Valley Guy, Part 1: Kenny Schachter Descends On L.A.—and Dishes on Art-World Ne’er-Do-Wells

It’s L.A., for heaven’s sake. What are you, if are not seen tooling around town in a cool car (or an affordable version thereof)? Check out my 2021 MX-5 Miata RT—that stands for Retractable Fastback. In other words… it’s a convertible! Photo courtesy Kenny Schachter.

I have been to Los Angeles only a handful of times in my life, and barely that. Though I am drawn to car culture—I was born in the artless suburbs of Long Island and 1970s sports cars were my gateway drug to art—I am pathologically afraid of getting lost, and the industrial design of the vehicles appeals to me more than anything else.
Personally, it always made more sense to travel to Europe to experience culture than venture to the “other coast.” Until, that is, I was extended an invite for a solo exhibition at the Pacific Design Center (PDC) Gallery, the former satellite home of L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art, which came with a stipend and the use of the standalone building within the mid-1970s West Hollywood complex designed by Cesar Pelli. I saw no alternative but to accept. (I will now be driving a little 2021 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF that I rented for the next month. A lot.)

“It’s showtime!” My favorite line from Entourage—the TV show, that is. I rarely if ever go to movies. Photo courtesy Kenny Schachter.

Getting down to work now, I’m getting my comeuppance. The beautiful, cavernous space was offered as an empty shell, with no infrastructure—other than lights—from February 7 through April 6, with an opening on February 13. Since the PDC is a stone’s throw from the center of activity in the city (I think), I elected to take the leap and move to L.A. for the entire month, despite my Woody Allen-ish fear and trepidation. Needless to say, I was homesick before I left; I am known to rarely leave the refuge of my veritable art sanctuary in New York without significant prodding.

Some of the reasons for my L.A. aversion are that I’ve wrestled with weight issues since the age of 5 (and still do), I hate the sun, and I’m movie illiterate. Love Story, starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal—the 1970 film, not the Taylor Swift song—remains my favorite. Since I broke the news to a few acquaintances, I’ve had feedback like “come to Corepower yoga with me!,” “Miley Cyrus, Jeremy Allen White [who?], and Johnny Knoxville live nearby,” “Hollywood rules this town. So become friends with agents/producers. And ppl love to talk about shows/movies so start binge watching!” I was doomed before I touched down.

Actor Matt Dillon (hey, I wouldn’t be worth my salt if I didn’t manage to drop a Hollywood name or two), who makes some pretty cool art, told me that the place I rented to live in Studio City is “over the hill” geographically, whatever that means. In any case, that’s funny because both Matt and I could be said to reside there. He turns 60 in a few weeks, and I already hit that milestone a few years back.

Before I fully take the plunge in next week’s diary entry, let’s revisit some pressing market matters that have since reappeared on my radar—like the notoriously make-believe institution the Dynamic Art Museum I previously wrote about, which declared bankruptcy last month. Speaking of which, check out Happy, the new print for my show, on fake art:

Happy, my new print published for my show, “I Object!,” by Oliver Clatworthy Fine Art, U.K. Photo courtesy Kenny Schachter.