Although a blue sky flashed through the clouds only in spurts and a chill breeze led some of the hippie-flashbacking art-seekers to cover up with parkas, the uniquely pleasant Paramount Ranch art fair opened on Saturday to a grateful crowd, which happily ranged across the former Western film set in search of the emergent art hiding in the shadows, like surly gunslingers. As always, the gallery lineup—assembled by the artist/gallerists Liz Craft and Pentti Monkkonen along with Los Angeles's Freedman Fitzpatrick gallery—was a choice mix of locals and adventurous dealers from Shanghai, Fukushima, and elsewhere abroad, and the prices were wonderfully low. So low, in fact, with some works priced in the hundreds, that the event has more the feel of a county fair than a Golden State Liste—a passion project that, sadly, may end this year, since the increasingly successful founders have become too busy with more serious endeavors.
Valedictory edition or not, and regardless of the weather forcast that called for downpours on the fair's second day (an unprecedented event at the event that had some dealers worried about leaks), the blissed-out throngs on Saturday seemed to have a blast, and the dealers too. Someone should definitely bring back this fair, if only to make sure that somewhere, sometime, buying and selling art can feel fresh and fun, far away from the market.
Chuck Nanny at Jenny's (Los Angeles)
Mark A. Rodriguez at Park View (Los Angeles)
Sara Clendening at the Green Gallery (Milwaukee)
Paul Monteiro at Mendes Wood (Sao Paulo)
A performance by Renaud Jerez and Ligia Lewis at Fahrenheit (Los Angeles)
Camille Henrot at König Galerie (Berlin)
Michaela Meise at König Galerie (Berlin)
Julie Beaufils at Overduin and Co. (Los Angeles)
Jill Mulleady at Dépendance (Brussels)
UNITED BROTHERS with Miwako Arakawa at Green Tea Gallery (Fukushima)
Danny McDonald at Maccarone (New York and Los Angles)
Liao Guohe at BANK/MABSOCIETY (Shanghai)
Max Brand at Off Vendome (Dusseldorf and New York)
Monique Mouton at Bridget Donahue (New York)
Henry Taylor's portrait of Ry Rocklen at Bobby Jesus (Los Angeles)
Sharon Lockhart at Bobby Jesus (Los Angeles)
Silke Otto-Knapp at Bobby Jesus (Los Angeles)
Frances Stark at Bobby Jesus (Los Angeles)
Keiichi Tanaami at Karma International (Long Beach)
E’Wao Kagoshima at Algus Greenspon (New York)
James Hoff at Supportico Lopez (Berlin)
Nahuel Vecino at Del Vaz Projects (West L.A.)
Eirik Senje at 1857 (Oslo)
Jannis Varelas at the Breeder (Athens)
Reba Maybury at Shoot the Lobster (New York)
Rainer Ganahl at Kai Matsumiya (New York)
Peter Eide at Freddy (Baltimore)
Jashin Friedrich at Freddy (Baltimore)
Puppies Puppies at Freddy (Baltimore)
Chloe Elizabeth Maratta at Centre For Style (Melbourne)
Bea Schlingelhoff at Corner Door (Paris and Los Angeles)
Sean Snyder at Chantal Crousel (Paris)
Paul McCarthy at the Box (Los Angeles)
