painting

Frieze Los Angeles

Ah, Frieze L.A. The raison d’être for all things art-related happening here in late February. The fair can be overstimulating, but it’s still important to traverse the maze of booths at Santa Monica Airport to acquaint oneself with the best art galleries the world has to offer from Feb. 26 to March 1. Karma’s booth will feature paintings from Ernie Barnes and Milton Avery Pace will stage a never-before-seen installation by James Turrell; Hoffman Donahue is presenting its first expanded program highlighting Martine Syms; David Kordansky Gallery is showing Sam Gilliam and Lauren Halsey; and Superposition will show Greg Ito in the Focus section, among many others. frieze.com

Frieze Party at Hauser & Wirth

On Feb. 23 Hauser & Wirth is throwing a party to celebrate new shows from artist Christina Quarles and collector Eileen Harris Norton.

(Mario de Lopez/Hauser & Wirth)

Hauser & Wirth’s exhibition opening parties are always the best place to run into approximately 60% of the people you know, and the outdoor setting makes it one of the few events in L.A. where you can rock a coat that would otherwise be relegated to the shadows of your closet. The one on Feb. 23 is in celebration of the gallery’s new shows from artist Christina Quarles and collector Eileen Harris Norton. hauserwirth.com

Silencio residency at the Edition

From Feb. 24-26, Silencio is landing in West Hollywood for a three-night residency.

(Billy Farrell/BFA.com)

The legendary Parisian nightlife institution is landing in West Hollywood for a three-night residency, Feb. 24-26, where the art, fashion and music worlds will collide for a night of dancing under Sunset at Edition’s ceiling of disco balls. Tuesday night is hosted by Whitewall Magazine, Wednesday night is hosted by LACMA Avant-Garde and Enzo Los Angeles and Thursday night has How Long Gone and Tom of Finland at the helm. sunsetatedition.com

Baile World

On Feb. 27, Baile World is throwing a party celebrating Black club music for Black History Month.

(Avery Davis)

Baile World is the brainchild of founder Courtney Hollinquest, a staple of L.A.’s nightlife scene known for centering POC femmes — both in terms of the audience she curates and the DJs she books. The party on Feb. 27 is a night celebrating Black club music for Black History Month, featuring sets from Kevin Saunderson (Detroit techno legend), SHEKDASH, DJ Nico, Tromac and CQUESTT herself. Pull up to bask in the glory of genres with Black roots: techno, house and ghettotech. Tickets range from $15 to $40. ra.co

Butter Fine Art Fair

Designed to spotlight established and emerging Black artists, Butter Fine Art Fair is making its L.A. debut this week.

(Butter Fine Art)

Butter, an art fair founded five years ago in Indianapolis, is making its inaugural debut in Los Angeles at Inglewood’s Hollywood Park, running from Feb. 26-March 1. Curated by Nakeyta Moore, Kimberly Drew and Butter co-founders Malina Simone and Alan Bacon, the fair is designed to spotlight L.A.’s established and emerging Black artists. In a rare move, 100% of artwork sales go directly to the artists, showing an emphasis on accessibility and equity. Artists on view include Mr. Wash, April Bey, Autumn Breon, Micaiah Carter and many others. butterartfair.com

Post-Fair

Edgar Ramirez Jale (from “Alameda Stones” series), 2026. House paint on cardboard, mounted on canvas 12 x 12 in 30.5 x 30.5 cm. Courtesy the artist and Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles.

(Moë Wakai)

The boutique alternative art fair founded last year by gallerist Chris Sharp is returning to its open-format venue in Santa Monica — a historic 1930s Art Deco post office (hence the name). It runs from Feb. 26-28, and features a strong list of solo presentations from galleries, including Bel Ami, CASTLE, Mariposa, Marta and others.

Felix Art Fair

Felix Art Fair booths reflect the breadth of L.A.’s art scene.

(Felix Art Fair)

The eighth edition of Felix Art Fair will take place, per usual, at the iconic Hollywood Roosevelt hotel from Feb. 26-March 1, with booths that reflect the breadth of L.A.’s art scene and a diverse collection of galleries more globally. Exhibitors from Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Milan, Seoul and London will have a presence, including ones from Chicago, Miami, Dallas, New York and our very own Los Angeles, of course. (The David Hockney pool in the center of the action is always a nice centerpiece too.) felixfair.com

Harmonia Rosales in ‘Beginnings’ at Getty Museum

“Portrait of Eve,” 2021. Harmonia Rosales (American, born 1984). Oil, gold leaf, and silver leaf on panel, 91.4 × 91.4 cm (36 × 36 in.) The Akil Family © Harmonia Rosales. Photo: Brad Kaye. L.2026.4

(The Getty Museum)

“Beginnings: The Story of Creation in the Middle Ages” explores how the biblical concept of Genesis has been interpreted and visualized across time, starting with artists making work during the Middle Ages. Harmonia Rosales’ Black figurative paintings combine Eurocentric artistic traditions with African diasporic cosmologies as a way to course-correct the historical erasure of Black images from classical narratives. In “Beginnings,” her contemporary works are in conversation with the Getty’s medieval illuminated manuscripts, creating a collision of past and present that broadens our understanding of origin and authorship. The exhibition runs through April 19. getty.edu

Sayre Gomez at David Kordansky

Sayre Gomez, “Family Haircuts,” 2025. Acrylic on canvas, 96 x 72 inches (243.8 x 182.9 cm).

(David Kordansky Gallery)

“Precious Moments,” is a solo show of new paintings, sculpture and video by Sayre Gomez, spanning all three of the gallery’s spaces. Gomez’s approach to observing urban life is authentic and impacted by the unreliability of memory. His large-scale, photorealistic paintings render L.A.’s visual language through tools like commercial photo retouching, Hollywood set painting and manual sign painting traditions, creating a unique commentary on image making and the city’s systems of communication. The exhibition runs through March 1. davidkordanskygallery.com

Lyndon J. Barrois Sr. at LACMA

Detail of “Fútballet,” 2018, by Lyndon J. Barrois Sr.

(Courtesy of Lyndon J. Barrois Sr)

Los Angeles-based, New Orleans-born artist and animator Lyndon J. Barrois Sr. brings action and a singular approach to art making to the museum with his solo exhibition, “Fûtbol Is Life: Animated Sportraits.” This visual history of the World Cup from 1930 to present day shows iconic moments from the sport staged with vivid detail, and is brought to life by Barrois’ miniature figures made from gum wrappers. In anticipation for the eight matches L.A. is hosting for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, this show offers a wide-ranging and carefully crafted survey on the breadth of cultural representation and identities that exist within the sport globally, and commentary on the nuanced political undertones of “the beautiful game.” The exhibition runs through July 12. lacma.org

Samella Lewis at Louis Stern Fine Arts

Samella Lewis (1923-2022). “Cleo,” 1996 Ed. 31/50 II lithograph 30 x 22 inches; 76.2 x 55.9 centimeters LSFA# 15092. ©Estate of Samella Lewis. Photo: Christian Nguyen.

(Louis Stern Fine Arts)

“The Work Is Never Finished: Prints, Drawings, and Paintings” unearths the prolific work of Samella Lewis (1923-2022), an artist, educator, activist, historian and curator. Lewis kept her own practice throughout her life, even as she worked for museums and universities, founded the Museum of African American Art in Los Angeles and launched the periodical, Black Art: An International Quarterly (later published as the International Review of African American Art). As a Black woman who grew up in the segregated South, she transmuted the prejudice her community faced into striking scenes of human connection, many of them sketched from memory and some rendered as linocuts. The exhibition runs through March 7. louissternfinearts.com

Takashi Murakami at Perrotin Los Angeles

Takashi Murakami, “Kitagawa Utamaro’s ‘Parody of an Imperial Carriage Scene’ Cherry Blossoms Dancing in the Air – SUPERFLAT,” 2025 – 2026. 235 x 463.8 cm. Acrylic, gold leaf and platinum leaf on canvas mounted on aluminum frame. ©︎2025-2026 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

(Perrotin)

A new solo exhibition by Takashi Murakami, the iconic founder of Japan’s postmodern Superflat movement, is on view at Perrotin: “Hark Back to Ukiyo-e: Tracing Superflat to Japonisme’s Genesis.” Inspired by a visit to Giverny, the village Claude Monet called home, Murakami explores ukiyo-e and Impressionism in 24 new paintings. They explore fashion, feminine sensuality, landscapes (“floating world pictures”) in a show that is as colorful as it is a nuanced commentary on how Japanese approaches to composition inspired European painters. The exhibition runs through March 14. perrotin.com

Ramsés Noriega at Marc Selwyn Fine Art

Ramsés Noriega, “La cantante de la muerte,” 1974. Acrylic on mat board, 27 1/4 x 20 inches (MSFA19775).

(Marc Selwyn Fine Art)

“Ramsés Noriega: De Sonora a Los Ángeles” includes works on paper produced by the artist, an early pioneer of the Chicano Art movement, between 1968 and 1989. A former migrant farm worker, Noriega immigrated to the United States from Sonora, Mexico, in the 1950s. He was a co-organizer of the 1970 Chicano Moratorium march in East L.A., one of the largest Mexican American anti-war demonstrations in U.S. history with an estimated 30,000 participants. Often employing caricature, distortion and symbolism to communicate anxiety and resistance, his works are personal and political, offering a critique of the systems that oppress people of color. Concurrent with this exhibition, Noriega’s work is also on view (through Feb. 28) at the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center in “Fragmentos Del Barrio: A 60 Year Retrospective,” which surveys six decades of the artist’s work and activism. The exhibition at Marc Selwyn Fine Art runs through March 14. marcselwynfineart.com

Zenobia Lee at Sea View

Zenobia Lee, “Aluminum Domino II,” 2026. Cast Aluminum, 15 x 8 x 1 in (38 x 20 1/3 x 2 1/2 cm). Zenobia Lee, “Aluminum Domino III,” 2026. Cast aluminium, 20 x 9 x 1 3/4 in (50 3/4 x 23 x 4 1/2 cm). Zenobia Lee, “Aluminum Domino I.” Cast aluminum, 15 x 8 x 1 in (38 x 20 1/3 x 2 1/2 cm).

(AVN)

“Démesuré” is the debut solo exhibition of sculptor Zenobia Lee, an extension of which will be presented by the gallery in a booth of works at Frieze Los Angeles. Objects like dominos and leaves, which figure into the history of Caribbean imperialism, are fashioned from steel and wood. At once, they confront the absurdity of the relationship between absence and presence, and subvert expectations through Lee’s striking approach to scale. The exhibition runs through March 28. sea-view.us

Ash Roberts at Francis Gallery

Ash Roberts, “November Ember” (2026). Framed: 184h × 123w cm. Acrylic, oil, oil stick, gold pigment on canvas.

(Erik Benjamins)

“The Year Room” is a collection of Ash Roberts’ delicate landscape paintings, which reveal a poetic understanding of the natural world and a soft yet embodied color palette. These works are Impressionistic, displaying washes of scenes featuring elements like lily pads and flowers, some of them incorporating gold leaf as an accent in reference to the Japanese kintsugi technique. The exhibition runs through April 18. francisgallery.com

Evan Nicole Brown is a Los Angeles-born writer, editor and journalist who covers the arts and culture. Her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, the Cut, Fast Company, Getty Magazine, the Hollywood Reporter, the New York Times, T Magazine and elsewhere. She is the managing editor of Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles and the founder of Group Chat, a conversation series and creative salon in L.A.