The Insider’s LA

By: Kathy Bryant

May 2007

Los Angeles is in a great moment right now in terms of contemporary art,” says local collector

Nathan Mabry, “A Touching Moment (Tooting My Own Horn),” 2005, terra cotta, paint, wood, lacquer, at the Hammer Museum.

Dean Valentine. “There are at least three major, strong institutions: the Museum of Contemporary Art [MOCA] downtown, the Hammer Museum in Westwood and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which has a new director and CEO, Michael Govan, who’s re-energizing that museum. I’m on the board of the Hammer, but I think they’re all doing an amazing job of showing younger, emerging artists from California. All of these places are worth visiting.”

Valentine, a television executive and media investor, and his wife, Amy Adelson, gave more than 40 contemporary artworks to the Hammer Museum in January, most of them sculpture and mixed-media pieces. “We had a very large collection of sculpture made by this younger generation of artists in Los Angeles,” says Valentine. “It’s unique because a lot of it is large and un-houseable. But I thought there was wonderful work being made here and at the time no one else was buying it. Now it’s acquired audiences and collectors. Because of that it’s become something of a historical collection. It was important to keep it together so the community could see it.”

Some other nonprofit, smaller spaces that Valentine advises visiting include Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition (LACE) and LAXART, which he says are doing some phenomenal things. “It’s a very vibrant scene right now,” he says, but notes this wasn’t true just a few years ago. “When I started collecting in 1995 MOCA was the only game in town. I’d go into a gallery and I’d be the only person there all day. There was nobody collecting. It was quiet, low-key. The art scene here has been gathering momentum in the last decade. Now it’s a global, crazy thing. In 1995 there were a few galleries on Nebraska in Santa Monica and Bergamot Station. Most of the rest didn’t exist. It’s blown up to epic proportions due to the globalization and the amount of capital that has come into it. That has radically changed things.”

Valentine and Adelson, who are aggressively adding to their collection, spend most of their time visiting gallery centers, such as the mid-Wilshire area of L.A. “There’s a confluence of galleries called ‘6150’ near Fairfax [at 6150 Wilshire]. There are around 11 in the complex, including ACME., Marc Foxx, Roberts & Tilton Gallery, Paul Kopeikin Gallery, Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Karyn Lovegrove Gallery. Many represent artists who have made global careers over the last few years, as well as a number of younger artists, some from Los Angeles. “I like the work of Sterling Ruby, seen at Marc Foxx, and Barry McGee, at Roberts & Tilton Gallery. These are highly regarded galleries, and it’s worth going to the complex because you get an overview of what’s happening in contemporary art right now,” Valentine says.
For those interested primarily in younger, emerging contemporary talents, Valentine suggests

Sterling Ruby, “This Range,” 2005, Lambda print, at Marc Foxx.

Chinatown. “This area started around 1997,” he says. “There’s a great vibe. It’s a cool place to be. The galleries include China Art Objects, Peres Projects, Black Dragon Society and Chung King Project. These are all young galleries [opened around 1999], and you always find something interesting here.” Two relatively new galleries in the area are Daniel Hug and David Kordansky Gallery. “They feature artists who are just breaking out,” Valentine notes.

The third center is Culver City, where the leading gallery is Blum & Poe. “They represent some of the hottest artists right now, including Takashi Murakami, who’s about to have a one-man show at MOCA,” Valentine says. Another represented artist is Mark Grotjahn, whose abstract paintings are being snapped up by the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

In keeping with the sprawling layout of Los Angeles, important galleries are scattered throughout the city. “Bergamot [Station in Santa Monica] isn’t what it used to be, but some spaces there are worth a visit,” he says, suggesting specifically Mark Moore and Patrick Painter. “Some of the most highly regarded galleries are in the mid-Hollywood area. Regen Projects is considered the best in Los Angeles. It was the first place to show the major contemporary artists. It debuted works by Damien Hirst, Matthew Barney, Charles Ray. If you want a sense of the art scene, you have to go there. It’s a global program, not just local artists.” He also suggests visiting the Margo Leavin Gallery, which is near Regen Projects and is almost legendary for its longevity, having opened in 1970. Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills, another long-time presence, is also important. “Other galleries scattered around are Richard Telles Fine Art on Beverly, which has had a consistent program through the years.

“We’re lucky because we’re one of the two or three main centers of contemporary art–making in the world,” he continues. “There always have been great artists here, but they used to have to leave and go to New York. That’s no longer the case.” Valentine has commissioned a few works directly from artists, including a drawing by Raymond Pettibon. “I do very little of that,” he says. “I’m more interested in what artists have to say than what I have to say.”

Spoken like a true collector.

Kathy Bryant, an Art & Antiques Los Angeles correspondent, is the former art critic for the Orange County Register and antiques columnist for The Los Angeles Times.DEAN VALENTINE'S LITTLE BLACK BOOK

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►ACME
6150 Wilshire Blvd.
323.857.5942
www.acmelosangeles.com

Barry McGee, “Untitled (6 Bottle Set),” 2006, glass bottles, wire, wood and paint, at Roberts & Tilton Gallery.

►Angles Gallery
2230 Main St., Santa Monica
310.396.5019
www.anglesgallery.com

►Black Dragon Society
961 and 971 Chung King Rd.
213.620.0030
www.Black-Dragon-Society.com

►Blum & Poe
2754 S. La Cienega Blvd.
310.836.2062
www.blumandpoe.com

►Cherry and Martin
12611 Venice Blvd.
310.398.7404
www.cherryandmartin.com

►China Art Objects Galleries
933 Chung King Rd.
213.613.0384
www.chinaartobjects.com

►Chung King Project
936 Chung King Rd.
213.625.1802
www.chungkingproject.com

►David Kordansky Gallery
510 Bernard St.
323.222.1482
www.davidkordanskygallery.com

►Marc Foxx
6150 Wilshire Blvd.
323.857.5571
www.marcfoxx.com

►Gagosian Gallery
456 N. Camden Dr.
310.271.9400
www.gagosian.com

►Hammer Museum
10899 Wilshire Blvd.
310.443.7000
www.hammer.ucla.edu
►Daniel Hug
510 Bernard St.
323.221.0016
www.danielhug.com

►Karyn Lovegrove Gallery
6150 Wilshire Blvd.
323.525.1755
www.karynlovegrovegallery.com

►LACE
6522 Hollywood Blvd.
323.957.1777
www.artleak.org

►L.A. Louver
45 N. Venice Blvd., Venice
310.822.4955
www.lalouver.com

►LAXART
2640 S. La Cienega Blvd.
310.559.0166
www.laxart.org

►Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
323.857.6000
www.lacma.org

►Margo Leavin Gallery
812 N. Robertson Blvd.
310.273.0603.

►Mark Moore Gallery
2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica
310.453.3031
www.markmooregallery.com

►The Museum of Contemporary Art
250 S. Grand Ave.
213.626.6222
www.moca.org

►Otis College of Art and Design
9045 Lincoln Blvd.
800.527.6847
www.otis.edu

►Patrick Painter Inc.
2525 Michigan Ave.
310.264.5988
www.patrickpainter.com

►Paul Kopeikin Gallery
6150 Wilshire Blvd.
323.937.0765
www.paulkopeikingallery.com

►Regen Projects
633 N. Almont Dr.
310.276.5424
www.regenprojects.com

►Richard Telles Fine Art
7380 Beverly Blvd.
323.965.5578
www.tellesfineart.com

►Roberts & Tilton Gallery
6150 Wilshire Blvd.
323.549.0223
www.robertsandtilton.com

►Daniel Weinberg Gallery
6150 Wilshire Blvd.
323.954.8425