Art Histories Collide in Emma McIntyre’s Sublime Abstractions Chris Sharp’s new LA gallery opens with a show of abstract paintings inspired by art-historical movements from impressionism to 1970s performance art The new Los Angeles gallery of curator and writer Chris Sharp – whose Mexico City space, Lulu, has enjoyed a cult following since its 2013 debut – is the first commercial art venue I’ve visited in months since the pandemic. The inaugural exhibition is a small show of colourful, abstract paintings by the young New Zealand artist, Emma McIntyre. As I was surveying McIntyre’s canvases, Sharp mentioned to me that the paintings had preceded the idea of the gallery itself. His living room had originally been the intended venue but, as McIntyre developed the work, it became evident that domestic dimensions would not suffice. A white cube – with a vivid azure façade reminiscent of Mexico City’s palettes – was required out of spatial necessity. It gave the gallerist an excuse to create a setting in which he might showcase his considered, peripatetic approach to curating, presenting the kinds of artists largely absent from the commercial scene.