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Los Angeles is diverse, LA Art Show director Kassandra Voyagis tells the Observer. “You have to have many different voices, different things, you have to have new galleries, young artists. You have to push the envelope with images of things that have never been seen before,” he explained. “The beauty of the LA Art Show is that shows can be vulnerable; that’s what makes LA unique.”
Starting today, more than 90 galleries, museums and art organizations from around the world gathered at LA’s Convention Center for the 31st edition of the LA Art Show, which this year has no shortage of voices. Featured exhibits include “Beautiful Freedom: Nature, Culture, and the Human Spirit,” a work by artist Jinny Suh that explores hanji, a traditional Korean handmade paper in which the artist incorporates chickens, birds and butterflies, symbols that explore themes of freedom and human connection. With “Including You And Me,” singer Moon Min uses metal, resin and mixed media to depict modern humanity in relation to technology. Bright, abstract paintings and vessels by Doctor Esther Mahlangu, a cultural representative of the Ndebele tribe, will be presented by Art of Contemporary Africa. And Israeli artist Yigal Ozeri offers a selection of visual images of women.
Since the venue is located just a stone’s throw from Hollywood, visitors can expect to see famous buyers and operators. “There are many people in entertainment who have become musicians,” said Voyages. “It’s a way, it’s a creative way from acting to drawing or painting, so I’m influenced by a lot of famous artists and their galleries.”
Sylvester Stallone, for example, has been painting since 1966, back when the future actor was a 20-year-old boy. “The gallery took me through history and told me that he started painting when he was young, before he started acting. And this was his escape from his home, where he grew up,” said Voyages, pointing to the character of Rocky, which is his first signature. Negative Male Patternin the amount of two million dollars.
“I started selling them in June, and I’ve sold 27 pieces in the last six months,” said Provident Fine Art gallery artist Shawn David of Stallone’s artwork. Another clip, Hercules O’Clockworth $1.2 million, it refers to a key moment in the actor’s youth when he watched Steve Reeves. Hercules movie, he found a male role model that would influence him for the rest of his life.
“Art collectors in their forties and up, Sly fans and buyers from all over the world,” is how David describes collectors of the actor’s work. “We had someone who bought a large, invisible piece, as many of them did, from French Polynesia.
Not to be outdone, Paul Simonon, former bass player of The Clash, will also exhibit at the exhibition with the London-based John Martin Gallery. “When I was old enough to ride a motorcycle, I got a Triumph, and my friend, he had a Triumph. And we used to ride around a lot together in London, and this was during the Clash,” Simonon tells the Observer, noting the inspiration behind the five works shown here, which contain leather jackets, gloves, motorcycles and cigarettes. All taken from his 2014 exhibition at the London Institute of Contemporary Art, “Wot No Bike.”
“I knew Lucien Freud well,” he recalls when discussing influences. The two meet over cocktails at a bar one night and end up talking about movies about musicians, including one called Odd Man Outfeaturing a musician played by Robert Newton whose father, Algernon Newton, used to be called the Canaletto of London. “It turns out that Newton is a friend of Lucien. And he took me to his house, and on the table was a bronze of Rodin.”
Singer, sculptor, musician, Simonon is also on The Clash’s cover London Calling Album, a black and white photo of him playing his guitar on stage at New York’s Palladium in 1979.
“I remember well.” He smiles, remembering that moment. “To be honest, I just got mad. And when I get mad, I tend to destroy my stuff. I don’t take it out on people. It was a rare moment. It was Strummer and Mick Jones who said it should be on the cover.”
DIVERSEartLA, the exhibition’s non-commercial platform curated by Marisa Caichiolo, returns with “The Biennials, Art Institutions and Museums in the Contemporary Art Ecosystem,” exploring how art evolves in biennials and museums, and how they serve as engines of innovation and cultural dialogue. Caichiolo, who will be co-curating the Chilean pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, also directs the exhibition’s new Latin American Pavilion, which focuses on themes of memory, migration and identity.
In the art market, 2025 was a year of uncertainty, although auction houses such as Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips closed the year with strong results. Sotheby’s finished with a $2.3 billion week for November, including the $527.5 million sale of the Lauder Collection, which includes Gustav Klimt. Photo by Elisabeth Ledererwhich sold for $236.4 million.
“The summer was difficult,” Voyagegis said. “I think the market is still cautious, but it’s much better. The collector base here is under 40, very young. I think there’s finally that market and interest in the art world and collecting in LA. The LA Art Show, this will be our 31st year. I think we’ve survived it all because we represent LA, and I appreciate that Angelenos want to come out every year.
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