilliant LA art that utilizes typography in intriguing and innovative forms.
Conceived and curated by Jack Rutberg, in association with Aldis Browne, Letters from Los Angeles formed a great topic for a panel discussion at the fair. This subject, no doubt, will continue to expand as exciting conversations and ideas emerge.
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