Art fair: Frieze Los Angeles: Sheree Hovsepian, Erica Mao, and Curtis Talwst Santiago

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Frieze Los Angeles
February 29 – March 3, 2024
Rachel Uffner Gallery, Booth E16

Sheree Hovsepian, Erica Mao, Curtis Talwst Santiago

Santa Monica Airport
3027 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, 90405

For Frieze LA 2024, Rachel Uffner Gallery is pleased to present new bodies of work by Sheree Hovsepian, Erica Mao, and Curtis Talwst Santiago.

Iranian-American artist Sheree Hovsepian (b. 1974) constructs elegant assemblages, ink drawings, and ceramic sculptures that investigate the process and physicality of photography. Coming off her presentation in the 2022 Venice Biennale and expanding her collage practice into works on paper, Hovsepian presents two large-scale ink drawings for Frieze LA. Each drawing is made with photography ink, which Hovsepian manipulates masterfully across the surface of paper. Geometric yet calligraphic, Hovsepian’s drawings are dynamic tours de force that continue her interest in poetic form and photography’s ability to record movement.

Taiwanese-American artist Erica Mao (b. 1994) invents mystical landscapes inspired by the regional mythologies of her homes in Maryland and Taiwan. In scenes that Mao describes as “pseudo-Biblical”, ghostly humanoid figures wander the treacherous terrain and haunting skies, searching for shelter and salvation. Mao is often in pursuit of her “shadow self”, a version of her that is stripped of inhibitions and worldly concerns, deep in the layers of her subconscious. “My practice is like wandering in a cave with a flashlight,” she writes. “As I point the beam of light to different spots, I gain another piece to the puzzle.” In contrast with previous bodies of work where the figures blended into the atmospheric landscapes, the protagonists in Mao’s new paintings at Frieze take on more central, prominent roles. In the foreground, they engage in ambiguous moments of confrontation, leaving the viewer wondering at the nature of their relationship. All around, the gothic, Burchfieldian landscapes that Mao has become increasingly recognized for surround the amorphous characters, immersing their suspenseful interaction in desolate Americana.

Trinidadian-Canadian artist Curtis Talwst Santiago (b. 1979) presents six new sculptures from his Infinity Series, an ongoing collection of intricate dioramas housed in repurposed jewelry boxes. Colorful and intimate, each depicts narratives ranging from the artist’s personal life to popular culture phenomena to traumatic real-world events. Three dioramas from Santiago’s presentation at Frieze depict the bustling, vibrant interior of African-American barber shops, a place the artist considers to be a universal, border-transcending hub of community and gathering. One green-orange hued scene pays homage to Kerry James Marshall’s Beauty Shop, an exuberant depiction of a women’s salon. Each diorama sits on a custom, artist-designed pedestal. Santiago’s presentation at Frieze LA anticipates his solo exhibition at the Orange County Museum of Art in January 2025.