Christie’s has partnered with Desert X — the contemporary art exhibition held in locations around the Coachella Valley in Southern California. Occurring every two years, the inaugural Desert X was in 2017 and returns March 4.
The auction house is presenting an exhibition comprised of work by California-based artists who have or will be featured in Desert X, which is open until March 10. Held at its Beverly Hills gallery space (336 North Camden Drive), participating artists include Doug Aitken, Lita Albuquerque, Nancy Baker Cahill, Jennifer Bolande, Will Boone, Gisela Colón, Jim Denevan, Sherin Guirguis, Matt Johnson, Mary Kelly, Sterling Ruby, Gary Simmons, Phillip K. Smith 3rd and Kim Stringfellow.
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WWD asked three of the artists: What is Los Angeles bringing to the art world today?
Albuquerque, born in Santa Monica, is an installation artist, painter and sculptor. After studying at the University of California, Los Angeles and Otis College of Art and Design, the 77-year-old rose to fame in the ’70s during the Light and Space movement. Colón, 56, was born in Canada and grew up in Puerto Rico, where she graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a bachelor of arts degree in economics. She moved to L.A. in 1987 to attend the Southwestern University School of Law, where she received a Juris Doctor degree. Known for her luminous sculptures, and creator of “organic minimalism,” she continues to live and work in L.A. And Cahill, 53, is a new media artist working in augmented and virtual reality. Born in Massachusetts, she received a B.A. in art from Williams College before relocating to L.A.
Courtesy of the artist/JOSHUA WHITE/JWPicture
“L.A. has energy, excitement, and the feeling that we are at the edge of the continent,” says Albuquerque. “No city in the world has a mix of cultures in the way we do, no city of this size is still growing into what it is going to be — that’s Los Angeles, and that is why the art world is coming here. It is about the future.”
“Coming from Puerto Rico, a small island in the Caribbean, Los Angeles represents total freedom — a boundless sense of reinvention,” offers Colón. “Its endless horizontal land and openness to constantly rebirthing ‘the new,’ gives me carte blanche to imagine brave new worlds. Los Angeles is ‘the city of the future.’ Its raw energy is fuel for the creative mind, and its connection to the sublime nurtures the soul.”
“I’m unapologetically biased, of course, but in my opinion Los Angeles brings so many refreshing forces to bear; unbridled creative innovation, which has always been a hallmark of the city, an insistence on grounding much of the work in social concerns, overlapping and interconnected creative ecosystems and interdisciplinary practices — all of which support each other in a variety of contexts, a deep concern with inclusion, and a curiosity about great ideas,” said Cahill.