The Taste is back this Labor Day Weekend…stay in LA and Eat!!! Presented by the LA Times, the annual food and wine festival has once again lured the top chefs in Los Angeles to participate in this spectacular event.

Saturday, September 5, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Field to Fork – Hosted by Russ Parsons, Times Food Writer and Columnist, and Gary Menes, Chef/Owner of Le Comptoir;
California’s bounty of fresh produce inspires this homage to seasonal cooking, punctuated with engaging demos from Jessica Koslow (Sqirl), James Beard Outstanding Pastry Chef Sherry Yard (Helm’s Bakery) and Niki Nakayama (n/naka). In addition to offering a glimpse into these locally-inspired perspectives, the event will feature a roundtable moderated by Parsons that examines the rise of the “root-to-stem” philosophy with Menes, Bruce Kalman (Union) and Ari Taymor (Alma). Restaurants include Hinoki & The Bird, Kye’s, M Café, Mayura Indian Cuisine, Michael’s on Naples and Westside Tavern, along with Choctal ice cream.

Saturday, Sept. 5th, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. – Dinner with a Twist – Hosted by Jonathan Gold, Times Restaurant Critic, Jenn Harris, Times Deputy Food Editor, Michael Fiorelli, Chef of Love & Salt, and Master Bartender Vincenzo Maríanella; The city’s boldest bites and cutting-edge libations come together in a celebration of pairings highlighted by demos from Love & Salt’s Fiorelli and Marianella; The Church Key’s Steven Fretz and Devon Espinosa; and Petit Trois’ Ludo Lefebvre. Belgian Chef Daniel Joly and Master Beer Sommelier Marc Stroobandt will be on hand for a food and beer pairing demo presented by Stella Artois, and Los Angeles’ innovative cocktail scene will shine in a group demo from Bricia Lopez (Guelaguetza), Zach Patterson (Melrose Umbrella Co.) and Josh Goldman (Soigne Group). Restaurants include Aqui es Texcoco, Diablo Taco, Ensaymada Project, Estrella, Ford’s Filling Station, Rocio’s Mole de los Dioses and The Churchill.

Parking for all events will be located in the Paramount Pictures Studios parking structures:
Paramount Pictures Gower parking structure – 801 N. Gower Street, LA, 90038
Paramount Pictures Van Ness parking structure – 783 N. Van Ness Avenue, LA 90038
Parking charge will be $13 and is CASH ONLY.

When programming your GPS to reach the event, please program in the parking structure address listed above and please do not attempt to enter the Paramount Pictures lot via either entrance on Melrose Avenue. The Melrose Avenue entrances will not be working parking entrances for the event and you will be redirected.

Public Transport / Taxi drop / Arriving on foot: Please proceed to either the Gower or Van Ness gate. No entry will be permitted through the Melrose gates.

Tickets range from $100 to $175. 

What: THE TASTE 2015
Where: The Paramount Studios, 5555 Melrose Avenue CA 90038
When: Saturday, Sept. 5th 11am-2pm / 7:30-10:30pm

2022 UPDATE: Unfortunately for all of us The Taste event is no longer taking place and the website has been shut down. If you love foodie events, see our sister site EatTravelGo.com – Go to the Destinations Section, Eat/Drink Page; Festivals drop-down for a list of food festivals or CLICK HERE for a direct link to the best LA annual Food Events. Visit the Stories Section; under Dining Drinking – the Events Page to read reviews of these food events or CLICK HERE for the direct link.

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Don’t forget the LA County Fair kicks off this weekend at the Fairplex in Pomona (1101 W. McKinley Ave, Pomona, CA 91768), and runs from 10:00am – 12:00am. See full info on our MONDAY Page, or go to http://www.lacountyfair.com

There is even an art exhibition at the fair…”Luminasia” (a massive walk-thru lantern experience). Be aware that “Luminasia” requires a separate ticket: $5 for ages 6 and up. Check Goldstar.com for discount tickets. Don’t forget there is always live music too.

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Of course if you are looking to art party hop….thats what LAArtParty.com specializes in. Head to Bergamot Station (2525 Michigan Ave., SM) for several early art events…

Laura Korman Gallery is proud to feature artist Katherine Rohrbacher in the gallery’s opening exhibition, “MIRROR | MIRROR: Introspective Reflections.”

See image: Katherine Rohrbacher, Wallflower, Oil on canvas, 60 x 60 in.

Los Angeles based artist Katherine Rohrbacher’s current body of self-portraiture balances dual elements of whimsy and foreboding. Drawing imagery from fairy tales such as “Alice in Wonderland” and animal folklore, Rohrbacher inserts herself as subject and artist of her own personal myth. Color and pattern serve as vehicles of communication for vignettes of thoughts, memories, and experiences – a great source of which is Rohrbacher’s own daily experiences with lupus, the commonly described “invisible disease.”

On view: August 5 – September 19, 2015

What: Opening reception
Where: Laura Korman Gallery, Bergamot Station, D-2 Santa Monica, 90404
When: 5:00pm – 8:00pm

2022 Update: the Laura Korman Gallery has closed its doors.

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Shoshana Wayne Gallery (Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., B1, SM 90404), debuts a new exhibition featuring the art of Russell Crotty from 5-7pm. http://www.shoshanawayne.com/

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Also at Bergamot…

bG Gallery hosts a closing reception for its group exhibition titled “Unusual Mediums.” A group of artists use and explore media beyond the brush turning ordinary things into something extraordinary. By using media, both readily available and extremely unique, artists showcase their creativity and imagination while creating distinctive art.

See image: Burton Gray, Peppermint Venus, Dimensions: 20 x 60 in.

Artists: Adam Nisenson, Stephen Anderson, Ellen Schinderman, Leigh Salgado, Kimberly Zsebe, Susan Hannon, Jennifer Gunlock, Susie Loucks, Joella March, Poppy Lawman, Alison Foshee, Burton Gray, Michelle Kingdom, Nick Veasey, Sarah Abramson, Shiri Mordechay, Lacey Terrell, Allan Van Fleet, Robert Branaman, Valerie Wilcox, Simone Gad, Nicholas Sitter, David Isaacson, Gina M., Vanessa Madrid and Teresa Flowers.

Gallery hours: 10-6 pm Tues-Sat or by appointment.

On view: August 22 – September 10

What: Opening reception
Where: bG Gallery at Bergamot Station 2525, Michigan Avenue, Space G8A, Santa Monica, CA 90404
When: Saturday, September 5, 5:00pm – 8:00pm
Phone: 310-906-4211
Website: bGartGalleries.com

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In Venice…C.A.V.E. Gallery (1108 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, 90291) hosts an opening from 6:30pm-9:30pm.

2022 Upate: C.A.V.E. Gallery has closed its doors.
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In Malibu…Leading Los Angeles-based contemporary performance spaces and art galleries (Blum and Poe, Ghebaly Gallery, Night Gallery, IBID. Los Angeles, M+B etc.,) are teaming up for a two month pop up event at a 2500 square foot storefront at Malibu Village (23357 PCH, Malibu 90265). It kicks off tonight with an opening reception from 6-10pm. 

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In Culver City…

Fabien Castanier Gallery is proud to present Still Life, a solo exhibition by contemporary artist Mark Jenkins and the first solo show for the artist at the gallery. Mark Jenkins is a sculptor and installation artist whose work focuses on a variety of urban and social themes, re-defining the limits of sculpture both in the public sphere, where many of his pieces have been found, to the more intimate realm of the “White Cube.”Wine and select cocktails will be served; Street parking available;

On view: September 5 – October 3, 2015

What: Opening Reception
Where: Fabien Castanier Gallery,2919 La Cienega Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232
When: 6:00pm – 9:00pm
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Also in Culver City…SAMUEL Guì YANG (2736 S. La Cienega Blvd., 90232) features a group show from 6-9pm.

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Head to Washington Boulevard…

Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition with Dan Levenson: “SKZ Painting Storage.”

Levenson has created a fictional and immersive narrative about a community of Swiss artists at the now-defunct State Art Academy, Zürich (SKZ). In Gallery 3, a set of paintings represents the results of a single composition exercise assigned to one class of students. The paintings appear to have suffered from time and neglect; their surfaces are cracked and discolored. In Gallery 4 an installation of storage racks, student lockers, paint-splattered studio floors and modular art school furniture collapses the imagined space of the art school with the real space of the gallery. The sculptural furniture serves a practical function in Levenson’s studio so that the accretions of his process create the impression of many years of use.

Also opening tonight…“Movements”  featuring the art of Yunhee Min. This is the artist’s fifth solo exhibition at the gallery. In her new work, Min continues to explore the sensorial potential of color, light, and gesture. “Movements” refers both to literal and suggested motion and change: Min’s gestures on the canvas, the viscosity of her paint, and the way these actions combine to produce a shifting spatiality within her compositions. These paintings neither suggest infinite depth nor firmly reinforce the flatness of the support; instead there is continuous expansion of space generated by the relationship of each movement to the next.

What: Opening reception
Where: Susanne Vielmetter Projects, 6006 Washington Blvd., Culver City, 90232
When: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Phone: 310-837-2117
Website: http://www.vielmetter.com

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One more in Culver City…takes place at Maxwell Alexander Gallery,(6144 Washington Blvd.,) from 6:30-8:30pm. http://www.maxwellalexandergallery.com/

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Enjoy several opening art parties on Chung King Road at:

The Institute of Art & Olfaction – Artist Erik Benjamins  (6-9pm)
Gregorio Escalante Gallery – “The Collection”, A Group Show from the Collection of Art Entrepreneur Greg Escalante  – GRAND OPENING!
Good Luck Gallery – Artist Cathy Ward (7-10pm)
Chungking Studio – Artist Oscelola Refetoff (7-10pm)
Charlie James Gallery – Artist Casey Reas

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Also in Chinatown…

Fifth Floor Gallery is pleased to present Tacos & Beer, a two person exhibition of recent works by Los Angeles-based artists Dale Dreiling and Billy Kheel. Hand-made and painted using different mediums, these sculptural and 2-D works are reminiscent of the murals that adorn the sides of many Mexican markets seen around Los Angeles. For taco aficionados, Los Angeles is ground zero. In addition, there is a burgeoning craft beer culture. This show proudly celebrates these communities and cultures.

See image: billy Kheel, dale dreiling

On view: September 5 – October 3, 2015

What: Opening reception
Where: Fifth Floor Gallery, 502 Chung King Court, LA 90012
When: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Phone: (213) 687-8443
Website: http://www.fifthfloorgallery.com/ 

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Also in the area (Chinatown)….stop into Actual Size Los Angeles (741 New High St., LA 90012) debuts a new exhibit from 7-10pm. http://www.actualsizela.com

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In a totally different part of Downtown…The Hive Gallery hosts its first annual photography show titled “MY LA” curated by Michael Rababy. “MY LA” shows us what LA looks like to a selection of Los Angeles based photographers.” – Michael Rababy

Artists include: Davis Ayer, Michael Bandy, Taylor Brooks, George Byrne, Ronnie T. Clark, Roy DyBuncio, Helen K. Garber, Sarah Hadley, Larry Hirshowitz, Jamie Lee Curtis Taete, Michelle Groskopf, Rinzi Ruiz, Jason Macdonald, Rick Mendoza, Peter Michelena, Samira Phillips, Leslie Rosenthal, George Sifuentes, David Valera, Rush Varela, Mark Velasquez, Jerry Weber, and Robert Yager.

On view: September 5 – September 26; $5 suggested donation on opening night (Donations help keep the Hive Alive)

What: Group Show
Where: The Hive Gallery 729 South Spring St., LA 90014
When: 8:00 pm – 11:30 pm
Website: http://hivegallery.com/

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Or Head to Lancaster…MOAH:CEDAR & Venice Institute of Contemporary Art (VICA) present “Water Works.”

Curated by Juri Koll, the artists in this show use watercolor, inks, and other liquid media for a variety of reasons – some love the risk of not being able to alter the result once it hits the paper. Others have a more formal reason for the process. Some use the medium as a contemplative, almost reverential experience, or for “quiet meditation or being present in the moment”, as Shana Nys Dambrot says. All these motivations inspire these works, and engage the audience with the here and now, regardless of when the work was completed.

Many of the artists have been influenced in some way by Japanese Sumi painters or modern artists such as Sam Francis. The Sam Francis Foundation sponsored the catalog, a copy of which has become part of the Sam Francis archives at the GETTY Museum Research Institute Library.

On view: September 3 – October 25, 2015

What: Opening reception
Where: MOAH:Cedar, 44845 Cedar Ave, Lancaster, California
When: 6:00pm – 8:00pm