L.A.’s new Pace Gallery last week announced that it has scored something of a coup because it will host an exhibition by star sculptor Alicja Kwade in May – thanks to some tumult in the European art world.
Kwade is internationally known, mostly for her large public art installations. Last year, for example, she installed large stone globes affixed to concrete stairs on Place Vendôme in Paris. Her first solo public art commission in the United States was in 2015 when she erected a 16-foot-tall vintage clock at the entrance to Central Park across from the Plaza Hotel in New York. Called “Against the Run,” the clock’s face moved counterclockwise as the hour and minute hands turned in opposite directions.
Kwade, who was born in Poland and lives in Berlin, announced last week that she was joining Pace Gallery, which is based in New York but has seven galleries around the world, including one that opened last year in L.A.’s mid-Wilshire area. She had long been represented by König Galerie in Berlin, but more than 10 artists reportedly have departed that gallery following reports last year of sexual misconduct by the founder, who has disputed those claims.
Details about the show in May are scant, at least for now. Pace said it “will present a curated exhibition at its Los Angeles gallery bringing together historical positions and works by Kwade.”
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It was probably inevitable that one of L.A.’s tour buses would create a selfie tour, and last week TMZ started offering exactly that. In a breathless announcement, the Hollywood-focused entertainment company proclaimed its new tour is “your chance to capture those iconic Hollywood moments and leave Los Angeles with a picture portfolio that will make your Instagram followers drip with envy!”
According to its website, for $59 ($49 for children aged 3 to 12), TMZ will put tourists on an open-air bus operated by Big Bus Tours, the ones that operate such sightseeing excursions in 25 cities across the world. The buses will stop at such places as the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Paramount Studio gates, the Beverly Hills shield and the Capitol Records building where customers can snap photos. Of course, Angelenos might say that many folks regularly visit such places for free to take selfies.
But, of course, TMZ points out that its guides lead the tour in games and provide information along way – or, as it put it, they share “fascinating stories and insider secrets about each location. They’ll even reveal the best spots for that perfect selfie!”
The Insider is compiled by Editor-in-Chief Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
