Last week, the international art crowd arrived from near and far for Paris' Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain (FIAC). Art fairs can often be a rather dull enterprise with long days spent inside window-less convention halls and a steady stream of mostly average and sometimes engaging art. But this fair was...

The contemporary art world: a multi-faceted universe where noisy distractions like Gallery Girls, glitzy celebrity-ridden parties and prima dona antics co-exist with thoughtful individuals who seek to enrich the world through...

One of the best things about contemporary art is the multitude of venues in which it can be admired, considered and observed. Museums, foundations and non-profits provide an ever-changing context and framework for the discourse on art.

We are all familiar with...

Last week, I unveiled my most recent curatorial project on view at one of my favorite exhibition spaces, Marine Salon in Venice, Calif. This show, which features work by a group of young and emerging artists displayed within a domestic setting, epitomizes the mission behind my column...

As you wind your way through a labyrinth of dark hallways, works of art pop up into your peripheral vision, neon sculptures punctuate the space and haunting voices narrate enigmatic short films revealing strange stone monsters and anxious views from a...

I recently rediscovered Paris, one of my hometowns. I explored the city's contemporary art scene and delved into its galleries, non-profits and museums. What I found was an open and welcoming community enthused to have a dialogue with people from diverse creative...

LA-based artist Dawn Kasper has been receiving attention for "This Could Be Something If I Let It," her studio-within-a-museum installation at this year's Whitney Biennal. The exhibition is up for just one more week so this is the last chance to view a performance that stands out as one of...

Francesca Gabbiani's art is a feast for the eyes. In her latest collage-based series, she creates fantastical worlds that are both alarming and alluring. Several of the works represent tree houses that seem to float in the ether -- tree houses imbued with...

I first saw Hayv Kahraman's paintings at Art Dubai in 2009 and happened to meet her that same day at the art fair's opening reception. It wasn't until a few days later that I realized this young Iraqi woman...

Born in Egypt and based in Los Angeles, Sherin Guirguis' work is as much informed by her Eastern roots as it is by Western influences. This is exemplified by her use of Middle Eastern Mashrebiya patterns punctuated by a...

Asad Faulwell's painterly style draws from traditional Islamic art but his treatment of the canvas and the subject matter is rooted in a contemporary context. Faulwell looks to his Iranian heritage, invoking Middle Eastern history and motifs. The decorative patterning of Persian carpets, Islamic...

I stopped by Rosson Crow's studio a few weeks ago as she put the finishing touches on a new series of paintings for her upcoming solo show at Honor Fraser. Born in Texas, Rosson got her MFA from Yale and did a residency at...

After Harvard Law School, Brian Wills realized art, and only art, would lead him to a happy and fulfilling existence. And so, he...

Last week, I attended the press preview for the exhibition Rodarte: Fra Angelico Collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). This intimate affair was attended by about a dozen members of the press and consisted of a conversation between...

Each December, the art world heads to Miami for the international art fair Art Basel Miami Beach. The goal of this 4-day extravaganza is ostensibly to buy, look, talk and...

This week, I decided to take the visit out of the studio and into the gallery. Given the title of this series, this is no ordinary gallery visit. I spent some time with artist Mary Anna Pomonis and her gallery representation, Anne...

Santa Barbara-based mixed-media artist Stephanie Dotson looks to drugs and rugs for inspiration. Rugs can be considered a bit dull while drugs are anything but. Combine them and you have an intriguing and unexpected work of art. Stephanie's work often lives in that moment of tension where opposites pull in...

I first saw Jennifer West's work at Art Basel in 2008 and was intrigued. Her edgy West coast rock 'n roll vibe was refreshing, particularly in that context. And her use of film is fascinating: sometimes the celluloid surface is a support to which she applies different materials (like rocks,...

Artist Frohawk Two Feathers has a gift. In his paintings and illustrations, he weaves a story that keeps his audience riveted and on their toes. Frangland? Is that a tiny forgotten island in the Caribbean? What about Batavia? That's a little country...

When Los Angeles painter Stephanie Pryor stepped away from abstraction, she took a gamble with her career. After experiencing success as an abstract painter, with solo shows in LA, Milan and New York, she acted on instinct and began experimenting with the figurative. She...