Artist Jeff Gillette’s Reimagined Dismayland Welcomes Visitors To Littletopia At The LA Art Show January 27-31
Littletopia was conceived by Noah Antieau, of Red Truck Gallery, as a way to showcase a diverse but congruous collection of galleries within the LA Art Show. Most of the art sold under the Littletopia arch tells a story, rich in detail emphasizing masterful technique and creativity. “If imagination counts for anything in art, Littletopia is Mecca” states Greg Escalante, this years co-curator. The 2016 edition of Littletopia at the LA Art Show will feature the following galleries: Antler Gallery, Artists Republic 4 Tomorrow, Coagula Curatorial, Copro Gallery, Daniel Rolnik Gallery, Gauntlet Gallery, Gregorio Escalante Gallery, Galeria Madhaus, Paradigm Gallery + Studio, Red Truck Gallery, Thinkspace and Think Tank.
“Los Angeles is the next art capital of the world, and Littletopia is the beginning,” states Greg Escalante. “The LA Art Show is the first art fair to dedicate a section to this type of art, a form that was born in and iconic to Los Angeles. This is art for arts sake.”
Visitors will enter Littletopia through an installation by artist Jeff Gillette, known for his Dismaland collaboration with Banksy. Desert Debris Dismaland Castle at Littletopia is the artist’s reimagined homage to capitalism. “To me, it’s symbolic. Disneyland is anything you want to attribute to it – the American way or Western culture or capitalism or childhood, but mostly it’s an attractive graphic to me,” states Gillette. (image above: Jeff Gillette rendering of Dismaland entryway to Littletopia at the LA Art Show).
Jeff Gillette’s unique entryway sets the tone for Littletopia. Curated to include the irreverent, shocking, humorous and titillating, Littletopia challenges the conventions of the reigning art establishment, with an emphasis on accessible communication instead of undecipherable conceptualization. Visitors to Littletopia are left wondering “How in the world did they come up with that?,” instead of “I could do that.”
This is art with a dramatic narrative and a plot twist, compelling at first glance and mesmerizing on further inspection. In Littletopia the expertise and thought process of the artist is displayed on the canvas or pedestal, independent of a written statement and open to interpretation by the viewer. (image left: Kazuhiro Tsuji, Frida Kahlo, Hyper Realistic Sculpture Courtesy of Copro Gallery).
Lifetime Achievement Award Presentation for Robert Williams: Thursday, January 28 at 6:00pm
Littletopia will honor Robert Williams, artist, founder of Juxtapoz magazine and pioneer in the pop surrealist art movement at an invitation-only award ceremony on Thursday, January 28th. A public after-party celebration will follow in the Chinatown district of Los Angeles. Participating galleries on Chung King Road include: Gregorio Escalante Gallery, Coagula Curatorial, Charlie James Gallery, Good Luck Gallery, Project Gallery and Chungking Studio. Live music will be provided by Jimmy Psycho Experience and VanJam featuring Bill Barminski. Sponsors include Juxtapoz Magazine and Lagunitas Beer.
Williams has had an enormous impact on the art world through his pioneering work but also through Juxtapoz, the populist art magazine he co-founded in 1994.
VIP Collector Preview with Greg Escalante, Co-Curator of Littletopia: Wednesday, January 27th :
Greg Escalante, co-curator of Littletopia will host a VIP Collector Preview on Wednesday, January 27th. Invitation only, the preview will present a first-look at the section.
The LA Art Show is the first art fair to devote a section to pop surrealist art with the launch of Littletopia in 2014. Founded by Noah Antieau, in conjunction with the LA Art Show Littletopia is designed to create an atmosphere for non-mainstream contemporary art lovers. The section has received accolades from national and regional media including: The LA Times, Huffington Post, Hi-Fructose, Juxtapoz, KCET, Los Angeles Magazine, LA Daily News, LA Weekly and the Art Newspaper described it as ‘a super cool section of the LA Art Show, casual, inviting and full of sexy, disturbing, dark and playful art.”
In recent years, the LA Art Show has become the most internationally diverse art platform in the Western world, bringing in the largest groupings of Korean, Chinese and Japanese galleries outside of Asia. Beginning in 2010, the Show has actively developed its international gallery offerings to provide collectors with a unique opportunity, to spot international trends and zeitgeist through art, a medium that has the ability to transcend language.
The LA Art Show takes place from January 27-31, 2016 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, West Hall A 1201 South Figueroa Street, 90015. For additional information, visit www.laartshow.com. General admission to the LA Art Show is $20
