The gallerist will soon participate in Art Basel for the first time

From Brussels to Hong Kong, Paul Soto introduces up-and-coming LA artists to the world

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It all started in Los Angeles’&nbsp;MacArthur Park. It is in this bustling neighborhood, more specifically in his apartment on South Park View Road, that Paul Soto founded his gallery Park View/Paul Soto, in 2014.&nbsp;‘I was responding to the needs of an intergenerational group of artists, from the same cultural background as myself, with similar experiences of the world which are&nbsp;informed by the place we come from’&nbsp;he says. A Southern California native, Soto’s roster includes artists such as Aidan Koch, J. Parker Valentine, Mark A. Rodriguez, and Dylan Mira, most of whom either hail from or live in California. Having entered the artworld via writing and art publishing, Soto's understanding of exhibition-making is rooted in a&nbsp;‘poetic, literary’&nbsp;mode of thinking. The gallery’s program reflects this:&nbsp;It addresses ecology, identity, and politics in challenging and stimulating ways. Park View/Paul Soto is now located in Mid-City, surrounded by small businesses and artisans. Other galleries and exhibition spaces have been moving to the area of late, one of the earliest and most famous being the Underground Museum, founded by the late Noah Davis in 2012.&nbsp;

Despite his strong ties to California and the Southwest, Paul Soto has also established a presence in Europe. He is a co-founder of La Maison de Rendez-Vous, a collaborative gallery model in Brussels he operates together with Pristina’s LambdaLambdaLambda, Tokyo’s Misako &amp; Rosen, and Mexico City’s Lulu. Its striking Art Nouveau premises stand in stark – and welcome&nbsp;–&nbsp;contrast to the gallery's LA white cube.&nbsp;‘One of my intentions in Brussels was to promote Southern Californian artists in a wider context. The creativity this required made me comfortable to rely on a support system that included my peers,’&nbsp;he says.&nbsp;‘We are all part of the same community of young galleries. With La Maison de Rendez-Vous, we were able to form something greater than the sum of its parts, and also a structure that could support our involvement in fairs.’&nbsp;Park View/Paul Soto will soon participate in Art Basel for the first time. The gallery will present sculptures by Matt Paweski in Art Basel Hong Kong’s Discoveries sector.&nbsp;‘For me, every artwork is a question rather than a statement’&nbsp;the gallerist states; akin to dislocated parts of a rare machine, Paweski's pieces are spot-on examples of this adage.

Discover more galleries participating in the Discoveries sector at Art Basel Hong Kong&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/hong-kong/exhibitors" target="_blank">here</a>.Top image:&nbsp;Installation view of Mark A. Rodriguez’s exhibition ‘Account’ at Park View/Paul Soto, Los Angeles, February 2019. Courtesy of the artist and Park View/Paul Soto, Los Angeles and Brussels. Photo by Jeff McLane.

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