PUBLIC ART: MONTE VISTA

In the summer of  2007, tired of curators with puppet strings on their backs, a host of Los Angeles based artists decided to take a hippy approach to the white cube side of artist life. Their brainchild - an artist run space known as Monte Vista located in Highland Park, an area just a few subway stops (or a quick cruise on the 110 freeway) from downtown Los Angeles. The space, subletted from Los Angeles based contemporary artist Sam Durant, houses 3 artist studios and one exhibition space built out by 2 of the founding artists, Noah Peffer and Frank Chang. Rent is split amongst studio renters and the collective, while time is divided into 5 hour shifts to cover the spaces weekend hours of operation.

With general aims to bring a platform for art and conversation to Los Angeles that sidesteps the influence of the commercial market, Monte Vista has successfully completed a year’s worth of exhibitions, talks and events that support so called “non-traditional” sources and dialogues.  Motivated by a collective urge for self-determination, the space’s democratic nature serves as a balance to the moodiness of art market trends and the confines of “the game.”

Current collective members include: Noah Peffer, Candice Lin, Chris Bassett, Frank Chang, Shizu Saldamando, Ryan Taber, Jeff Cain, Nikki Pressley, and Jay Lizo.