2019 Year in Review

2019 was an incredible period of growth and discovery for stARTup Art Fair. As we head into a new decade, and with stARTup Los Angeles just around the corner, we are extremely grateful for the artists who have trusted us and joined our mission, and for the art lovers and supporters at all levels who have contributed to the opportunities, partnerships, and successes we’ve all enjoyed in 2019.

Here are just a few of the many highlights this past year…

art and technology in Venice beach

Love was in the air at stARTup Los Angeles 2019, held during Feburary’s Frieze Week for the first time. 62 exhibiting artists captivated crowds eager to support emerging artists come rain or shine.

In the recent years, Art and Technology have intermingled in intriguing and exciting ways. Heading our art and tech Special Programming was Featured Artist Tiffany Trenda, performing Body Code for both our VIPs and our Opening Night celebration. Tiffany encouraged fair-goers to scan the model’s body suit, while drawing attention to our new obsession of voyeuristic scanning.

Camilla Magrane won repeat honors for Best Room Installation for her total hotel room transformation. After waiting in line, fair-goers were funneled through a series of black curtained tunnels, then arrived at viewing stations to interact with Camilla’s augmented reality photograms and polaroids. Two-dimensional objects sprung to life in all directions and perceptions.

Featured Artist Alex Reben explored artificial intelligence and machine learning in his works, ranging from AI-generated (mis)fortunes and prints, composite ganbreeder portraits, an AI TED talk, and a deeply artificial iteration of Bob Ross.

Performed first for stARTup LA with a repeat performance at stARTup SF was Guta Galli’s haunting performance O1 EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY ARTIST. For three hours Guta interacted through a peephole in a shipping container, enticing onlookers with specific pleas on business size cards and holding hands with those willing to connect.

It’s not too late to make plans for stARTup Los Angeles 2020 at The Kinney this February 14 - 16th. Join us!

FIVE YEARS OF STARTUP san francisco

2019 marked the 5th anniversary of stARTup SF at the Hotel Del Sol. Over 70+ independent artists took over every inch of the Del Sol’s rooms, car lots, and courtyard with all manner of mediums. Fair-goers were especially wowed by our three Special Projects artists.

Sponsored by Mozilla Firefox, Brian Singer’s Privacy Policy wrapped around the entire hotel. With letters made of recycled corporate t-shirts, it spelled out: “Every step you take, every click you make, every link you save, we’ll be watching you...”

Strider Patton’s colorful chalk mural snaked its way through Webster street and into the Hotel del Sol courtyard. Nestled between two of courtyard palm trees was Anastasia Schipani’s Nature Recollected, a collection of tapestries made predominantly from reclaimed denim, fish net, and vintage textiles.

Winning Best Room Installation and Best Artist were first-time stARTup artists Angelica Benicio and Johnny Botts. Angelica brought her cinematic yet bizarre oil paintings to life with life-size theatrical costumes, while Johnny captured everyone’s inner child with his playfully autobiographical space ships, robots, and capsules.

The Pink Room was a must-see on the ground floor, made of photographs, collages, and drawings from sisters Elleree and Jamie Jaye Fletcher. In their nostalgic parlor devoted to girlhood, fair-goers sat on pink furniture, listened to 90s boy-bands, played with dolls, and read the tabloids.

And just between us, applications for stARTup SF 2020 are open now!

houston, we have a new art fair!

In addition to our fairs in San Francisco and Los Angeles, stARTup expanded into Houston — the 3rd largest art market in the country. The Hotel ICON in downtown Houston made for a beautiful backdrop for our tightly curated inaugural showcase of 30 exhibiting artists.

Taxidermy sculptor Emily Maddigan and painter Richard Kurtz wowed Houston art lovers, budding and established collectors alike. Noted local collector Lester Marks bought pieces from both artists, just in time for stARTup VIPs to see in his lavish home.

Featured Artist Aaron Turner spoke with Haley Berkman Karren for an incredible art conversation on issues of identity, abstraction, and the historical archive, the photographic medium and process, as well as ideas of the black artist as subject and blackness as material.

Patricia Rubio book-ended her stARTup 2019 experience, exhibiting in both Los Angeles and Houston. Her colorful works contemplated the balance and connection between shades, real and perceived symmetries, and the stacking of visual language.

MORE STARTUP POP-UPS

In 2019 stARTup continued curating special exhibitions and art events, drawing from our highly vetted roster of artists.

Abstract Adversity at Parc 55 — *Abstract Adversity* at Parc 55

Debuting in February was Abstract Adversity at Hilton’s Parc 55 hotel in downtown San Francisco. Inspired by the diversity of the city by the bay, Abstract Diversity featured artworks by 13 stARTup artists, curated by Josefin Lundahl.

May’s exhibition at Jeff King and Co. was inspired by SF Design Week and its 2019 theme "commUNITY." United Search revealed an inner and outer search of community and belonging.

Thought by Maja Planinac, Archival Inkjet Print, 2016 — *Thought* by **Maja Planinac**, Archival Inkjet Print, 2016

Curated by Josefin Lundahl, the artwork in the show explored each artist’s inner journey, each beautiful, heartbreaking, and heartwarming.

Our newest stARTup pop-up exhibition, Five Women, features the work of Wendy Ackrell, Karen Olsen-Dunn, Charlie Milgrim, Melissa Mohammadi, and Silvia Poloto. Exhibition is on view now and runs until the end of the year at Jeff King & Co. and can be seen during business hours, Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm. Shop the collection now for holiday gifts!