Artist Interviews 2023

The Other Art Fair - Spring 2023 Edition, Los Angeles  
By Laura Siebold



It was that time of the year again – The Other Art Fair was happening in L.A. at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Since we launched Art Squat Magazine in May 2021, the fair has become one of our favorites, and we’ve been fortunate to feature many up-and-coming artists in the past six issues that we met during our previous visits. This time, the fair felt a little different. It might have been the incredible amount of rain L.A. had seen in recent weeks that drew a bit smaller crowd for opening night or something else, but the weather did not keep the artists from smiling from their booths, and chatting with interested art lovers and buyers at the event.





In this TOAF edition, more examples of immersive art, like Denise deLaSNP Coke’s animated art, were on display. Denise uses augmented reality techniques to bring her images to life, and viewers seemed to be captivated. Further reoccurring elements were interactive projects like Cody The Creative’s “Love is Key” project, live DJs, and a bar and food trucks to keep the crowd happy. Sadly, Bombay Sapphire no longer offered a free drink with each ticket (for anyone 21+) as in recent years.





At the beginning of the walk through the exhibit, Dionne Simpson’s art (Fair Director’s Pick) caught our attention, as well as Anna Kalachyan’s portraits on linen.

We caught up with some of our previously featured artists like Marta Solaz ,Syndi Peeler , and Duncan Sherwood-Forbes , and ran into others like Natalia Berglund , who attended the fair as a visitor this time. Made of Hagop as well as Xan Padrón , were other returning artists we have been fortunate to feature in our last issue. Richard Hoffman’s Subversive Post Office , as well as Alejandro Aboli’s The RedLine photography were other returning artists.





Bouncing back and forth between the different aisles of the Hangar, we discovered more powerful female portraits by artists like Modupe Odusote who showcases the power of black artists by giving her subjects a strong, expressive voice in her art.





In a different aisle, the French-Colombian duo Daty with their special series of painted steel sculptures created in response to the ambiguous nature of Los Angeles, Hollywood, and its celebrities, captured our eye. We discovered more newcomers at the fair – Charles Michael Davis exhibited large-scale black and white photographs under his artist "Park Menagerie"" portfolio; the first public display of his photography so far. Stay tuned for exclusive interviews with these exciting artists in our next issue.



Further, the return of The Other Art Fair also meant a return of NFT art. And, last but not least, cyanotype art (check out the beautiful cyanotype photography by Georgia Merton ) seemed to be a prominent pick at this edition of the fair.



We can’t wait for the art on display at the next edition of The Other Art Fair in Los Angeles in the fall. For updates on their upcoming international fairs, please visit The Other Art Fair