Read the press release - Los Angeles Art Association

Proudly presents
The Kickoff to LA’s
Spring Art Season
Saturday, April 11, 2009; 7-10pm, VIP Preview 6-7pm.
PRESS RELEASE
March 12, 2009
Contact: Peter Mays
Los Angeles Art Association
Gallery 825/Main Administrative Offices
825 North La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90069
phone: 310.652.8272, fax: 310.652.9251
e-mail: gallery825@laaa.org
www.laaa.org
Now more than ever,
support the arts by supporting the artists
Los Angeles Art Association proudly announces its 2009 gem benefit event featuring work by over
100 emerging and established artists. gem allows everybody to be an art collector, with over 200
artworks priced $100 - $1000.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Los Angeles Art Association (LAAA), a nationally-recognized 84-year-old non-profit art organization,
will host its annual gem benefit on April 11, 2009 at Gallery 825. The event, widely embraced by the art community and leading
collectors as a showcase of emerging art trends, will feature the art of over 100 emerging, mid-career and established artists
including Meeson Pae Yang, Dan Monteavaro, Julia Strickler and Steven Fujimoto. With over 200 original artworks beginning at
$100 – everyone can be an art collector at gem! The event also showcases a special silent auction with works by celebrated
luminaries, including artists Richard Artschwager, Lisa Adams, Alex Couwenberg, Roland Reiss and more. Hundreds of LA’s
most influential movers and shakers are expected to attend the exclusive VIP preview featuring champagne, food by Café 14,
performance hors d’oeuvres by Black Tie Catering & Events and spirits provided by Patron. Getty Museum Director Michael
Brand and wife Tina Brand are serving as the Benefit Co-Chairs and the Benefit Committee comprises many renowned cultural
figures including Harry Chandler, Howard N. Fox and Cheech Marin.
The event directly supports Los Angeles Art Association’s mission to provide opportunities, resources, services and exhibition
venues for emerging Los Angeles artists of all media. “The Los Angeles Art Association – L.A.’s first visual artists’ organization,
founded in 1925 – remains one of the region’s most vital forums for the presentation of emerging artists. Its program of solo
exhibitions, juried shows, and its annual gem benefit at Gallery 825 are wonderlands for anyone truly interested in what’s
happening artistically in Los Angeles, an international focal point for new art,” said Howard N. Fox, curator emeritus of contemporary
art of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and gem benefit committee member. As LAAA Executive Director Peter Mays
states: “Our gem benefit is the best place to discover emerging talents at the onset of their career paths and while they are still
affordable to a broad base of collectors.” Internationally-exhibited artist Siri Kaur calls LAAA’s gem benefit “the best place to get
great art by the most talented local artists, and the best party of the spring season!” Another beneficiary of LAAA’s mission, artist
and City of Los Angeles (C.O.L.A.) Individual Artist Fellowships grantee Joe Davidson, underscores the importance of
supporting this event and LAAA’s work: “LAAA is a dynamic place of opportunity, for both artists and collectors.”
Take your own art gem home on the night of event. All proceeds benefit LAAA and Los Angeles’s emerging artist community.
Benefit Co-Chairs Michael and Tina Brand
Benefit Committee: Lita Albuquerque, Nicole Ambrosetti, Niccolo Brooker, Bill Bush, Andi Campognone, Harry Chandler, York
Chang, Michael H. Collins, Karen Constine, Beverly Denenberg, Lynette Dodds, Bruce Edwin, Howard N. Fox, Derrick Flynn,
Michael Giliberti, Helen Johannesen, Linda Johannesen, Nancy Kaye, Bettina Korek, Willie Kuo, Lonnie Lardner, Joanna Leon,
Janet Levy, Cheech Marin,Jeff Marinelli, Terence McFarland, Klaus Moeller, William Moreno, Alexis Perry, Mayor Jeffrey Prang,
Melissa J. Pugash, Agapi Stassinopoulos, Louis Stern, Cole Sternberg, Maria Tanquary, Jocelyn Tetel and Laurence Whiting.
When: Saturday, April 11, 2009; 7-10pm, VIP Preview 6-7pm.
Tickets: VIP preview: 6-7pm includes food by Cafe 14 and Champagne - $100
General Admission: 7-10pm - $25
Where : Gallery 825, 825 N. La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Space is limited — call 310.652.8272 or e-mail gallery825@laaa.org to RSVP today!
Cafe 14
T H E
black tie
catering & events
L A’ S MON T HLY MAGA Z INE O F AND FO R T HE AR T S
About: Los Angeles Art Association (LAAA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide opportunities, resources, services
and exhibition venues for emerging Los Angeles artists of all media. LAAA began as a civic art institution in the 1920s, connecting elite art
interests to Hollywood collectors, emerging after World War II as the center of Los Angeles modernism and finally becoming the city’s nexus for
emerging artists of all media. LAAA serves as a dynamic force for contemporary ideas, outreach, and community.