Visitors to this year’s edition of Spring/Break will find a sprawling setting filled with paintings—an unusual experience at a fair known for its installations and performances. Nestled in the Culver City neighborhood of LA, more than 60 exhibitors came together under the theme “interior/exterior,” which was purposefully left as vague as it sounds.
While many works explored a variety of interesting concepts, many booths fell flat and seemed relatively unimpressive; there were, however, a few standouts.
-
Kay Seohyung Lee
Hell is the throughline of Kay Seohyung Lee’s canvases on display in both an artist’s spotlight and Yiwei Gallery. The South Korean–born artist draws inspiration from the many levels of hell in Korean mythology. While some paintings, like Multi-kill Flail, depict delicate instruments of torture, others capture the feeling of absolute chaos. Chock full of faceless female figures collapsed onto a table full of food, Brunch, for instance, captures this sentiment with a Bosch–inspired perspective. Lee’s work is delicate, yet measured and incredibly intricate, somehow plunging the viewer into an internal world and keeping an arm’s-length distance.
-
Zoumboulakis Gallery
Image Credit: Photo Francesca Aton One of the few truly immersive experiences at the fair came by way of an artistic trio comprised of Stefanos Rokos, Anna Krieps, and Vicky Krieps. Visitors were encouraged to put on a headset with angsty music written by Vicky and walk through a maze-like structure that appeared to be crumbling around them. Hung on the purposefully dingy walls were Rokos’ mixed-medium works which appear like faded memories—light paint hues and line drawings coming together and splitting apart on the paper. Every time one turned a corner, the remnants of a busted moment, including a chandelier crashed to the floor, was splayed out. It ended with an offering, votive candles laid on the floor in front of a piece resembling Jesus’ mother Mary. The installation drew from the complicated characters Vicky played as an actress.
-
If I Know 3 Languages Then I Can Laugh 3 Times as Much
Image Credit: Photo Francesca Aton Don’t miss the opportunity to get slapped (yes, slapped!) at the fair. Jiwon Rhie’s A Familiar Sting #2 offered such a chance. Though it won’t leave a mark, the piece offered moments of levity. Rhie also presented a trio of bras printed with personal memories, like a denied visa card, as well as see-through mirrored plexiglas blinds that moved with those around it. This booth, curated by Claire Foussard, considers memories related to trauma. Through delicate line work printed on fragile materials like glass and silk, Angelica Yudasto imprinted experiences such as sand mounds from Miami Beach, where her family immigrated when she was a child. Personal traumas and anxieties play out in similarly amorphous bodies that come together—a hand reaching outward, a body sprawled—only to trail off.
-
Storm the Capitol
Image Credit: Photo Francesca Aton As the US enters an election year, one art installation meets interactive game brought attendees back to the January 6th capitol riot. For the fair, sibling duo Z and Walker Behl immersed participants in the life-sized game board Storm the Capitol. Therein, fairgoers could play as Karens and Proud Boys moving through the Capitol building to discover hostages and related ephemera. The first player to reach former president Donald Trump’s helicopter with a hostage wins. Limited editions of the game were on sale at the fair. The interactive art game reduces American politics to mere farce.