LA Art Association Fundraiser Supports Emerging Artists - Los Angeles Local News, Weather, and Traffic

Los Angeles Art Association, a nationally recognized non-profit art organization, will hold its Annual Benefit Auction on July 28, 2012. The auction, widely embraced by the art community and leading collectors as a showcase of art trends, will feature more than 100 works by emerging and mid-career artists, as well as celebrated luminaries. Click here to view the Online Preview of artwork (updated daily!)

www.laaa.org

Hundreds of LA's most influential movers and shakers will attend the exclusive champagne VIP preview featuring food by NOBU, and the first 100 VIP ticket purchases will receive a print by celebrated artist Frank Worth. Shulamit Nazarian and Bruce Adlhoch will serve as the 2012 Honorary Benefit Co-Chairs for this important event. The live auction will begin promptly at 7:15pm and the silent auction closes at 8:30pm. The live auction will be presented by Peter Loughrey, Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA).

LAAA Executive Director Peter Mays states: "We are considered by Los Angeles' leading art galleries to be a major feeder to the gallery scene, so our auction is a great place to discover emerging talents while they are still very affordable to a broad base of collectors. Our Annual Benefit Auction also serves as a singularly important survey exhibition and auction opportunity featuring one of the most compelling pools of emerging talent in the world, as well as pieces by established artists such as Frank Gehry, Andy Moses, Heather Cantrell, Kristin Calabrese and Josh Aster."

Many of the artists contributing work to the auction are either current or former artists of LAAA, and view the fundraiser as an opportunity to give back to an organization that has played a critical role in their own professional growth. Artist and recent Durfee awardee Elizabeth Tobias, whose celebrated Let Them Eat Cupcakes public performance and art was a highlight of LAAA's 2010 programming, considers the organization to be instrumental in her success. Tobias proudly asserts, "The LA Art Association is the ultimate incubator for emerging artists. We are supported and nurtured on every level, creatively and professionally. Sometimes I feel like making "before" and "after" pictures of myself as an artist transformed... Whether for a local event or an international fair, I am encouraged to create my very best work every time I participate in an exhibit." Tobias' Let Them Eat Cupcakes was presented at Harvard's Carpenter Center in November 2011 and Utah Museum of Contemporary Art in April 2012.

All proceeds benefit LAAA and Los Angeles' emerging artist community.