ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Welcome to this, the 25th Annual Benefit Art Auction for Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. On the occasion of this important and exciting annual fundraiser, we are thrilled to be introducing a new logo. We feel it reflects the substantial history upon which we’ve built our foundation since our inception in 1978. The open-ended nature of our aesthetic inquiry, and the organic spread of contemporary culture – so vital to our collective health and well-being. This logo, which appears on the cover of this catalogue, has been designed by Meryl Pollen, who always impresses us with her creativity, commitment, and generosity. We are very grateful to her for the tremendous contributions she has given us over the years.

We are also excited about our upcoming season, which continues and expands upon our mission to produce and present new contemporary art. In October we will mount two exhibitions: a three-channel video installation, entitled “A Morir (‘til Death)” by leading Latin American video artist Miguel Angel Rios; and “Strange Animal,” collaboration by artist Giovanni Jance, Andrea Zittel, High Desert Test Sites and ten emerging Los Angeles-based artists. In early 2005 we will present “Marking Time,” an exhibition organized by Glenn Phillips in conjunction with the Getty Research Institute of contemporary and historic video that addresses the subject of duration. Simultaneously we will conduct “A Walk to Remember,” a project organized by London-based curator Jens Hoffmann, who is working with a number of Los Angeles-based artists including John Baldessari, Meg Cranston, Allan Ruppersberg, Alexis Smith, and others, to design a series of guided tours around this city. Please keep on the lookout for more information about these programs as well as a rich range of screenings, readings, educational activities, and more.

Reflecting on the accomplishments of this organization I am so pleased and proud to be a part of such a strong community of innovative, creative, fearless supporters of contemporary visual art. So many people have come together to make this event a success, and on behalf of the board of Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions I would like to thank them. First and foremost, the artists that have contributed to this event have made it the success it is. Artists have always played a central role in this organization; we are grateful to our community of artist supporters and their dealers for their donations to this event, which signal their endorsement of this organization and its activities. Our celebrated Honorary Host Committee – Sofia Coppola, Rebecca De Mornay, John C. Reilly, and Susan Sarandon – have lent their names and time to call wider attention to the importance of this event and this institution, and for this we are truly grateful. Artist Mike Kelley has generously made a significant contribution to Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions by donating the proceeds from the special edition that is being released in conjunction with this Auction; we are indebted to him for this and for his longstanding support of this institution. Thanks to Tony Payne for directing and managing the production of this special edition and to Mary Clare Stevens for all her efforts on our behalf. We also wish to acknowledge the talented members of the band My Barbarian for providing stimulating and amusing entertainment at the Auction. The members of our Steering Committee – Carl Berg, Nancy Baker Cahill, Lauri Firstenberg, Julie Joyce, David MacDonald, Paul Kopeikin, Tina Petra, Tony Payne, Mary-Kay Lombino, and Kenny Scharf – have spent many lively hours brainstorming, planning, and working on our behalf. Additional thanks to Sheridan Brown, Sarah Conley, Eve Steele Gelles, Tiffiny Lendrum, Cris McCall, David Richards, Guy Smith, and Brian Wills, all of whom provided great ideas and effort. Auction house Sotheby’s, and auctioneer Blake Koh, have again agreed to ensure that the Auction itself runs smoothly and well. We are indebted to Lora McPhail and Courtney Morris, for their wonderful solutions to our graphic design needs and their accommodation of our difficult deadlines; and webmaster Gary Cannone for getting this catalogue up on line. Our thanks to those who arranged the donations of various goods and services, including Judith Oppenheimer, Damon Geramedes of Mirabelle Restaurant, Dino Moody of Whole Foods, Paul Bina of Design Printing, and Laurie Pike of LA.com. I would like to extend special thanks to my wonderful staff, without whom nothing would happen. Managing Director Bridget DuLong, who is able to keep track of absolutely everything; our new Program Coordinator Karl Erickson, who has taken on the job with quiet efficiency and humor; Kellie Dancho, who stepped in to take on the coordination of this event with calm ease; our dedicated and good-natured assistants Jonathan Belli, Kristi Engle, Anne Keehn, Felipe Melo, and Lisa Merighi; and our Getty curatorial intern Brittany Prieto, who drafted the artist biographies that appear in the catalog and on our website. And finally, a note of appreciation to the many volunteers who so steadily and generously donate their time—thank you all.

This Auction is Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions’ single largest source of unrestricted income, and as such is vital to our fiscal health. We are grateful to all of you for your continued support at the Auction and year round. Another way to show your support, if you haven’t already, is to become a member of this organization. And one of the best kinds of support you can give costs nothing – give us your endorsement. Tell your friends about this organization and all it does. Better yet, bring someone here with you to see one of our exciting upcoming exhibitions or events. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Irene Tsatsos
Director / Curator

Participating Artists:
Tom Allen
Edgar Arceneaux
Devendra Banhart
Bill Barminski
Sarah Beddington
Joseph Biel
Nayland Blake
Ross Bleckner
Todd Bourret
Andrea Bowers
Kristin Calabrese
Karen Carson
Carolyn Castaño
Christo
Sofia Coppola
Mario Correa
Erin Cosgrove
Dave Deany
Roy Dowell
Sam Durant
Bart Exposito
Robert Fontenot
Charles Gaines
Todd Gray
Ellen Harvey
Julie Heffernan
Todd Hido
Jim Isermann
Nicholas Kahn & Richard Selesnick
Barbara Kruger
Patrick Lee
Daniel Joseph Martinez
Dan McCleary
Rodney McMillian
Sean Mellyn
Jason Middlebrook
Lisa Mihm
Yunhee Min
Michael Minelli
Kori Newkirk
Michael O’Malley
Ruben Ochoa
Jeff Ono
Raymond Pettibon
Jack Pierson
Monique Prieto
Antonio Adriano Puleo
Richard Renaldi
Miguel Angel Rios
Rocky Schenck
Steve Schmidt
Kim Schoenstadt
Joe Sola
Ilyse Soutine
George Stoll
Beat Streuli
Tony Tasset
Tom of Finland
Mark Verabioff
Kelley Walker
Megan Williams
Brian Wills
Andre Yi