{"id":19903,"date":"2026-01-07T17:53:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T17:53:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/07\/what-to-expect-at-the-2026-la-art-show\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T17:53:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T17:53:49","slug":"what-to-expect-at-the-2026-la-art-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/07\/what-to-expect-at-the-2026-la-art-show\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Expect at the 2026 LA Art Show"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gail Descoeurs, Remember<\/em>, 2023; Oil on canvas, 18 \u00d7 36 in \/ 45.7 \u00d7 91.4 cm., brought by Rehs Contemporary Galleries. Courtesy the artist and Rehs Contemporary Galleries<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Los Angeles is diverse, LA Art Show director Kassandra Voyagis<\/a> tells Observer. \u201cYou have to have multiple different voices, different things, you have to have young galleries, young artists. You have to push the envelope with exhibits of things that haven\u2019t been seen before,\u201d she explains. \u201cThe beauty of the LA Art Show is that galleries can take risks; that\u2019s what makes L.A. stand apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Starting today, more than 90 galleries, museums and arts organizations from around the world have converged on L.A.\u2019s Convention Center for the 31st edition of the LA Art Show, which this year has no shortage of diverse voices. Featured exhibitions include \u201cElegant Freedom: Nature, Tradition, and the Human Spirit,\u201d works by artist Jinny Suh<\/a> that explore hanji, traditional Korean handmade paper from which the artist conjures chickens, birds and butterflies, symbols that explore themes of freedom and human connection. With \u201cIncluding You And Me,\u201d artist Moon Min<\/a> deploys metal, resin and mixed media to reflect on modern humanity in relation to technology. Bright, abstract paintings and vessels by Dr. Esther Mahlangu<\/a>, cultural ambassador of the Ndebele nation, will be presented by Art of Contemporary Africa. And Israeli artist Yigal Ozeri<\/a> offers a selection of photorealist portraits of women.<\/p>\n

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Dr. Esther Mahlangu\u2019s BMW Art Car. Enes Kucevic<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the fair situated just a stone\u2019s throw from Hollywood, visitors can expect to see celebrity buyers as well as practitioners. \u201cThere are a lot of people in the entertainment world who have become artists,\u201d Voyagis says. \u201cIt\u2019s an avenue, it\u2019s a creative outlet from acting to painting or drawing, so I get approached by a lot of celebrity artists and their galleries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sylvester Stallone<\/a>, for instance, has been painting since 1966, back when the future actor was a lad of 20. \u201cThe gallery walked me through the history and told me he started painting when he was a kid, before he started acting. And this was an escape for him from his household and where he grew up,\u201d Voyagis says, pointing out a diptych of his signature character, Rocky, entitled Male Pattern Badness<\/i>, priced at $2 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started selling these in June, and I\u2019ve sold 27 pieces in the last six months,\u201d Provident Fine Art gallerist Shawn David<\/a> says of Stallone\u2019s artwork. Another piece, Hercules O\u2019Clock<\/i>, priced at $1.2 million, references a pivotal moment in the actor\u2019s youth when in viewing a Steve Reeves<\/a> Hercules<\/i> film, he discovered a male role model that would influence him for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n

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Sylvester Stallone, Male Pattern Badness<\/em>, 1991. Oil on canvas 72 x 96 in., brought by Provident Fine Art. Courtesy the artist and Provident Fine Art<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cArt collectors in their forties and up, Sly fans and buyers from all over the world,\u201d is how David describes collectors of the actor\u2019s work. \u201cWe had somebody purchase a fairly large piece, sight unseen, as most of them have been, from French Polynesia. So, literally from all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not to be outdone, Paul Simonon<\/a>, former bassist of The Clash, will also be showing at the fair with London-based John Martin Gallery. \u201cThe moment I was old enough to ride a motorcycle, I got a Triumph, and a friend of mine, he had a Triumph. And we used to ride around a lot together in London, and this was during the Clash period,\u201d Simonon tells Observer, noting the inspiration behind the five works shown here, featuring leather jackets, gloves, motorcycles, cigarettes and helmets. All are drawn from his 2014 show at London\u2019s Institute of Contemporary Art, \u201cWot No Bike.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to know Lucien Freud<\/a> quite well,\u201d he recalls while discussing influences. The two met over cocktails in a bar one night and wound up talking about movies centered on artists, including one called Odd Man Out<\/i>, featuring an artist played by Robert Newton<\/a> whose father, Algernon Newton<\/a>, was often called the Canaletto of London. \u201cNewton turns out to be Lucien\u2019s friend. And he took me to his house, and on the table was a Rodin bronze.\u201d<\/p>\n

Artist, sculptor, musician, Simonon also happens to be on the cover of The Clash\u2019s London Calling<\/i> album, an iconic black and white image featuring him smashing his guitar on the stage at New York\u2019s Palladium in 1979.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember it very well.\u201d He smiles, recalling the moment. \u201cTo be honest, I just lost my temper. And when I lose my temper, I tend to destroy my own things. I don\u2019t take it out on people. It was a sporadic moment. It was Strummer and Mick Jones who said it\u2019s got to be on the cover.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Leon Morrocco, Gourdon in Late Autumn Light<\/em>, 2024. 162 x 172.5 cm., brought by John Martin Gallery. Courtesy the artist and John Martin Gallery<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

DIVERSEartLA, the fair\u2019s noncommercial platform curated by Marisa Caichiolo<\/a>, returns with \u201cThe Biennials, Art Institutions and Museums in the Contemporary Art Ecosystem,\u201d exploring how art evolves through biennials and museums, and how they serve as engines of creative innovation and cultural dialogue. Caichiolo, who will be co-curating Chile\u2019s pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, also curates the fair\u2019s new Latin American Pavilion, centered on themes of memory, migration and identity.<\/p>\n

For the art market, 2025 was a year of uncertainty, though auction houses like Christie\u2019s, Sotheby\u2019s and Phillips closed out the year with strong results<\/a>. Sotheby\u2019s finished with a $2.3 billion November week, including the $527.5 million sale of the Lauder Collection<\/a>, featuring Gustav Klimt<\/a>\u2019s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer<\/i>, which sold for $236.4 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe summer was difficult,\u201d Voyagis laments. \u201cI think the market is still cautious, but it\u2019s much better. The collector base here is under 40, which is really quite young. I think there\u2019s finally that market and excitement around the art world and collecting in L.A. The LA Art Show, this will be our 31st year. I think we survived through all of it because we represent L.A., and I appreciate that the Angelenos come out and support us every year. I want the show to be open to everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

More in art fairs, biennials and triennials<\/b><\/h3>\n

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