LOS ANGELES — The opening night festivities of the Los Angeles Modernism Show and Sale were not unusual for a Friday night in LA: Hordes of dapper men and women descended upon the 3Labs event space in Culver City, turning what was meant as a preview benefit into a chiefly social occasion. Though the night’s ticket sales were meant to benefit the local non-profit organization P.S. Arts, guests seemed most interested in each other. “That’s a beautiful dress,” one woman was overheard saying to another. And what about the furniture for sale?
Some of it was beautiful too, though it felt like a footnote here. Attendees focused instead on an arts-and-crafts table near the entrance set up by P.S. Arts, stocked with collage supplies and California-themed imagery. Guests in gowns later wandered the show’s aisles with art projects in hand.
Popular, too, was the photo booth and a table overflowing with sweets provided by confectioner Sugared LA. In the midst of all the socializing, the only figures left out were the dealers themselves. Some talked to the occasional booth visitor, fewer still made sales. The pieces of mid-century furniture dotting the sales floor, typically lauded for their functionality, were purely decorative set pieces on opening night.
