LA Art Week’s Hottest (Anti)Fair is an Abandoned Discount Store
4,000 works by over 100 artists, presented by Barry McGee, Jeffrey Deitch and The Hole.
Summary
- Artist Barry McGee, Jeffrey Deitch and The Hole present 99CENT, a massive installation at a shuttered discount store, for Los Angeles Art Week
- Running through March 1, the show brings together an eclectic showcase from over 100 artists, spanning painting, sculpture, illustration and performance
Art Week is gaining momentum in Los Angeles as visitors from the around the globe descend on the City of Angels for a packed itinerary, hitting marquee events like Frieze, Felix Art Fair, Post-Fair and the inaugural edition of Enzo. Just a block down from LACMA at 6121 Wilshire Boulevard, however, an alternative “anti-fair” crowd brews. To set the scene, just imagine: 100 artists walk into a 99 cent store.
In the two days since opening, the aptly titled 99CENT has quickly made its way to the top of this week’s must-see’s. Organized by Barry McGee in collaboration with The Hole and Jeffrey Deitch, the project transforms a shuttered discount shop into a lively artist flea, filling the space from floor to ceiling with over 4,000 works.
Much of the store’s physical character remains intact — original signage, refrigerators, shopping charts. Its 20,000 square feet of scuffed linoleum floors. The presentation itself is tastefully unruly, embracing a DIY sensibility that plays to the history of the space rather than erasing it.
Mounted throughout the store’s aisles, walls and ceilings are McGee originals, pieces from his personal collection and contributions from over 100 West Coast artists and otherwise, including KATSU, Chito, Ruben Preciado, Gary Baseman, Tom Franco, Lauryn Halsey and many more. Alongside the installation, 99CENT will culminate in an Anti-Fascist Zine Fair at The Hole on Sunday, closing out Art Week with “artist healing center and community hangout zone,” Deitch described. Visitors can expect live music and performances.
McGee, now a blue chip artist, pays homage to his tagging roots in a lively celebration of street art and outsider aesthetics, disrupting the week’s commercial thrum with a much-needed return to the human side of creative exchange.
99CENT is now on view at 6121 Wilshire in Los Angeles through March 1.
