Las Cienegas 06.18.2009 -12.17.2011, a cloth-bound, hard cover book documenting the history of Las Cienegas Projects, an artist-run project space in Los Angeles operating between 2009-2011. Opening its doors during the peak of the Great Recession, Las Cienegas Projects singularly bridged the wide-ranging art communities and diverse practices of Los Angeles, serving, in the words of artist, scholar, and educator Charles Gaines, as “an alternative to the alternative space”.
Designed by Jennifer Rider in conjunction with LCP’s founders Amy Thoner and Steven Hull, the 416 page book serves as an archive of the gallery’s 61 exhibitions from its main curatorial program, including extensive photographic documentation in full color and the original press release texts. Opening the book is an introduction by Los Angeles-based writer Susan Morgan, followed by the Charles Gaines essay, “Las Cienegas Projects: Art, Egalitarianism, and the Well-being of Artists,” which critically examines the history of alternative spaces while contextualizing LCP’s unique place within that history.