Thursday, August 27, 2009

The First Malibu Annual Contemporary Art Fair

The Malibu Annual is a gallery organized Contemporary Art Fair taking place August 28 - 30 at The Malibu Country Mart.


August 28 - 30, 2009
HOURS:
Opening Reception, Friday 28, 7 - 10 pm
Saturday 29, 12 - 8 pm
Sunday 30, 12 - 6 pm
Free and open to the public.


23410 Civic Center Way #17
Malibu, CA 90265
Click Here For Map

Conceived by John Knuth of Circus Gallery and organized with Katie Brennan of Sister and Parker Jones of Parker Jones.




Los Angeles Times Article

The Malibu Contemporary Art Fair: Galleries take art to where the money lives

Circus Gallery, Sister and Parker Jones are among the galleries transporting wares to the coast.

Artist Steven Bankhead, right, with his assistant Russell George paint sections of the floor in preparation for the Malibu Annual Contemporary Art Fair.

Artist Steven Bankhead, right, with his assistant Russell George paint sections of the floor in preparation for the Malibu Annual Contemporary Art Fair. (Ken Hively, Los Angeles Times / August 25, 2009)


It's a typical weekday afternoon at the Malibu Country Mart. The weather is perfect. Suntanned women stroll through Henry Beguelin, Madison and Morgane le Fay. Young mothers cluster around the counter at 98% Perfect, buying designer swimwear and shoes for 5-year-olds who would rather be somewhere else. Stylishly scruffy men tend to their BlackBerrys and laptops on the terrace of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

But on the second floor of a Spanish-style building on one side of the mall, a different kind of action is underway. The proprietors of seven edgy galleries in Chinatown and Hollywood are turning a former high school for troubled kids into the first Malibu Annual Contemporary Art Fair, opening tonight and running through Sunday afternoon.

What are the art dealers thinking? When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping for art in Malibu?

Welcome to the "leaner, meaner, recession-proof art fair," as participants call it.

The tiny, offbeat event is the brainchild of John Knuth, the director of Circus Gallery, who organized the fair with Kathryn Brennan of Sister and Parker Jones, whose gallery bears his name. Instead of wallowing in the August doldrums of a brutal economy and feeling left out of the super-sized, painfully expensive fairs that dot the globe, Knuth decided to round up a few friends and spend a low-budget weekend at the high end of the beach.

"I wanted to try uncharted territory where it's fun and there is a different demographic, where people buy houses," he says. "I called Realtors and the Malibu Country Mart and told them I was looking for a space to do an art fair. I said we would bring a different group of people, young professionals, a hip crowd, into their community."

It didn't take long for Stu McNelis, who manages the Malibu Country Mart, to offer Knuth the vacant space.

"Malibu is conservative," McNelis says, "but there is a faction that wants this to happen. This may be the start of something good."

With a few days to go before the opening, Circus, Sister, Parker Jones and each of the other galleries -- China Art Objects,Chung King Projects,the Company and Eighth Veil -- has commandeered a former classroom or office as a temporary showcase. The school furniture is gone. So is most of the garish plaid carpet, and the walls have a fresh coat of white paint.

Some of the art has yet to arrive, but Circus and the Company are bustling. Artist Alexander May and an assistant haul a who-knows-how-heavy sculpture up an exterior flight of stairs, through a doorway, around a corner and down a few more steps to the center of the Company's room.

Lying on its side on the splotchy gray concrete, the white cylindrical form looks like it might have been part of the building. But then May coils a length of white nylon rope into a saddle-like shape on the upper contour and the piece begins to evoke thoughts of elegant horses and precariously balanced riders.

A few feet away, Annie Wharton and Anat Ebgi, who run the gallery, figure out where to place the other artists' paintings, photographs and videos. After four tries, they hoist a large photographic "Vampire Portrait" by Jen DeNike into place.

Across the hall, the weekend version of Circus is shaping up. Large works by Jason Yates and Justin Hansch fill two walls and smaller pieces line shelves. Artist Steven Bankhead covers the floor with giant paper stencils and rolls black and white paint over exposed concrete. The roughly rectangular painted shapes correspond to words in a framed artwork containing a French phrase that Bankhead translates as "under the cobblestones, the beach." The connection to Malibu may be obvious, but that the message comes from a student uprising in Paris also ties it to the site of the fair, he says.

What the public makes of all this remains to be seen. But Knuth is already planning the next Malibu Annual. The same building won't be available, but he has some leads.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-malibu28-2009aug28,0,3992089.story

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Malibu Annual on Artnet.com

* The 1st Annual Malibu Annual Contemporary Art Fair, Aug. 28-30, 2009, at the Malibu Country Mart. Seven young-in-spirit Los Angeles galleries take one last opportunity to head to the beach, or at least to a former public school, where each gallery presents works in a classroom. Participants are China Art Objects, Chung King Projects, Circus Gallery, The Company, Eighth Veil, Parker Jones and Sister. For more info, and a schedule of performances and video screenings, see www.malibuannual.com

http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/artnetnews/hawaii-arts-alliance-decries-cuts8-25-09.asp

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Malibu Annual on Flavor Pill

Seven Los Angeles-based contemporary art galleries spread their wings and cruise with the Malibu seagulls for the inaugural edition of a three-day art fair highlighting LA. Buzz galleries China Art Objects, Chung King Project, Circus Gallery, The Company, Eighth Veil, Parker Jones, and *sister will be participating, showing the work of more than 40 national and international artists. Ditching the trade-fair convention center booth-maze vibe in favor of a return to the quirkier days of hotel fairs, the galleries occupy classrooms and other curious spaces at the former high school, Malibu Country Mart. As an added bonus, the fair includes specially-made site-responsive works, performances, and video installations.

– Alexx Shaw

http://flavorpill.com/losangeles/events/2009/8/28/first-annual-malibu-contemporary-art-fair

Monday, August 17, 2009

Malibu Annual on Lipsticktracez.com

Malibu Contemporary Art fair Aug.28-30

The First MALIBU ANNUAL
Contemporary Art Fair
malibuannual.com
dcstpfzr_47gdcq4vg7_b.jpeg

Malibu, CA - August 12, 2009: Gallery-organized fair featuring work by internationally exhibiting artists to be held at the Malibu Country Mart August 28 - 30, 2009.

Seven Los Angeles-based contemporary art galleries are going to the beach! China Art Objects, Chung King Projects, Circus Gallery, The Company, Eighth Veil, Parker Jones, and Sister are pleased to announce the first Malibu Annual Contemporary Art Fair.

Taking place at the Malibu Country Mart from August 28th to 30th, the Malibu Annual brings together 7 of the most exciting contemporary galleries in LA for an art fair the likes of which have not been seen in Malibu. This gallery-initiated special event brings fresh energy to the idea of the contemporary art fair, and will showcase the work of over 40 internationally exhibiting artists. Free and open to the public, the Malibu Annual will premiere for one weekend in the heart of Malibu at the Malibu Country Mart.

It's fitting that this art fair will transpire during the hottest part of the summer in a city that draws millions of visitors to its beaches to cool off and relax. With artists working in a variety of media including painting, photography, sculpture, video, drawing, and installation, the Malibu Annual will offer the public a glimpse of Southern California's freshest galleries. Held in a 4,000 square foot space that once housed a local reform school, each participating gallery will commandeer and re-invent a classroom, presenting works from both gallery-represented artists as well as special projects made specifically for the Malibu Annual. In addition, the Malibu Annual will feature performance art projects and video screenings for fair visitors to enjoy. A schedule of performances will be posted on the website, www.malibuannual.com.

Schedule:
Preview Party: Friday, August 28, 7-10pm
Saturday, August 29, 12-8pm
Sunday, August 30, 12-6pm

Location:
Malibu Country Mart
3835 Cross Creek Rd
Malibu, California 90265

Participating Galleries:
China Art Objects
Chung King Projects
Circus Gallery
The Company
Eighth Veil
Parker Jones
Sister

http://www.lipsticktracez.com/guest/2009/08/malibu-contemporary-art-fair-a.php

Malibu Annual on The Daily Beast

MALIBU ART FAIR

The surfing and resort city of Malibu, California is getting its first contemporary art fair at the end of the month. The Malibu Annual, which takes place at the Malibu Country Mart August 28-30, offers recent work from seven of LA’s edgiest galleries. Chinatown's Chung King Project, China Art Objects, Parker Jones, Sister and the Company join Hollywood's Circus Gallery and Eighth Veil to present installations and individual works by some 40 artists.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsmaker/art-and-photography/

Friday, August 14, 2009

Malibu Surfside News Article

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

First Annual Contemporary Art Fair Comes to Malibu Country Mart

A little bit of the city comes to the country when the first Malibu Annual Contemporary Art Fair comes to the Malibu Country Mart on August 28-30. Seven Los Angeles-based contemporary art galleries are going to the beach when they show their work at the art fair.
China Art Objects, Chung King Projects, Circus Gallery, The Company, Eighth Veil, Parker Jones and Sister are participating.
The art fair will showcase the work of over 40 internationally exhibiting artists. The event is free and open to the public.
The event will premiere for one weekend in the heart of Malibu and folks are insisting it is no exaggeration to say the fair is bringing some of the most exciting contemporary galleries in LA to the beach for an art affair “the likes of which have not been seen in Malibu” a press release stated.
John Kruth of Circus Gallery, who is organizing the event, said he had come up with the idea for a different kind of program.
Kruth explained the gallery scene in LA in August is “notoriously slow,” and this is sort of a way to “take the show on the road.”
The gallery owner also said it is a “good excuse” for the artists and the other gallery owners to “get out of town.”
“It is a grassroots marketing campaign,” Kruth said, adding he drove around Malibu looking for empty retail spaces, which he noted were aplenty, and came upon the empty classrooms at the Malibu Country Mart.
Michael Koss, who owns the Malibu Country Mart, said he was willing to contribute the space. “We thought it would be a nice community event. We encourage community activities at the Malibu Country Mart. It is all about the community,” he said.
The art fair will be held in a 4000-square-foot space that once housed a high school. Each participating gallery “will commandeer and re-invent a classroom,” and present works both from gallery-represented artists and special projects made specifically for the Malibu festival.
The artists work in a variety of media (painting, photography, sculpture, video, drawing and installation), which will give the public a glimpse of some of Southern California's freshest galleries, Kruth says.
The event also will feature performance art projects and video screenings for visitors. A schedule will be posted on the website www.malibuannual.com.
A preview party takes place on Friday, Aug. 28, from 7 to 10 p.m. The fair is scheduled for Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 29, noon to 6 p.m.
posted by MalibuSurfsideNews @ 4:17 PM