Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA)

Born in 1970, Utah native Alma Allen is a sculptor and designer who primarily uses stone, wood, and bronze. He favors employing reclaimed materials and hand-carving techniques. While living in New York City, he first gained recognition by selling his miniature carvings in SoHo. After moving to Los Angeles, Allen shifted to designing furniture and large-scale sculptures. He developed a robotic system to aid his process given his experience with repetitive strain injuries from excessive carving. Compared stylistically to Constantin Brancusi and Isamu Noguchi, Allen now operates from his studio in Tepoztlán, Mexico. His work has been exhibited widely, including at the 2014 Whitney Biennial, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museo Anahuacalli in Mexico City.

LAMA is proud to present a special selection of design curated by Esoteric Survey, featuring more than 100 works that represent platform founder Steve Aldana's guiding fascination with mid-century design and design history in California. Drawing from Aldana's personal collection as well as from his design-minded community, this collection includes iconic works as well as deeper cuts that represent lesser-known, but nonetheless integral, achievements of postwar artists and designers. 

An urban planner by vocation, Aldana has nurtured his fascination with modern design, particularly the strains that emerged in mid-century Southern California, through Esoteric Survey for nearly 15 years. With a desire to share fascinating obscure design figures and document visits to architecture and design sites, he created the blog he named Esoteric Survey in 2009. What first served primarily as a private log for personal reference eventually blossomed into a valuable resource for like-minded design aficionados, and has since taken the form of an immensely popular Instagram account.

Explore Steve Aldana's Blog Esoteric Survey