Felix Art Fair Opens With Early Sales and Enthusiasm for Smaller, More Reasonably Priced Works

Nobody would have predicted, just a month ago, that L.A. would rally back with such force for this year’s Los Angeles Art Week, especially after last month’s devastating fires. Yet on Tuesday, February 19, the art world gathered at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel—filling the rooms and cabanas around its iconic David Hockney-designed pool—for the opening of Felix Art Fair, offering an unmistakable show of support for the city’s art community. Dealers who ventured to the West Coast again this year despite recent hardships were met by an industry determined to show up for its artists. The lines to enter, particularly for access to the 11th and 12th floors, were noticably more manageable this year, but that didn’t dampen the fair’s energy. Sales activity kicked off at a brisk pace from the very first hours, with collectors—both local and those visiting from New York and beyond—moving quickly, asking prices and placing holds before they had even made a full round of the fair. Celebrities made their expected early appearances, but it was the serious buyers who drove the action.

One hour after opening, Chicago’s Povos gallery, making its Felix debut, had already sold out its solo presentation of William Schaeuble’s captivating surreal paintings, thanks to a mix of pre-fair sales and on-site placements. Priced between $2,000 and $14,000, Schaeuble’s canvases transform everyday moments into enigmatic scenes that reflect life’s fleeting nature. “I could have sold the entire presentation again,” gallery founder Lucca Colombelli told Observer, remarking that by 1 p.m., demand had far outpaced supply. Next up for the artist is a group exhibition at Morán Morán in Los Angeles this spring (fitting, given the gallery’s role as Felix’s co-founder), followed by his next solo exhibition at Anna Zorina Gallery in New York, opening June 5.

While some long-time fair participants were absent this year, whether due to circumstance or having transitioned to Frieze, their absence created space for an influx of new galleries from across the country and abroad. These newcomers largely focused on presenting works by younger artists at accessible price points, with a noticeable emphasis on smaller-scale pieces that engaged in fascinating dialogues with the room interiors—including the bathrooms, which frequently became unexpected stages for curated presentations of works on paper.

A prime example was Entrance, a New York-based gallery that showcased Ethan Means’ enigmatic, modestly scaled paintings, each fragment of reality rendered with an uncanny sense of stillness. Priced at under $3,000, the works reflected the artist’s deep observational sensitivity. Means, a recent BFA graduate of Cooper Union, has quickly gained momentum—his solo show at Entrance in New York just opened, following his debut with the gallery in 2023.

Even when working with well-established names, galleries embraced a more intimate approach. Corbett vs. Dempsey, for instance, opted to present California artist Brian Calvin’s signature vibrant pop sensibility through a selection of recent graphite drawings—all installed in the bathroom and priced in the $3,000-3,500 range—alongside a single, elegantly framed portrait in a tucked-away space that only heightened its impact.

SEE ALSO: Observer’s Guide to the L.A. Gallery and Museum Exhibitions to Check Out During Frieze

Some galleries traveled significant distances to participate in the art fair, including Foundry from Seoul, which made its Felix debut with a thoughtfully curated presentation bridging surreal and organic aesthetics. The booth juxtaposed Jongwan Jang’s dreamlike landscapes with Brazilian artist Fernanda Galvão’s more fluid, nature-inspired compositions, while Omyo Cho’s intricate, biology-infused sculptures conversed with Sanglak Shon’s abstract sculptural deconstructions and Sang A Han’s soft-edged pieces that reinterpret traditional Korean materials and techniques. Following a sold-out solo presentation of Jang’s work at the last NADA New York, Foundry was placing smaller paintings within the fair’s first few hours. “We’ve had so many interesting conversations,” said gallery founder Chloe Yoon, who lives between Seoul and L.A., speaking enthusiastically to Observer about the strong reception.

Coming from the other side of the world, COMA gallery in Sydney arrived at Felix Art Fair with a group show spotlighting talent from its region, including the disquietingly hyperrealistic figurative work of Kansas Smeaton, a New Zealand-based artist whose pieces captivated Los Angeles collectors on opening day. “It has been a buoyant first day with great collectors active, engaged and transacting. We are also seeing interest in artists from our region as well as our international offering. We are looking forward to the remainder of the fair,” gallery founder Sotiris Sotiriou told Observer, reflecting on the strong start.

There was also significant interest in the presentation by Havana-based gallery El Apartamento, another first-time exhibitor at Felix. “We had a very busy day yesterday with lots of interest in our presentation,” said director Christian Gundin in the evening, reporting multiple sales, including of two hand-cut paper works by Ariamna Contino at $16,000 each, a painting by Spanish artist Eloy Arribas for $5,800 and two paintings by Spanish collective Los Bravú at $6,000 each. The gallery also placed a small painting by Cuban artist Roberto Diago for $10,000, a piece rich in symbolism that draws directly from Yoruba and Caribbean ancestral heritage. Diago’s work continues his exploration of the Afro-Cuban experience within the social framework of the revolution, layering history, identity and resilience into a striking visual language.

Among the American dealers returning to Felix this year, Charles Moffett placed six new paintings by Brooklyn-based artist Maggie Ellis, whose psychologically intense yet humorously bizarre works ranged from $8,000 to $18,000. This follows her sold-out booth at NADA Miami two years ago and a successful solo presentation at the gallery last year. The gallery also placed two sculptures by L.A.-based artist Bari Ziperstein for $14,000 and $18,000, as well as two new paintings by LA-based artist Hopie Hill for $5,000 and $8,000.

Nicodim Gallery, which has locations in both Los Angeles and New York, reported strong early sales, including a large hyperrealistic painting by Jeanine Brito and works by Stanley Edmondson, Emily Ferguson, Devin B. Johnson and Teresa Murta, who just opened a solo show at the gallery, at price points ranging from $8,000 to $40,000. By the afternoon, the gallery also had works by Isabelle Albuquerque and Larry Madrigal on hold, hoping to finalize the sales by day’s end. “The vibes have been off the charts, and sales have been brisk!” Nicodim’s partner and global director, Ben Lee Ritchie Handler, told Observer. “Our Los Angeles community has shown up and represented. We love this fair, and we love this city!”

Several dealers also reported sales of Guy Yanai’s large painting and a suite of his drawings, featured in a solo presentation at Felix with Harper’s. “I’m happy to report that the crowd is robust and folks are in good spirits,” said the gallery’s director.

Attracting considerable collector interest, Chason Matthams’ mesmerizing canvases were presented in a solo exhibition with Magenta Plains, with prices under $20,000. Described as “contemplative experiments in mimesis,” Matthams’ paintings showcase a masterful manipulation of light and color, creating a hypnotic interplay of lenses, optical devices, and reflections on crystals and seashells. The effect was further heightened by the decision to hang the works on mirrors, taking full advantage of the unique architecture of the hotel rooms. Several of his paintings were placed on the first day of the fair.

One of the standout discoveries this year came from Montreal-based gallery Pangée, which presented the seductively intricate watercolors of Oslo-based artist Oda Iselin Sønderland. Delicately rendered on paper, Sønderland’s gouaches evoke a dreamlike porosity of atmosphere, weaving figurative, natural, and magical elements into a richly symbolic universe. Drawing inspiration from regional fairytales, folklore and the natural world, these works were priced between $4,500 and $14,000. The presentation also featured paintings by Grace Kalyta (Montréal) and Jessica Williams (Los Angeles).

Notably, Felix Art Fair continues to carve out space for artist-run initiatives and nonprofits that rarely have the opportunity to present their programs in a fair setting. Among them, the New York-based, artist-founded nonprofit Columns was showcasing Creative Growth, a veteran nonprofit from Oakland, California, dedicated to supporting artists with developmental disabilities by providing a studio environment and gallery representation within the contemporary art world. At the booth, Creative Growth presented works under $2,000, with proceeds directly funding its mission—an offering that stood out in a landscape often dominated by high-ticket sales.

Between the influx of new dealers making their debut at Felix this year and projects like these, which offer a compelling alternative to the commercial art system, this L.A. art fair continues to reaffirm its unconventional spirit. Balancing high-quality presentations with a sense of spontaneity and discovery, Felix maintains a fair experience that feels both refreshing and engaging and leaves space for meaningful conversations and surprising finds.

Felix Art Fair runs through Sunday, February 23.