The Santa Monica Post Office Art Fair debuts as an innovative satellite fair coinciding with Frieze Los Angeles.
This new event will bring together 26 exhibitors in an Art Deco former post office building located in downtown Santa Monica, just a short drive from Frieze’s venue at Santa Monica Airport.
A landmark venue for an innovative fair
The fair’s venue, situated on the far west side of the city, is distanced from major museums and gallery districts in Los Angeles. However, its proximity to Santa Monica Airport, just an 11-minute drive away, makes it a strategic and accessible location.
Dates and featured participants
Running from February 20 to 22, the fair will feature an inaugural lineup of 22 galleries and four project spaces. Notable international exhibitors include Sprüth Magers and Tanya Leighton Gallery, alongside prominent Los Angeles and New York galleries such as Michael Benevento, Chris Sharp Gallery, PPOW, and Theta. Emerging spaces from Toronto, Tokyo, San Francisco, and Milan will also participate.
Format and presentations
The fair breaks away from the traditional booth format, opting for an open-plan layout. Many galleries will showcase solo exhibitions. Sprüth Magers will present works by the late artist Kaari Upson, while Theta will feature pieces by Pictures Generation artist Nancy Dwyer. Dallas’s Tureen gallery will showcase paintings by Lula Broglio.
An alternative vision in the fair landscape
Chris Sharp, founder of the fair and owner of the eponymous Los Angeles gallery, modeled this event on a boutique expo he previously organized in Paris during Art Basel. “The fair landscape has gotten really complicated,” Sharp told Artnews. “The fee structure [of larger fairs] is somewhat prohibitive, and I wanted to create an alternative to that.”
A key event in the art calendar
The Santa Monica Post Office Art Fair promises to establish itself as a must-attend event in Los Angeles’ art calendar, offering an innovative and accessible experience for galleries, artists, and collectors.
