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L.A. Art Show: Historical & Traditional Contemporary

Katie Chen |
January 20, 2014 | 5:48 p.m. PST

Staff Reporter

The L.A. Art Show (photography provided by the L.A. Art Show)
The L.A. Art Show (photography provided by the L.A. Art Show)
Considering the fact that the 2013 L.A. Art Show was such a huge success- with extended show hours and more than $25 million in transactions, the 2014 L.A. Art Show had big shoes to fill. Like walking through a makeshift MET museum, this year’s show brought broken plexiglas, X3, and a lot of (tasteful) nudity - just to show some of the highlights.

The Historical and Traditional Collection of the art show juxtaposed next to the modern art revealed largely differing styles ideas, but the traditional art brought with it a historical story that the modern art could not tell in the same way. From a special Van Gogh exhibit that debuted in the U.S., five Van Gogh masterpieces from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, to the advertisement that out of it came Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Can,” the pictorial telling of history and the celebration of it was the essence of the art show altogether - a commemoration to art and culture.

Easily the most well-known artist shown at the art show was Vincent Van Gogh. The Van Gogh Museum showcased five of Van Gogh’s masterpieces. From his piece “Almond Blossom” to “Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds,” the cohesive five pieces embody the signature brushstrokes and tortured soul symbolism that Van Gogh is so famous for. In a letter to his brother concerning “Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds,” Van Gogh writes how the vast emptiness of the wheat field is supposed to represent loneliness and solitude. But, the promise of simplistic beauty that Van Gogh is also known for capturing is carried out in this collection with “Sunflowers” and “Almond Blossoms” with their fine details and close-up precision. 

With new, highly advanced technology, the exhibit is debuting identical Van Gogh masterpieces authenticated and produced by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in full three-dimensional detail that people can now purchase to put in their own homes.

Grimshaw's "The Dockside Liverpool at Night" (Katie Chen/Neon Tommy)
Grimshaw's "The Dockside Liverpool at Night" (Katie Chen/Neon Tommy)
Another great historical collection featured paintings by John Atkinson Grimshaw. His works showcased his incredible eye for the finest details of beautiful, simplistic scenes in Glasgow. His use of a muted color palate is solemn, yet astonishingly calm. One painting in particular, “The Dockside Liverpool at Night” looks simple from far away, but up close, the details are so sharp and little flicks of bright color from far away are revealed to be full-detailed lamp posts.

"Dockside" close-up of the detail. (Katie Chen/Neon Tommy)
"Dockside" close-up of the detail. (Katie Chen/Neon Tommy)

It’s truly impressive and Grimshaw has many more similar works, each painted slightly different to show the vast differences that come with each day and night.

From my perspective, the 2014 L.A. Art Show lived up to the hype of being the largest platform for traditional and contemporary art in the West. The Historical and Traditional Contemporary collection celebrated the complication and beauty that simplicity can bring, as well as the artists who continued to pave the way for modern and contemporary art to thrive today.

Reach Staff Reporter Katie Chen here. Follow her on Twitter here.



 

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