45TH VENICE FAMILY CLINIC ART WALK + AUCTION
WILL RETURN TO VENICE, CA MAY 10-19, 2024
FEATURING LEGENDARY SCULPTOR FRED EVERSLEY AS SIGNATURE ARTIST

Hundreds of Artworks from Prominent and Local Emerging Artists to be Featured in
Exhibition and Auction to Support the Nonprofit Community Health Center

LOS ANGELES, CA (April 11, 2024) – Venice Family Clinic – a non-profit community health center that provides quality health care to people in need – announced today that the 45th Annual Venice Family Clinic Art Walk + Auction will take place May 10 – 19, 2024. Venice Art Walk has rotated locations since the pandemic and will return to Venice, California this year with a gallery and auction.

The exhibition, featuring the works of established, mid-career, and emerging artists, will be free and open to the public at 910 Abbot Kinney in Venice. The artwork will also be available to view online, and bids will be accepted at Bonhams.com/veniceartwalk beginning May 10 through May 19. Proceeds from art sales help fund the Clinic’s innovative and integrated approach to providing comprehensive health care services to more than 45,000 people from the Santa Monica Mountains through the South Bay. A private celebration for artists, collectors, and Clinic supporters will be held on Friday, May 17, and a post-auction exhibition will extend to May 25.

The theme of this year’s event is History, Health, and Home to recognize the critical role that building community and a sense of home plays in an individual’s well-being. For 45 years, artists, gallerists, and collectors have helped Venice Family Clinic advance greater health equity by providing and collecting artwork at this annual event. This milestone edition of Venice Family Clinic Art Walk + Auction will showcase the works of over 150 artists who are exclusively LA-based to celebrate the growth of the LA arts scene and of Venice Family Clinic. Selected by the Curatorial Committee, led by Max Rippon and consisting of Elsa Lee Bruno, Eva Chimento, Eliane Gans, John Geresi, Charlie James, Angelo Lanza and Yiwei Lu, the exhibition will feature artworks from Ed Ruscha, Larry Bell, Ed Moses, Arthur Jafa, Alison Saar, Kenny Scharf, Jordan Wolfson, Patrisse Cullors, Sayre Gomez, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Alfonso Gonzalez Jr., Jeremy Shockley, Analia Saban, Nancy Evans and many more.

Fred Eversley, legendary sculptor and pioneer of the Light and Space art movement, will be honored as the event’s Signature Artist for his impact and influence in the development of contemporary art from Los Angeles during the postwar period. Eversley, who was based in Venice for over fifty years, is known for synthesizing elements from various artistic historical movements associated with Southern California, which are informed by his lifelong studies of the timeless principles of light, space, time, and gravity. His Cylindrical Lenses sculpture is featured in this year’s Venice Art Walk signature artist poster.
“For over five decades I have followed Venice Family Clinic’s dedication and success in making a difference in the health of our community. Its mission resonates with me personally; like many artist friends and colleagues, I utilized the Clinic’s services for many years. It was then and continues to be an invaluable resource. My work has always centered around the notion that we are all connected to the same source of energy—the sun—and that caring for others is a vital contributing link in a chain which can help unite our shared values in an unbalanced world. Looking through the Cylindrical Lenses, we see ourselves and others according to new perspectives, revealed in a unifying light,” said Eversley.

Venice Family Clinic announced last month the launch of the HEART (Health + Art) Initiative and inaugural HEART Gala which was inspired by the tradition of artists and creative individuals supporting the Clinic and advancing health care for all. The gala will honor longtime Venice Family Clinic supporters Morleigh Steinberg and U2’s The Edge on Saturday, May 11.

This year is particularly special as we look back at forty-five incredible years of the Venice Family Clinic Art Walk + Auction, which highlights the intersection of health and art year after year. We’re thrilled to unite the community and to celebrate the expansion of the Clinic’s reach, as well as recognize that Los Angeles has become the global center of creative culture. Venice Art Walk raises funds so we can increase access to medical and mental health care and other vital health care services,” said John Geresi, Venice Family Clinic Board member and member of the Venice Art Walk Curatorial Committee.

Sponsors for this year’s event include Live Nation, The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation, UCLA Health and David Geffen School of Medicine, Bonhams, 881 Abbot Kinney, KCRW and Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation.

For more information about the Venice Family Clinic Art Walk + Auction, visit venicefamilyclinic.org/veniceartwalk. For additional details about the inaugural HEART Gala, visit venicefamilyclinic.org/HEARTGala.

ABOUT VENICE FAMILY CLINIC ART WALK + AUCTION
In 1979, Venice Family Clinic was on the verge of closing its doors when a group of Clinic supporters gathered with local artists to organize the first-ever Art Walk + Auction to ensure the community continued to receive vital medical services. Frank Gehry played an integral role in bringing the event to life by appealing to the artists living and working in Venice’s thriving art scene. Artists such as Lita Albuquerque, John Baldessari, Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, Laddie John Dill, Ed Moses and Ed Ruscha donated artwork to the auction and opened their studios to the public. These compassionate and generous individuals continue to inspire new generations of artists like Danie Cansino, Glenn Hardy Jr., Patrick Martinez and Shizu Saldamando to donate artwork. Venice Family Clinic Art Walk + Auction has raised more than $23 million cumulatively to support the Clinic’s mission.

ABOUT VENICE FAMILY CLINIC
Venice Family Clinic is a nonprofit community health center that is a leader in providing comprehensive, high-quality health care to more than 45,000 people in need annually, regardless of their income, insurance or immigration status. The Clinic serves an area from the Santa Monica Mountains through the South Bay in Los Angeles County. It has a network of clinic locations and Early Head Start centers in Venice, Santa Monica, Mar Vista, Inglewood, Culver City, Redondo Beach, Carson, Gardena and Hawthorne, plus mobile clinics and an expansive street medicine program to reach people experiencing homelessness. The Clinic’s comprehensive care also includes mental health services, dental care, vision services, substance use treatment, prescription medications, domestic violence counseling, HIV services, healthy food distributions, health education, health insurance enrollment, child development services and more. For more information, please visit VeniceFamilyClinic.org and follow on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.

MEDIA CONTACT
Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis
Pipere Boggio & Justine Castillo
venicefamilyclinic@ssmandl.com